Phys.org news

High-energy nuclear collisions recreate extreme conditions similar to those in the early universe, producing quark–gluon plasma (QGP), a hot state of matter in which quarks and gluons are no longer confined inside protons ...

With their charming waddles, heat-conserving huddles and tuxedo-like plumage, emperor penguins are among the world's most recognizable animals. Recent satellite surveys estimate that hundreds of thousands of the flightless ...

What does a clean room smell like? Many people say citrus, pine, or flowers because these fragrances are common in cleaning products. A research team led by Brandon Boor found that scent compounds in cleaning products—conventional ...

Being prepared for an emergency is key to keeping people safe. This means more than just having supplies such as food, water and first-aid kits. Sometimes, the most important preparation is having the right data to help first ...

Venus appears pale yellow in visible light, but ultraviolet images reveal dramatic dark and bright patterns moving with the planet's upper sulfuric acid clouds. Scientists have known about these markings for roughly a century, ...

The capital of any business comes in (at least) two categories. There's the kind that has a price—land, cash holdings, etc.—and a less tangible, priceless kind. Reputational capital falls squarely into the latter category. ...

Using a new combination of computational tools to analyze ancient DNA, Yale researchers have discovered two ancient, extinct giant tortoise lineages that once lived on the Galapagos Islands.

Commercially farmed tomatoes taste sweeter when food and garden waste compost is added to their soil, a University of Queensland study has found. Researchers in the School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability grew tomatoes ...

We share our planet with millions of plants and animals. This variety of life is known as biodiversity, a term encompassing everything from microscopic genes to entire ecosystems, such as deserts and vibrant coral reefs.

When engineers look to nature for inspiration, they often turn to living systems. The flight of birds has influenced aircraft design, gecko feet inspired new adhesives and lotus leaves led to the development of self-cleaning ...

A protein that sticks cells and tissues together has been found to have a surprising second job: helping cells that are packed into a continuous sealed layer, also known as epithelial cells, engulf nearby dead cells.

Acting as armor, a scaffold and a communication platform in one, our cells' plasma membrane lies at the heart of many crucial cellular processes. Traditionally, it has been thought to function through interactions among its ...