Phys.org news
Phys.org / A huge tectonic boundary shook the ground where dinosaurs once stood
Scientists have discovered a Jurassic tectonic plate boundary that could help to predict what the planet might look like millions of years into the future. Dr. Jordan Phethean, Senior Lecturer in Earth Sciences at the University ...
Phys.org / Tiny songbird crosses Sahara by flying night after night
Every year a small songbird, no heavier than a letter, crosses the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean and the Arabian Desert on its migration. New research from Lund University in Sweden now reveals how the tiny bird manages ...
Phys.org / Brazil unearths a bizarre beaked reptile with a trans-Atlantic prehistoric link
Paleontologists from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) have published a new study in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, in which they describe a new species based on a fossil skull approximately ...
Phys.org / E. coli editing technique expands into a universal toolkit for rewriting bacterial DNA
The ability to precisely edit the genomes of bacteria has long been a goal of microbiologists. Such technology would enable scientists to make new inroads into studying disease, developing sustainable materials, and fighting ...
Phys.org / Room to move: Neutron scattering shows how proteins behave in crowded environments
Proteins are essential molecules in living systems. They move, interact and organize themselves to carry out a wide range of functions, from helping cells communicate to forming structures inside the cell. In many cases, ...
Phys.org / Atomic-level snapshots reveal how a key copper enzyme powers nature's chemistry
Researchers from the University of Liverpool, Japan, and Argentina have captured atomic-resolution images of an important copper-containing enzyme using advanced X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) technology at SACLA in Japan. ...
Phys.org / What's that swirly pattern? It's a moiré, and it has potential power
Just as wave-like patterns can appear on a computer screen when pixels do not align, new research led by Flinders University is investigating atomic-scale "moiré patterns" in the promising field of ferroelectricity. The new ...
Phys.org / Why more gut and soil microbes could make ecosystems easier to predict
Much of the beauty—and challenge—of biology lies in its complexity. That's especially true in the microbial world, where hundreds or thousands of different bacterial species may co-exist in a patch of soil or in a section ...
Phys.org / How earthquakes stop: Near-fault records uncover overlooked phase
While analyzing strong-motion data close to fault lines, a group of researchers at Kyoto University noticed something unexpected: a negative phase in the waveforms, a pattern that did not conform to the existing interpretations ...
Phys.org / What wild honey from the Philippine jungle reveals about biodiversity
In the Philippines, Indigenous communities have been harvesting wild honey for centuries. A new chemical analysis of this honey now provides insights into the biodiversity of the region. "And an additional reason to protect ...
Phys.org / Archaeological digs in Amazon provide clues about Indigenous inhabitants before colonization
Paving roads in the Amazon rainforest has long brought deforestation that threatens the people who live there. The same roadwork, however, has also allowed archaeologists to get glimpses of the region's past long before Europeans ...
Phys.org / This flower's toxic traits hold clues for safer drugs
The molecules of a highly toxic plant, known for its bell-shaped purple and pink flowers and found in some home gardens, have long been used to regulate human heart muscles.