Phys.org news
Phys.org / A galaxy next door is transforming, and astronomers can see it happening
The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) is one of the Milky Way's closest galactic neighbors—a small, gas-rich galaxy visible to the naked eye from the southern hemisphere, and bound to our galaxy by gravity, alongside its companion, ...
Phys.org / Ice satellite detects powerful geomagnetic storm with precision
It seems improbable that a satellite designed to monitor polar ice sheets and floating sea ice could accurately measure a disturbance in Earth's magnetic field. But that is just what ESA's CryoSat mission did earlier this ...
Phys.org / Plastic bottles transformed into Parkinson's drug using bacteria
A drug to treat Parkinson's disease can be made from waste plastic bottles using a pioneering method, a study shows. The approach harnesses the power of bacteria to transform post-consumer plastic into L-DOPA, a frontline ...
Phys.org / Frog-cell 'neurobots' grow self-organized nervous systems and alter gene activity
Biobots, whose growing line of variants started with xenobots, are fascinating tiny self-powered living robots built exclusively using frog embryonic cells. Originally developed in the laboratories of Wyss Institute Associate ...
Phys.org / Hunted by Neanderthals, giant elephants traveled hundreds of kilometers across ice-age Europe
Neumark-Nord in northeastern Germany was a lake landscape in the last interglacial period. It is rich in archaeological finds discovered during lignite mining. The area in Saxony-Anhalt is one of the most important European ...
Phys.org / Cannibalism takes major bite out of young blue crabs, but the shallows offer a refuge
The Chesapeake Bay's most popular crustacean has a dark streak. Cannibalism is the No. 1 killer of juvenile blue crabs in mid-salinity waters where they are known to congregate, according to a new study from the Smithsonian ...
Phys.org / Ocean bacteria team up to break down biodegradable plastic
Biodegradable plastics could help alleviate the plastic waste crisis that is polluting the environment and harming our health. But how long plastics take to degrade and how environmental bacteria work together to break them ...
Phys.org / Amazonian chocolate: Combining cocoa clones with different post-harvest processes balances flavor and nutritional value
Chocolate produced in the Amazon is internationally recognized for its unique flavor. A study by researchers at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil has shown that it could be even more valuable. The analysis indicates ...
Phys.org / A new class of molten planet stores abundant sulfur in a perpetual magma ocean
A study led by the University of Oxford has identified a new type of planet beyond our solar system—one that stores large amounts of sulfur deep within a permanent ocean of magma. The findings have been published in Nature ...
Phys.org / A clear roadmap for engineering combs of light
Optical frequency combs—laser sources that emit evenly spaced colors of light—are foundational, ubiquitous tools for precision measurement, found in optical clocks, gas-sensing spectrometers, and instruments that detect the ...
Phys.org / Photonics and nanotech could spot cancer signals 5 to 8 years earlier
Timing is critical in diagnosing diseases such as cancer. Researchers within The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used a historically underappreciated tiny powerhouse to detect ...
Phys.org / Molecular chains with bite: Customized carbon nanoribbons open a cleaner path to molecular electronics
The longest chains of the conductive polymer poly(p-phenylene; PPP) produced to date are just under one micrometer (thousandth of a millimeter) long—almost an order of magnitude longer than previously possible. A research ...
