Phys.org news

Phys.org / Branched silver sensor offers more sensitive light-based drug measurements in blood plasma

Medications can save lives, yet for some drugs, the concentration in a patient's bloodstream determines whether a treatment is effective or whether harmful side effects may occur. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute of Photonic ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Horseshoe bats use echolocation to separate background echoes from those of fluttering prey

Many bat species emit echolocation calls and use the returning echoes to find their way, detect the presence of fluttering insects, and locate and catch them. A new study investigated this behavior in greater horseshoe bats ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Zebrafish and fruit flies share the same internal compass mechanism in a case of convergent evolution

Even in darkness, many animals retain a sense of orientation because their nervous system sustains a memory of heading encoded by the activity of head-direction (HD) cells. Animals continuously update this internal compass ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / New AI tool identifies wild animals by their unique patterns in real time

Patterns reveal the individual: A novel AI algorithm equips researchers with a powerful new tool to accurately identify individual jaguars, zebras and giraffes in real time based on their unique coat patterns. Biologists ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Researchers find microplastics in hedgehogs—then trace them back to pet food

When colleagues and I found microplastics in hedgehog droppings, we wanted to know where they were coming from. One answer was surprisingly close to home: pet food.

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Although woodland salamanders have looked the same for millions of years, their physiology has evolved rapidly

For her doctoral dissertation, Yale's Nathalie Alomar decided to study a small amphibian that appeared to have eluded the forces of evolution. She found that there is more to its evolution than meets the eye.

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Sawdust, cellulose binders and beeswax combine into eco-friendly foam

Polystyrene—common in packing peanuts and box inserts—is manufactured from fossil fuels. To develop a sustainable alternative, researchers reporting in ACS Applied Polymer Materials tested an unconventional starting material: ...

15 hours ago
Phys.org / Espresso 'pucks' stop behaving predictably above certain pressures

When a physics student asked baristas at the Warsaw Coffee Conference what their biggest question for scientists was, the baristas said they wanted to know how to stop channeling during brewing.

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Looking at AI startups to predict which jobs AI will affect

A study of funded AI startups provides a glimpse of which jobs may be most affected by AI. As AI tools are embraced by industry after industry, the impacts of these tools on jobs remain unclear. Previous analyses have focused ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / Scientists create optical skyrmions using a two-century-old light phenomenon

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) scientists have used a classic optical phenomenon known as the Poisson spot to create stable patterns of light called optical skyrmions, which are tiny, swirling ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Hidden dark force may slow cosmic structure growth, not speed it up

Dark matter is often portrayed as a cosmic loner, interacting with itself and the rest of the universe only through gravity. But what if dark matter particles also exert a hidden force on one another?

19 hours ago
Phys.org / 500-million-year fossil record reveals corals' symbiotic advantage shifted with changing environments

Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany reveals ...

16 hours ago