Phys.org news
Phys.org / Astronomers release massive set of 'virtual universes' for global research
Understanding the universe as a whole requires simulations on cosmic scales. An international team of astrophysicists, with a leading role for researchers at Leiden University, Netherlands, has now released one of the largest ...
Phys.org / Stick-on gel delivers drugs directly to plants to clear infections quickly
A stick-on gel for plants could one day offer a simple, safe and targeted way to treat diseases and pests. Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed an adhesive gel that can be loaded with substances, ...
Phys.org / Data from Earth's most remote atoll show soil fungi are key to island regeneration
Palmyra Atoll, a remote, uninhabited speck of land, coral and sea halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa, is one of the healthiest, intact atolls on the planet—so ecologically sensitive that visiting researchers freeze ...
Phys.org / With a swipe of a magnet, microscopic 'magno-bots' perform complex maneuvers
Under a microscope, a bouquet of lollipop-like structures, each smaller than a grain of sand, waves gently in a Petri dish of liquid. Suddenly, they snap together, like the jaws of a Venus flytrap, as a scientist waves a ...
Phys.org / Soil, not fertilizer, is primary source of nitrogen gas loss in rice paddies, study reveals
Rice production is heavily dependent on nitrogen fertilizers, particularly in China, where application rates are two to three times the global average. At the same time, a large amount of nitrogen is lost to the environment—mainly ...
Phys.org / Bowhead whale recovery reflects century-old whaling patterns
An international study led by Adelaide University has found bowhead whale populations are recovering only in stocks where large areas of hazardous sea ice conditions limited devastating hunting centuries ago. The research ...
Phys.org / Handle with care: Mobile microgrippers pick up cells in a pinch
In tissue engineering, the tiniest bit of improper force can harm a living culture. Spheroids—3D clumps of cells—can be used to model complex human tissues, because they can re-create specific cell-to-cell and cell-to-matrix ...
Phys.org / Research reveals why beavers are getting busy sooner in spring
A University of Alberta study has whittled down climate-related reasons beavers are emerging earlier onto the ice from their lodges in the spring—a shift that helps them store more winter food but could also lead to more ...
Phys.org / Why do high-speed particles bounce higher in wet collisions?
Researchers have uncovered a counterintuitive phenomenon in collision dynamics: high-speed particles bounce back from wet walls much more strongly than expected. Integrating experimental observations with advanced numerical ...
Phys.org / Rainforests can buffer rising CO₂ in the short term—but this comes at a cost
Tropical forests are among the world's most important carbon sinks. A new study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the University of Vienna, and Brazil's National Institute for Amazonian Research suggests that even ...
Phys.org / Antarctica's ice shelves are vulnerable to melting from below—knowing how far ocean heat reaches is crucial
A rare dataset collected by instruments at the point where Antarctica's largest ice shelf begins to float reveals ocean processes that drive melting at this critical part of the continent.
Phys.org / Deep-ocean heat has been marching closer to Antarctica, reveals long-term study
A new decades-long study of oceanographic data provides the first evidence that deep-ocean heat has moved closer to Antarctica, threatening the fragile ice shelves that fringe the continent.
