Phys.org news
Phys.org / Ecological factors, not social behavior, explain brain size in cephalopods
Octopuses, squid and cuttlefish may have evolved large brains because of the challenges posed by their environments rather than the demands of social life, according to a new study published in iScience today.
Phys.org / More Canadian than the beaver? Scientists discover a western toad found only in Canada
The beaver and moose may be enduring symbols of Canadian wildlife, but neither is uniquely Canadian from a genetic perspective. But a team of researchers from the University of Ottawa has now discovered something rare: a ...
Phys.org / Nanozymes map nanoparticle routes inside live cells without genetic engineering
Nanoparticles are widely used in medicine to deliver drugs, genes or imaging agents to specific parts of the body. Once a nanoparticle reaches a cell, however, many things can happen—it can reach its target, be degraded, ...
Phys.org / Simulation reveals how glaciers transported rocks across the Alps 24,000 years ago
Many of the boulders scattered across the Swiss landscape did not originate where they now stand. Instead, they were carried by ice nearly 24,000 years ago. For the first time, researchers at the University of Lausanne (UNIL) ...
Phys.org / Synchronized infrared lasers control molecular shape changes and expose hidden fingerprints
Researchers from the Molecular Physics and Physical Chemistry departments of the Fritz Haber Institute have shown how two highly synchronized infrared (IR) laser beams can control molecules as they switch between different ...
Phys.org / The broader a fungus's diet, the better it kills insects and helps plants
Many fungi lead triple lives—acting as deadly insect pathogens, decomposers in the soil, and helpful partners living inside and transferring insect-derived nitrogen to plant roots. Scientists have long wondered what allows ...
Phys.org / Single ion maps 3D electromagnetic fields above chips with record sensitivity
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method that uses a single ion to detect electromagnetic fields above a surface and to create a three-dimensional map of them. In the future, this approach can be used to improve ...
Phys.org / How giant tropical trees transport water 70 meters to stay as drought-resilient as smaller trees
The giant trees of tropical forests are important allies in the fight against climate change because of their ability to store carbon, yet they are still poorly understood by science. However, a study published in the journal ...
Phys.org / How signals in the embryo tell cells what to become: A lab's final discovery
Getting it over the finish line was a labor of love—and now, more than five years after her death, the lab of former Sloan Kettering Institute Developmental Biology Chair Kathryn Anderson, Ph.D., is publishing its final study.
Phys.org / Coral loss may erase up to $3 billion in Hawaiʻi reef recreation by 2100
Coral reef decline driven by climate change could cost Hawaiʻi residents between $1.8 billion and $3 billion in lost reef-related activities by 2100, according to a new study published in Ecological Economics. The research ...
Phys.org / Honeybee queens push pesticides to eggs to protect themselves over their offspring, research reveals
Worker bees are the first line of defense when it comes to removing contamination in honeybee colonies, but a queen has her ways, too. A honeybee queen facing chronic exposure to pesticides will take up that contamination ...
Phys.org / Massive sturgeon once bred in Britain's rivers, boosting reintroduction hopes
Atlantic and European sturgeon once called Britain's rivers home and could do so again, following research using Natural History Museum specimens. These fish are among the biggest found in Europe and undertake epic migrations ...
