Phys.org news
Phys.org / Pluto's hazy atmosphere may be collapsing as it moves farther from the sun
Pluto is on an icy march away from the sun. In 2114, it will turn back, but until then, its elliptical orbit will carry it to colder and darker parts of the outer solar system. This is Pluto's first time entering the outer ...
Phys.org / Life speaks one universal language to activate genes: It speaks many more to silence them
The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a ...
Phys.org / Humpback whales match song themes to dive phases, tags reveal
For male humpback whales, singing is serious business. Their haunting, complex songs can last for hours and travel for miles underwater, playing a central role in reproduction during the winter breeding season. But despite ...
Phys.org / Genetic analysis identifies a distinct Risso's dolphin population around British Isles
Risso's dolphins around the British Isles are part of a single population—genetically distinct from those elsewhere in the Atlantic, new research shows. Scientists studied the DNA of dolphins that stranded in England, Scotland ...
Phys.org / Over 100 South American lakes could become climate-change early-warning observatories
More than 100 shallow lakes stretching over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) along the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil and Uruguay could become one of the world's most important natural laboratories for understanding how climate ...
Phys.org / Scientists watch, molecule by molecule, as cell helpers rescue problem proteins
University of Wollongong (UOW) scientists have uncovered, for the first time, exactly how two of the cell's "helper" proteins operate as a rescue crew for misfolded proteins, a discovery that sheds new light on the molecular ...
Phys.org / How the brain helps protect fertility from heat-induced damage
As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are racing to understand why heat so profoundly threatens fertility across the animal kingdom. A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and collaborators has ...
Phys.org / How simple amber lights could make nights safer for insects
Approximately 40% of insect species worldwide are thought to be in decline and under threat of extinction. Among the key causes are habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Another threat is artificial light from sources ...
Phys.org / Laid to rest with care: Ancient infants, perhaps twins, found in 1,200-year-old latrine
More than 1,000 years ago, two babies were tucked away in an abandoned Roman toilet channel. Yet, despite what the location suggests, they were cherished, not discarded.
Phys.org / Webb reveals warped structure in nearby TW Hydrae's protoplanetary disk
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers obtained high-contrast coronagraphic images of the protoplanetary disk around the young, nearby star TW Hydrae. Results of the observational campaign, published July ...
Phys.org / DESI side project reveals the spectra of disintegrated exoplanets
Using spectral data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), astronomers have gained some of the clearest evidence yet that white dwarf stars are accreting debris from disintegrating exoplanets. Captured while ...
Phys.org / Newly unearthed mechanism that helps plants 'feel full' could help crops use fertilizer more efficiently
New York University researchers have pinpointed the molecular players responsible for plants "feeling full" once they've taken up enough nitrogen—a finding that could help scientists develop plants that absorb more nitrogen ...
