Phys.org news

Phys.org / Skin and color pattern of 125-million-year-old crocodile revealed by extraordinary fossil from the Pyrenees

A new study published in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society describes, for the first time in detail, the soft tissues preserved in Montsecosuchus depereti, a Lower Cretaceous crocodylomorph from the Pedrera de Meià ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Swiss lake symbiosis reveals unexpected role in nitrogen cycling

A publication led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, shows that microscopic partnerships between ciliates and bacteria play a role in the nitrogen cycle of lakes. The ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Fungi help lock carbon into Arctic fjord sediments

Arctic fjords are among the most efficient natural systems for absorbing and storing carbon long term. However, as the Arctic is warming about four times faster than the global average, fjord ecosystems are changing rapidly. ...

7 hours ago
Phys.org / Ancient curse tablet bears rare Greek inscription with binding spell intended to harm enemies

Heidelberg University researchers have deciphered the inscription on an ancient curse tablet, which was once used to invoke deities and demons in order to harm an enemy. The "magical" artifact from the Roman province of Lower ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Reversible chirality switching in MoS₂ generates spin currents without magnets

A newly developed method allows researchers to dynamically switch chirality—a particular lack of mirror symmetry—to generate spin currents in semiconductors, researchers from Science Tokyo report. Their approach relies on ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / New swine influenza vaccination technique can greatly strengthen disease protection

Husker scientists have developed a new swine influenza vaccination technique whose low cost and adaptability can greatly strengthen disease protection.

8 hours ago
Phys.org / Drug-free nanoparticles stop tumor growth by transmitting biological messages to immune cells

A research team from the Technion's Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering has developed an original technology for treating cancer using nanoparticles that carry no drugs at all and has demonstrated its effectiveness against ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Ancient DNA uncovers deadly plague outbreak among Siberian hunter-gatherers 5,500 years ago

Plague is commonly associated with rats, crowded medieval cities, and the epidemics that swept across Europe during and after the Middle Ages. But a new study published in Nature shows that the disease was already lethal ...

10 hours ago
Phys.org / Semiconductor chip writes 64 DNA sequences in water, setting new enzymatic benchmark

Silicon chips have powered computing for half a century. Increasingly, they are also becoming platforms to read and manipulate biology at scale—recording from many neurons, reading many DNA sequences and now synthesizing ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / How bacteria exploit human cell metabolism to sharpen infections and potentially evade treatment

A research team at the University of Greifswald's Research Training Group RTG-PRO "Proteases in pathogen and host: importance in infection and inflammation" has discovered a new mechanism by which bacterial pathogens adjust ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / New heat-regulating fabric feels fluffy like cotton—but doesn't get wet

Once cotton gets wet, it pulls heat from your body. This is helpful when you're exercising or outside on a hot day, but dangerous in the bitter cold. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Energy Letters have created an ultralight ...

10 hours ago
Phys.org / Bees avoid too much of a good thing by balancing nutrients in pollen, study reveals

New Oxford University-led research reveals that bees can regulate their feeding to avoid overconsuming certain essential nutrients, and that honey bees make a specialist "baby food" that gives their larvae a better-balanced ...

10 hours ago