Phys.org news

Biphenomycins, natural products derived from bacteria, show excellent antimicrobial activity, but have long remained out of reach for drug development. The main obstacle was the limited understanding of how these compounds ...

Leading synthetic biologists have shared hard-won lessons from their decade-long quest to build the world's first synthetic eukaryotic genome in a Nature Biotechnology paper. Their insights could accelerate development of ...

Over the past 50 years, the lyrics of popular songs in the U.S. have become simpler, more negative, and contain more stress-related words, according to an analysis published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that ...

Scientists have discovered that beneficial root-dwelling fungi boost plant resilience to disease by remodeling the plant cell membrane at pathogen infection sites—offering critical new insights into how plants coordinate ...

China's tidal flats feed people and mollusk-eating migrating shorebirds such as red knots, great knots and Eurasian oystercatchers. Under good management, these flats used for aquaculture markedly reduce human disturbance ...

The perception of a chemist varies. Some might imagine the "mad scientist" from old cartoons—a white-haired older man working with beakers in his lab—but as that cliche fades, the reality of what constitutes a chemist's ...

The energy that plants capture from sunlight through photosynthesis provides the source of nearly all of humanity's food. Yet the process of photosynthesis has inefficiencies that limit crop productivity, especially in a ...

In an age of rising sea levels, as polar ice sheets melt in a climate warmed by fossil fuel emissions, climate modelers are racing to understand what the future might hold for coastlines around the world. But uncertainties ...

Killer whales or orca (Orcinus orca) have been observed hunting with Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens) in the waters off British Columbia, Canada, and sharing fish scraps with them after making a kill, ...

Florida State University researchers have created a new crystalline material with unusual magnetic patterns that could be used for breakthroughs in data storage and quantum technologies.

In a new study published in Nature, scientists have successfully developed genetically modified mosquitoes in Tanzania that block the transmission of malaria. The team includes researchers from the Ifakara Health Institute ...

The U.S. is largely self-sufficient in agricultural food production, supported by a well-developed storage and interstate trade system. However, extreme weather events put increasing pressure on agriculture, potentially impacting ...