Phys.org news
Phys.org / Could geoengineering work to tamp down super El Niños?
With an anticipated "super" El Niño looming, a new study led by UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography considers whether society could use a weather-altering technique as a tool to mitigate the floods, extreme ...
Phys.org / Manganese risk in groundwater affects 200 million people, study shows
Manganese is an essential trace element. However, in excessive concentrations, the metal can cause health problems. Two Eawag researchers have now produced a global risk map for manganese in groundwater. Half of the world's ...
Phys.org / The language of play: Hyenas use facial expressions and vocalizations to de-escalate
Scientists observed spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) playing in the wild and found that their precise, sophisticated communication is on par with that of many primate species. Hyenas play and romp with one another at all ...
Phys.org / Maize-fed animals may have helped Maya farmers solve corn's protein deficiency
Maize (corn) is a major dietary staple in Maya communities past and present because of its reliability, potential for surplus, and suitability as both food and fodder. It became so important to ancient Mesoamerican communities ...
Phys.org / Unraveling a long-standing solar mystery: The extreme thinness of the sun's tachocline layer
Researchers are closer to unraveling a longstanding solar mystery surrounding the extreme thinness of the sun's tachocline layer of strong shearing motion—a region believed to be critical for creating the violent eruptions ...
Phys.org / Wavelength-multiplexed diffractive optical storage enables massively parallel image retrieval
The explosive growth of data generated by artificial intelligence, cloud computing and modern digital infrastructure is placing increasing pressure on existing information storage technologies. Although magnetic storage systems ...
Phys.org / California wolves feed heavily on cattle and their presence causes significant stress among livestock
Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on the state's ranching landscapes: Wolves eat cattle more than anything else, and the presence of the predators causes significant stress ...
Phys.org / Optimizing RNA design with AI and an Ising machine: Encoding matters
RNA has emerged as one of the most promising molecules in modern medicine, enabling advances from mRNA vaccines and gene therapies to genome editing and synthetic biology. However, designing RNA molecules that reliably fold ...
Phys.org / Nature's puncture tools reveal shape trade-offs between piercing power and strength
Nature has invented countless types of pointy appendages, and scientists have long sought to explain what makes these structures so effective at puncturing other things. A new study models the key physical characteristics ...
Phys.org / Beavers thrive in river estuaries along North America's northwest coast
Beavers are widespread in estuaries and tidal wetlands in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, demonstrating that they are not restricted to rivers and streams, Gregory Hood at the Skagit River System Cooperative, ...
Phys.org / Tiny 60,000-neuron ant brains reveal how parental care evolved from feeding circuits
Long before the dawn of modern parenting, animals laid eggs and moved on, leaving their progeny to fend for themselves. Now, a study published in Nature uncovers one of the elegant ways evolution transformed neglect into ...
Phys.org / How sea stars build materials that can see
When engineers think about protective materials, like those used in packaging and support, they usually think about strength, stiffness and durability. But what if those same materials could also sense their external environment?
