Phys.org news

Phys.org / A DNA 'on-off' switch? Light and redox cues reversibly link strands for nanotech

DNA, the blueprint of life, is best known for its fundamental role as genetic material—storing and transmitting biological information through the precise sequence of its bases. For decades, this information-storage function ...

19 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Predator stress makes road salt far deadlier for freshwater snails, study finds

Freshwater streams, ponds and lakes across the United States are becoming saltier, and new research from the University of Missouri shows the damage may be greater than scientists once thought. Scientists at Mizzou's College ...

18 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / White-nose syndrome puzzle solved: Biological mechanisms behind devastating bat disease revealed

Millions of bats in North America have died from white-nose syndrome, and a new study from the University of Waterloo explores why and how the fungal disease has devastated bat populations on this continent, while it has ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Oldest known reptile skin impressions dated to 298 million years found in Germany

An international research team led by Dr. Lorenzo Marchetti from the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin has described the oldest known impressions of reptile skin from the Thuringian Forest in central Germany. Particularly remarkable ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Plants retain a 'genetic memory' of past population crashes, study shows

Researchers at McGill University and the United States Forest Service have found that plants living in areas where human activity has caused population crashes carry long-lasting genetic traces of that history, such as reduced ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Drones with low-cost air quality sensors can improve air quality monitoring

A drone equipped with low-cost air quality sensors has revealed unexpectedly high concentrations of particulate matter at around 100 meters above ground level in Delhi. These new vertical insights could play an important ...

20 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Fentanyl makeover: Core structural redesign could lead to safer pain medications

Fentanyl is one of the most effective drugs for managing severe pain, yet it carries substantial risks of addiction and respiratory depression, the dangerous and sometimes fatal slowed breathing. These safety concerns have ...

21 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / Temperature affects the quality of male frogs' mating calls: Females can hear the difference

A study from the University of California, Davis, found that temperature affects the sound and quality of male frogs' mating calls. In the colder, early weeks of spring, their songs start off sluggishly. In warmer weather, ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Strawberry guava prevents natural forest generation in Madagascar, project reveals

Rice University biologist Amy Dunham has spent decades studying the mountainous rainforests of Madagascar's Ranomafana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was designated a national park in 1991. In a project ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Silver European eel discovered in Cyprus for the first time

As part of a new study, researchers from Bournemouth University (BU) have discovered European eels, Anguilla anguilla, at the stage of silvering living in the inland waters of Cyprus for the first time. The paper is published ...

22 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Bio-based coating reveals harmful UV exposure by shifting color

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a coating using proteins and bacteria that could enable the development of T-shirts that warn of excessive sun exposure or labels that reveal damage to ...

21 hours ago in Chemistry
Phys.org / How AI is distorting online research, from polls to public policy

Artificial intelligence is increasingly able to simulate human behavior and answer online surveys and political polls, putting the reliability of survey-based research at risk. Consequences can be serious, not only for science ...

23 hours ago in Other Sciences