Phys.org news

Phys.org / Shapeshifting gates guard the cell nucleus, challenging old ideas

An international study led by the University of Basel has discovered that nuclear pore complexes—tiny gateways in the nuclear membrane—are not rigid or gel-like as once thought. Their interiors are dynamically organized, ...

4 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Historical geography helps researchers solve 2,700-year old eclipse mystery

An international team of researchers has used knowledge of historical geography to reexamine the earliest datable total solar eclipse record known to the scientific community, enabling accurate measurements of Earth's variable ...

5 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Seeing physics as a mountain landscape for classification of nonlinear systems

Imagine standing on top of a mountain. From this vantage point, we can see picturesque valleys and majestic ridges below, and streams wind their way downhill. If a drop of rain falls somewhere on this terrain, gravity guides ...

4 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Geodesic approach links quantum physics and gravitation

It is something like the "Holy Grail" of physics: unifying particle physics and gravitation. The world of tiny particles is described extremely well by quantum theory, while the world of gravitation is captured by Einstein's ...

6 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / New palladium-gold alloy catalyst boosts methane-to-ethylene conversion with solar power

Researchers just hit two benefits with one catalyst. They converted methane (CH4), a potent greenhouse gas, into ethylene (C2H4), a highly demanded raw material in industrial sectors, using sunlight and a newly designed palladium–gold ...

8 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Astronomers confirm low-luminosity active galactic nucleus in nearby galaxy NGC 3221

Using ESA's XMM-Newton satellite, astronomers from Stanford University and elsewhere have conducted deep X-ray observations of a nearby galaxy known as NGC 3221. The new observational campaign detected a faint active galactic ...

8 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Define your dating goals: Study shows clarity is key to dating satisfaction

Single people who date without a clear understanding of what they are looking for in a relationship experience more loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, McGill researchers have found.

4 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Spaceflight-tested menstrual cup offers choice on long missions

Eating from pouches, sleeping in a bag tied to the wall, using a vacuum-powered toilet: Basic processes of human life require scientifically tested solutions in space. It's the same for menstruation, a process female astronauts ...

5 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Physicists overcome fundamental limitation of acoustic levitation

Using sound to get objects to float works well if a single particle is levitated, but it causes multiple particles to collapse into a clump in mid-air. Physicists at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) ...

6 hours ago in Physics
Phys.org / Chesapeake Bay's storm surge tides can be 47% higher than the open ocean

When hurricanes or strong storms sweep up the United States' East Coast and meet the shores of the country's largest estuary, Chesapeake Bay, the familiar pattern of storm activity gets a little more complicated. A new study, ...

9 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Discovery of new marine sponges supports hypothesis on animal evolution

A completely new order of marine sponges has been found by researchers at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University. The sponge order, named Vilesida, produces substances that could be used in drug development. The same ...

6 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Alaknanda: JWST discovers massive grand-design spiral galaxy from the universe's infancy

A spiral galaxy, shaped much like our Milky Way, has been found in an era when astronomers believed such well-formed galaxies could not yet exist. Two astronomers from India have identified a remarkably mature galaxy just ...

8 hours ago in Astronomy & Space