Phys.org news
Phys.org / Plant hormone therapy could improve global food security by balancing growth with immunity
Plants have an immune system, like people, and when it is triggered by threats like disease or pests, a plant's defenses are activated. But there's a downside to this protective mechanism: the plant's growth is suppressed ...
Phys.org / Peatland lakes in Congo Basin release carbon that is thousands of years old
Researchers at ETH Zurich have now discovered for the first time that large blackwater lakes in the extensive peatlands of the central Congo Basin are releasing ancient carbon. To date, climate researchers had assumed that ...
Phys.org / Ultra-efficient optical sensors can keep light circulating longer inside a microscopic chip
CU Boulder researchers have built high-performing optical microresonators, opening the door for new sensor technologies. At its simplest form, a microresonator is a tiny device that can trap light and build up its intensity. ...
Phys.org / Reading the enemy: How genome science is reshaping the fight against wheat stem rust
In 2013, farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia began to notice something unsettling: a familiar variety of wheat was failing in an unfamiliar way. Stems weakened, plants collapsed, and fields that had once held firm against ...
Phys.org / How the echolocation of bats has shaped their skulls
Bats are some of the most highly specialized mammals to have ever evolved. This includes not only the evolution of active flight, but also their echolocation. This ability requires the bats to produce high frequency noises ...
Phys.org / Missing geomagnetic reversals: Earth's past may be incomplete
Several studies have predicted that not all geomagnetic reversals have been discovered, but it was unknown in which periods they might be hidden. Researchers led by the National Institute of Polar Research used a statistical ...
Phys.org / Stretchy plastics conduct electricity via tiny, whisker-like fibers
A stretchy, conductive type of plastic could help power the next generation of implantable biomedical devices, like longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors, according to Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering ...
Phys.org / Breadcrumbs offer fossil fuel–free production of everyday goods
The humble breadcrumb could hold the key to cutting out fossil fuels from one of the chemical industry's most widely used reactions, according to a new study. Scientists have found a one-pot microbial formula that uses waste ...
Phys.org / Why laws named after tragedies win public support
When lawmakers name bills after victims of tragedy—such as Megan's Law or the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993—public support surges, but this emotional boost may come at the expense of sound policymaking, ...
Phys.org / Globe-trotting ancient 'sea-salamander' fossils rediscovered from Australia's dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs
Around 250 million years ago, what is today scorching desert in remote northwestern Australia was the shore of a shallow bay bordering a vast prehistoric ocean. Fossils recovered from this region over 60 years ago, and almost ...
Phys.org / Language barriers slow down the international diffusion of knowledge, study finds
Rapid technological and scientific advances have fueled a huge wave of innovation over the past decades. The speed of global innovation is known to be dependent on the exchange of knowledge and skills between different nations ...
Phys.org / Extreme heat waves trigger unexpected nanoparticle formation in air
Tiny aerosol particles in the air play a big role in regulating how much sunlight our planet absorbs or reflects, and how clouds form above us. In a recent study, researchers found that extreme heat waves can trigger new ...
