Phys.org news
Phys.org / Hidden fungus inside desert moss could rewrite 470-million-year story of how plants moved onto land
Mosses are survivors. They can dry into what looks like green dust, only to spring back to life minutes after rain. They can grow on rocks, in deserts, and there's talk of using them to terraform Mars someday. According to ...
Phys.org / How a telescope's mirror stability makes or breaks exoplanet detection
Finding life beyond our solar system is a major goal of modern astronomy. NASA's planned Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) aims to take direct images of Earth-sized planets around stars other than our sun. This task, however, ...
Phys.org / Trace additive unlocks faster bioplastic biodegradation without losing transparency or strength
Compostable plastics could be part of a solution to the world's plastic waste problem. But currently these materials need industrial composting facilities to break down. In a step toward making a home-compostable plastic, ...
Phys.org / Heat waves increase wildfire risk—a new study explains how much, and it's not a small number
When heat waves hit the Western United States, the risk of wildfires quickly rises. The prolonged heat dries out vegetation, but that's only part of the cause—heat waves also play other roles in spreading wildfires.
Phys.org / Mating reveals cholesterol's hidden role in male fruit fly lifespan
Scientists have discovered that the optimal diet for male fruit flies may depend strongly on whether they are reproducing, challenging long-standing assumptions about nutrition and aging. Led by researchers from the University ...
Phys.org / World's highest-consuming 10% cause up to $5.7 trillion a year in environmental damage, study finds
The environmental damage caused by the world's highest-consuming 10% of people is worth $1.7 trillion to $5.7 trillion a year. At the central and upper estimates, this is several times more than the international community ...
Phys.org / Mystery of 17th century shipwreck holding 400 gold coins finally solved after 30 years
The identity of a centuries-old shipwreck discovered off the south coast of England, holding 400 gold coins, has finally been identified as the Dutch trading ship "Dom van Keulen," which left Morocco for the Netherlands in ...
Phys.org / Missing DNA replication step revealed in first image of pre-initiation complex
Cells have evolved careful checks to ensure DNA is copied only once, but how they switch on replication at the right moment has been the focus of a 30-year research question. New work from the Crick has recorded the missing ...
Phys.org / Describing past relationship as a story may help women process breakups
Breaking up with a loved one is often a painful life experience, one that is difficult to recover from. Researchers from SWPS University, however, suggest that a simple step can help. Writing down the story of a past relationship ...
Phys.org / What if there is no one to farm? Scientists reveal a hidden risk to future food security
The cause of future food shortages may not be a lack of farmland, but a shortage of agricultural workers. Amid low birth rates and rural decline, a joint international research team from KAIST has developed a new data-driven ...
Phys.org / How to train your magnet: Excitons as a new knob for magnetic control
Scientists can learn a lot about a quantum material by watching how it responds to light. In magnetic semiconductors, one especially useful messenger is the exciton: a pairing of a negatively charged electron and the positively ...
Phys.org / People are marrying holograms and making friends with chatbots. But can AI bring true happiness?
Can technology really replace human relationships? As philosophy scholars who focus on human happiness and on artificial intelligence (AI), we tackle this question in a recent paper.
