Phys.org news
Phys.org / Why Europe's trees are dying
In Europe, trees are increasingly dying prematurely. A new study by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) on French forests now shows that it is not only drought but also unusually warm ...
Phys.org / How proximity steals energy from nanoresonators
Nanomechanical resonators are miniature vibrating structures on chips that oscillate at frequencies ranging from a few kilohertz to gigahertz. They are used as ultrasensitive detectors of mass and force, temperature and pressure, ...
Phys.org / Watching how molecules change shape in slow motion could inform future molecular machines
Researchers at the Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI) at Kanazawa University, the Institute for Molecular Science and SOKENDAI have uncovered the hidden mechanism behind a molecular switch—a molecule that can change ...
Phys.org / Scientists enable DNA synthesis using only temperature instead of chemical reagents
"Complex chemical processes are essential for making DNA." This long-held assumption in the field of biotechnology has been overturned by a Korean research team. A KAIST research team has developed the world's first foundational ...
Phys.org / New biobased polymers exhibit excellent tensile properties beyond polyolefins
The research group of Professor Kotohiro Nomura, Tokyo Metropolitan University, in cooperation with the research groups of Senior Researcher Hiroshi Hirano and Director Seiji Higashi of the Osaka Research Institute of Industrial ...
Phys.org / AI system translates protein sequences into text, helping reveal functions of unknown proteins
In a paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from Technion and Tel Aviv University present BetaDescribe, an AI system that translates protein sequences into natural-language descriptions, ...
Phys.org / Soil thickness controls landslide occurrence, study finds
Researchers at University of Tsukuba analyzed high-resolution topographic data from airborne LiDAR to examine the relationships among landslide area, depth, and slope gradient.
Phys.org / Hummingbirds speed up pineapple family's evolution
Hummingbirds make bromeliad plants split into new species twice as fast as other pollinators do, scientists at the University of Reading have found. The research team gathered records of which animals pollinate 403 types ...
Phys.org / South Australian algal bloom species the world's most toxic harmful microalga yet recorded
The marine microalgae responsible for the most devastating effects of the South Australian harmful algal bloom (HAB) has now been shown to be the most toxic species of its kind ever studied.
Phys.org / Engineers discover 'unexpected motion' in drug-delivery robots
One day, tiny swimming robots may travel through the human body to deliver drugs. The medication would target only areas of need—chemotherapy drugs for a tumor, for example—avoiding healthy tissue and minimizing side effects. ...
Phys.org / Atomic 'domino effect' found to drive phase changes in a two-dimensional crystal
Phase transformations—in which a material changes from one crystal structure to another, thereby acquiring dramatically different properties—are ubiquitous in nature. Understanding the microscopic mechanisms of these transformations ...
Phys.org / Storms impact the architecture of webs and the survival of spiders
In the dense forests of the Ecuadorian Andes, the survival of a spider relies not only on its ability to prey on insects but also on its capacity to resist a threat coming from the skies. A new study revealed that the heavy ...
