Phys.org news
Phys.org / Friendly fungi hijack plant regulator to promote symbiosis
Plants are constantly on guard. Their roots are equipped with molecular alarm systems that detect invading microbes and trigger immune responses. Yet beneficial soil fungi routinely enter living root cells and establish close ...
Phys.org / Twisted bilayer photonic crystals dynamically tune light's handedness
Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a chip-scale device that can dynamically control the "handedness" of light as it passes through—also known as its ...
Phys.org / King penguins are the rare species benefiting from a warming world. But that could change
The warming world has disrupted the timing for plant and animal reproduction, and it's usually bad news for species that depend on each other—like flowers blooming too early and pollinating bees arriving too late. But researchers ...
Phys.org / How volcanic eruptions and internal climate cycles jointly shape Asian monsoon rainfall
From the rice paddies of South Asia to the wheat fields of northern China, summer monsoon rains sustain the livelihoods of billions. Yet these vital rains fluctuate dramatically from decade to decade—a variability that ...
Phys.org / Bromacker deposit is 4 million years older than previously thought, new dating reveals
Analysis of a volcanic ash tuff layer, only a few millimeters thick and discovered during excavations in 2024, revealed that the fossil-bearing Bromacker rocks are 294 million years old—four million years older than previously ...
Phys.org / Photonic 'ski jumps' efficiently beam light into free space
Photonic chips use light to process data instead of electricity, enabling faster communication speeds and greater bandwidth. Most of that light typically stays on the chip, trapped in optical wires, and is difficult to transmit ...
Phys.org / Simple 'cocktail' of amino acids dramatically boosts power of mRNA therapies and CRISPR gene editing
Lipid nanoparticles, or LNPs, best known as the delivery vehicle for the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines received by billions of people, are now at the center of a much larger medical revolution. Researchers are racing to use them ...
Phys.org / 3D-printed rattlesnake reveals how the rattle is a warning signal
A team of researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso has uncovered new evidence explaining why the rattlesnake's rattle—one of nature's most iconic warning signals—has persisted and proven so effective across ...
Phys.org / Climate extremes hinder early development in young birds, research shows
New research from the University of Oxford shows that cold snaps and heavy rain can stunt growth and reduce survival prospects in UK great tit nestlings. However, breeding earlier within a season appears to buffer against ...
Phys.org / Trouble swallowing? A nanogel tweak may keep therapeutic stem cells alive longer
Swallowing is a fundamental human function that supports nutrition and communication. Damage to swallowing muscles can reduce quality of life and even lead to aspiration pneumonia or malnutrition. Many patients suffer from ...
Phys.org / North Sea 'lost world' had habitable forests during the last Ice Age, study shows
Forests were growing on the now-submerged landmass of Doggerland thousands of years earlier than previously believed, according to a major new sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) study led by the University of Warwick. The ...
Phys.org / Biodegradable nanoparticles can seek and destroy diseased immune cells
Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have developed a simplified version of biodegradable nanoparticles that can "educate" the immune system to find and destroy disease-causing cells throughout the body. The study, ...
