Phys.org news
Phys.org / Stress-testing the Cascadia Subduction Zone reveals variability that could impact how earthquakes spread
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is unusually quiet for a megathrust fault. Spanning more than 600 miles from Canada to California, the fault marks the convergence of the Juan de Fuca and North American plates. While other subduction ...
Phys.org / InN thin films show transient Pauli blocking for broadband ultrafast optical switching
Recent decades have witnessed rapid advancements in high-intensity laser technology. The combination of laser irradiation and novel materials is opening exciting avenues for the design of functional materials and devices. ...
Phys.org / Cooling without gases: Molecular design brings solid-state cooling closer to reality
Some solid materials can cool down or heat up when pressure is applied or released. This behavior enables cooling and heating technologies that do not rely on climate-damaging refrigerant gases. In practice, however, a major ...
Phys.org / Cellular switch casts light on why humans are active in the day
Early mammalian ancestors were nocturnal, sleeping during the day while the dinosaurs dominated the land. However, some mammalian lineages, including human ancestors, independently transitioned to diurnality (active during ...
Phys.org / Most lab testing quietly inflates 2D transistor performance, research reveals
For nearly two decades, two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors have been studied as a complement or possible successor to silicon transistors, promising smaller, faster and more energy-efficient processors. To ease their production ...
Phys.org / Promoters and enhancers: Tool catches gene-controlling DNA sequences doing each other's jobs
Researchers at the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology have uncovered new evidence that two major types of gene-controlling DNA sequences, promoters and enhancers, operate with a shared logic and often perform ...
Phys.org / From trash to climate tech: Rubber gloves find new life as carbon capturers
Every year, over 100 billion nitrile rubber gloves are produced. They are made from synthetic polymers—a material chemically related to plastic and derived from crude oil. The vast majority is used in the health care sector, ...
Phys.org / Older male humpbacks sire more calves as populations recover from whaling
New research from the University of St Andrews published in Current Biology has shown that the role of age in male humpback whale reproduction has changed as populations recover from centuries of exploitation. Whaling drove ...
Phys.org / Are climate models detecting monsoon changes a decade too early? 'Super-simulations' say yes
Changes in rainfall within global monsoon regions affect the livelihoods of billions. For years, climate models have suggested that the fingerprint of human-caused climate change on monsoons would become visible by a certain ...
Phys.org / Satellite data enable first global estimate of aerosol cloud cooling
Particles in the atmosphere, known as aerosols, cool the climate by acting as cloud condensation nuclei. The more cloud droplets form around these particles, the less sunlight penetrates a cloud. This cools the climate, although ...
Phys.org / Using moon dirt with 3D printing to build future lunar colonies
Simulated lunar dirt can be turned into extremely durable structures, potentially paving the way to more sustainable and cost-effective space missions, a new study suggests. Using a special laser 3D printing method, researchers ...
Phys.org / How immune cells spot viral RNA fast: LGP2 helps MDA5 respond to short dsRNA
A study reveals how two proteins cooperate in a key early step of antiviral detection, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using cryo-electron microscopy and high-speed atomic force microscopy, they found that LGP2 ...
