Phys.org news
Phys.org / Rogue waves demystified: Giant seas are just the ocean's 'bad day'
On New Year's Day 1995, a monstrous 80-foot wave in the North Sea slammed into the Draupner oil platform. The wall of water crumpled steel railings and flung heavy equipment across the deck—but its biggest impact was what ...
Phys.org / Louisiana fossils reveal mosasaur life before dinosaur-killing asteroid impact
Millions of years before jazz filled New Orleans streets or fishing boats were harvesting shrimp in the Gulf, Louisiana was home to terrifying sea monsters, a tenacious mammal and a seismic cataclysm that reshaped life on ...
Phys.org / Scientists develop technology that brings new precision to genome editing
The FDA's approval of the first CRISPR-Cas9–based gene therapy marked a major milestone in biomedicine, validating genome editing as a promising treatment strategy for disorders like sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy, ...
Phys.org / Key autophagy regulator start cells' self-cleaning system
In a process that is remarkably close to how we take out our household trash, every single cell in your body has the ability to wrap up any unwanted material in a double-membrane sack and send it to be degraded and recycled ...
Phys.org / The universe's secret harvest: Shedding light on 'the cosmic grapes'
Astronomers have discovered a remarkably clumpy rotating galaxy that existed just 900 million years after the Big Bang, shedding new light on how galaxies grew and evolved in the early universe. Nicknamed the "Cosmic Grapes," ...
Phys.org / Female gorillas overpower larger male rivals, challenging assumptions of male dominance
Over 50 years ago, the idea that males had universal social power over females across all mammalian species was challenged by the discovery that females had power over males in spotted hyenas and some species of lemur.
Phys.org / Programmable soft material bends, bounces and absorbs energy on demand
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and their collaborators have created a new class of programmable soft materials that can absorb impacts like never before, while also changing shape when heated.
Phys.org / Copper antimicrobials can drive antibiotic resistance in bacteria, but there's a fix, scientists say
Copper has emerged as an ally in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Copper sulfate liquids, for example, have been used since the 1700s to control fungal infections in vineyards, orchards and many other kinds ...
Phys.org / Chemistry, not just geometry, triggers unusual electron behavior in new quantum material
Chemistry and physics are combining forces at Columbia, and it's leaving everyone frustrated—in a good way. New work, published in Nature Physics, describes a new two-dimensional material capable of complex quantum behaviors ...
Phys.org / Jawless parasite study uncovers how neural crest cells shaped thyroid evolution
The thyroid, a vital endocrine organ in vertebrates, plays a key role in regulating metabolism and supporting growth. The first gland of both the nervous system and endocrine system to mature during an embryo's development, ...
Phys.org / Can microorganisms thrive in Earth's atmosphere, or do they simply survive there?
Earth's atmosphere transports tiny forms of cellular life, such as fungal spores, pollen, bacteria, and viruses. On their journeys, these microorganisms encounter challenging conditions such as cold temperatures, UV radiation, ...
Phys.org / As NASA missions study interstellar comet, Hubble makes size estimate
A team of astronomers has taken the sharpest-ever picture of the unexpected interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS using the crisp vision of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble is one of many missions across NASA's fleet of space ...
