Phys.org news
Phys.org / Sugar-processing enzyme has a hidden second job—controlling when cells divide
A metabolic enzyme studied for over seven decades has a hidden second function—it can unwind RNA and promote cell cycle progression, an additional function beyond its role in energy production, according to a new study ...
Phys.org / Whale song remix: Study shows that humpbacks shift pitch when a neighbor joins in
A humpback whale alters the pitch of its song when joined by a neighboring singer, a finding that opens a new chapter in the ongoing effort to understand whale song, some of the most structurally and acoustically complex ...
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 / 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 / Sea turtles, shrinking beaches and rising seas: Study finds nesting sites running out of room
Sandy beaches account for approximately a third of the world's ice-free coastlines. These sandy shorelines are responsible for sediment and water retention, provide a buffer against rising water levels, and offer habitats ...
Phys.org / Coastal ocean chemistry now substantially shaped by humans
A global analysis of more than 2,300 seawater samples from more than 20 field studies around the globe indicates that human-made chemicals make up a significant portion of organic matter in coastal oceans. The international ...
Phys.org / Building a reference manual for how cells connect with each other
Every multicellular organism, from tiny worms to humans, elephants, and whales, needs a way for their cells to connect with each other to form tissues, organs, and organize their overall body plan. Cells have a variety of ...
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 / Computational model predicts telomere length from routine biopsy slide images
A new computational tool infers changes occurring at the ends of the chromosomes housing our DNA. It does so by detecting structural alterations in cells and tissues captured in images taken of routine medical biopsies, according ...
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 / Planning Titan entry? New lab tests flag nitrogen-driven heat shield debris risks
Heat shields are designed to protect the surface and cargo of a spacecraft as it enters an atmosphere. Aerospace engineers in The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently observed ...
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 ...
