Phys.org news
Phys.org / Rice gene discovery could cut fertilizer use while protecting yields
Researchers from the University of Oxford, Nanjing Agricultural University, and Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (Chinese Academy of Sciences) have finally identified the master regulator in plants that balances ...
Phys.org / Mitochondria can reshape lipid storage in cells by repurposing a protein-insertion complex
A recent study by the University of Bonn and University Hospital Bonn and the University of Freiburg shows that the mitochondria appear to be able to influence the number of lipid droplets in the cell using a mechanism that ...
Phys.org / Undergrads expand the chemical toolbox for cancer drugs
Thanks to modern therapies, a cancer diagnosis is no longer an automatic death sentence. But many patients still suffer from unwanted side effects and limited efficacy. In a recent Bioconjugate Chemistry publication, William ...
Phys.org / Matching vibrations is all it takes to shut down superconductivity in a nearby crystal
The world is never really at rest. Even in a vacuum near ultracold temperatures where all classical motion should come to a halt, you'll find quantum fluctuations. In thin, two-dimensional materials, these include random ...
Phys.org / PFOS 'forever chemical' can accumulate in bees—and their honey
A study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology has revealed the toxic "forever chemical," PFOS, can accumulate in exposed honeybee colonies and transfer to their honey, threatening pollinator viability, ...
Phys.org / Ancient mosquitoes developed a taste for early hominins, research reveals
The preference of some mosquitoes in the Anopheles leucosphyrus (Leucosphyrus) group—including those that transmit malaria—for feeding on humans may have evolved in response to the arrival of early hominins in Southeast ...
Phys.org / Human activity is influencing the behavior of Germany's wildcats
A research team led by Dr. Chris Baumann and Dr. Dorothée Drucker from the Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen has found that the European wildcat is increasingly using ...
Phys.org / Endangered giant clam feeding strategies could determine species' future survival
Giant clams (Tridacna gigas), members of the family Tridacnidae and among the most striking inhabitants of tropical coral reefs, are being driven toward extinction. Over-harvesting for jewelry, the aquarium trade, and food, ...
Phys.org / Exceptionally preserved 551-million-year-old site suggests Avalon biota lasted longer
Researchers studying the soft-bodied Ediacaran biotas of the world generally accept that there are three distinct assemblages. The 575–560-million-year-old (Ma) Avalon Assemblage is best known from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, ...
Phys.org / How oxygen enriched Earth's atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago
Cyanobacteria, as they still exist today, were the first organisms to carry out photosynthesis and release oxygen. Produced in primeval oceans about 2.5 billion years ago, this oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere on ...
Phys.org / Grasslands are vanishing nearly four times faster than forests, global study finds
Along with forests, grasslands and wetlands are also being converted to cropland and pasture at an increasing rate around the world—often for livestock farming and the export of agricultural products. An international team ...
Phys.org / What does it mean to compute? Framework maps hidden computations running inside natural dynamic systems
Some computers are easy to spot. Artificial, human-built computers like those found in smartphones and laptops are abstract dynamic systems with observable computational elements like input, output, energy cost, and logical ...
