Phys.org news
Phys.org / Fungal chitin offers new route to tougher hydrogels for medical devices and soft robots
Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, have made an advance by using a natural substance from fungi called chitin to create hydrogels ...
Phys.org / Himalayan grain demonstrates the potential of pangenome-guided breeding for higher yields and adaptability
Scientists from the Centre for Crop and Food Innovation (CCFI) at Murdoch University have participated in a landmark proof-of-concept research project demonstrating how pangenome-guided breeding strategies can reunite two ...
Phys.org / More than a decade of observation in Seattle suburbs shows where sensitive bird species won't go
Nearly 30 years ago, a simple question sent University of Washington researchers into the Puget Sound lowlands to look for birds. With Seattle's population swelling and housing developments pushing into once-forested suburbs, ...
Phys.org / New contactless method reveals how mirror-image materials respond differently to light
New research introduces a contactless way to see how mirror-image materials respond differently to circularly polarized light, without first building them into a complete electronic device. The researchers developed a novel ...
Phys.org / Reading daily ocean temperatures from red algae
Understanding how marine ecosystems respond to a warming ocean requires detailed records of past temperatures. An international research team led by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for ...
Phys.org / Early farmers' larger grains may reflect rainfall, not genetic selection
A new archaeobotanical study by researchers from the University of Oxford and Kiel University (CAU) has revealed that increases in cereal grain size at the dawn of agriculture, more than 11,000 years ago, were initially driven ...
Phys.org / Consistency-based rewards could build lasting cooperation better than punishing free-riders
A vaccine only protects a whole community if enough people get it, including those who would stay safe anyway once their neighbors are covered. The same tension runs through climate action and social movements: The shared ...
Phys.org / Scientists uncover a hidden mechanism that drives RNA synthesis
Scientists have long been fascinated by two promising classes of antibiotics that disable RNA polymerase (RNAP). They knew that these drugs could grind gene expression to a halt in several pathogens, including the bacterium ...
Phys.org / Under-the-radar creeks could be sweeping carbon out of salt marshes
Salt marshes are coastal wetlands that are alternately inundated and exposed by tides. These marshes, like other coastal ecosystems, are hotspots of carbon cycling.
Phys.org / DNA origami nanosyringe actively transports molecules into synthetic cells
Transporting molecules across biological membranes is essential for life. In nature, this can occur through passive transport, known as diffusion. "Biological systems often use mechanical motion to accomplish tasks that cannot ...
Phys.org / Mathematical model shows how birds create a synchronized dawn chorus
Every morning, groups of birds start singing and chirping around the same time, typically when the sun starts rising. While zoologists have been studying this collective bird behavior, called the dawn chorus, for decades, ...
Phys.org / Historical DNA reveals largetooth sawfish have lost much of their genetic diversity
The genetic diversity of the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis), a critically endangered ray, has plummeted over the past century and a half, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological ...
