Phys.org news

Inside some fusion energy systems, particles hotter than the core of the sun can become unruly in a few thousandths of a second, far faster than any human operator can react. A new software framework developed by researchers ...

RNA-based therapeutics use RNA as a blueprint that enables cells to produce specific proteins—including proteins that can precisely modify genes. For this to work, the RNA must reach the inside of the cell intact. Delivery ...

In the ocean, plastic waste collects to form large garbage patches that endanger marine life. This is partly because the synthetic plastic polymers used today can only be broken down biologically—that is, by microorganisms—at ...

Copper roofs lose their reddish color over time because a pale green layer of copper oxide forms on their surface, protecting the roof from further corrosion for many years. But what exactly happens during the first steps ...

We often think of microbes as organisms that live around us, like the Salmonella bacteria and flu viruses that cause illness. But some of our most intimate relationships are with the microbes living inside us.

Is a kiss just a kiss? Or is it a sign of love, affection, a biological urge, a contract or even an assault? Law, history, evolution and anthropology show that it can be all those things.

The plot of "Finding Nemo," a film that features an overprotective single father fish taking on dangers at sea to care for his son, may be more reflective of actual fish dad behavior than was previously known. A new study ...

One of the major challenges in the quest to beat cancer is developing treatments that can selectively destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy cells unharmed. With this in mind, researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology ...

Researchers from Graz University of Technology (TU Graz), Harvard and the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) have developed an innovative method for coupling light non-linearly. This opens up new possibilities for ...

The United Nations considers well-developed and safe roads an important part of infrastructure in its Sustainable Development Goals. Until now, however, there has been no benchmark for the condition and state of road networks ...

Global temperature rise is set to cross 1.5°C, likely within the next few years, pushing climate risks and impacts to increasingly dangerous heights. But it is still possible to bring temperatures down and achieve the global ...

Imagine a construction site where the bricks are individual molecules and the "cranes" are microscopic needles so sharp they can feel a single atom. For decades, building at this scale was a laborious, time-consuming task ...