Phys.org news
Phys.org / Massive insect body size 300 million years ago may not have been due to high atmospheric oxygen
Three-hundred-million years ago, Earth was very different. The continents had coalesced into Pangea, which was dominated in its equatorial regions by vast coal-swamp forests. With high atmospheric oxygen levels, wildfires ...
Phys.org / 'Cool' detectors cut neutrino mass upper limit by an order of magnitude
Their mass is extremely low, but how light are neutrinos really? A collaboration comprising German and international research groups has optimized its experiments to determine the mass of these "ghost particles." In doing ...
Phys.org / Shell-cracking turtles defied mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period
The mass extinction at the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods was catastrophic, wiping out much of life on Earth. Vertebrate groups that dominated at the time, such as dinosaurs and many large marine reptiles, ...
Phys.org / Silicon nanospheres boost WS₂ second-harmonic generation 40-fold while preserving polarization
A research team has demonstrated that silicon nanospheres can strongly enhance second-harmonic generation (SHG) from an atomically thin semiconductor while preserving the circular polarization information tied to its valley ...
Phys.org / Webb and Hubble share the most comprehensive view of Saturn to date
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope have teamed up to capture new views of Saturn, revealing the planet in strikingly different ways. Observing in complementary wavelengths of light, the two space ...
Phys.org / RNA-guided CRISPR system activates gene expression
In back-to-back studies published in Nature, researchers from Purdue University and Columbia University report a naturally evolved gene-editing system that can activate genes, offering an advantage over existing CRISPR gene-editing ...
Phys.org / Why no individual is like another when epigenetics come into play
Why do animals behave differently, and what are the consequences of this? A research team from the Collaborative Research Center NC³ at Bielefeld University and the University of Münster now provides a new explanation: ...
Phys.org / Microtubules discovered to play an active role in correctly distributing chromosomes during cell division
Microtubules, the dynamic filaments that form the cell's internal scaffolding, have long been viewed as mere passive structural supports. But a new study reveals they play a far more active signaling role. The findings, published ...
Phys.org / Laser-modified graphene enables molecule-thick films to grow only where needed
Researchers from the University of Jyväskylä and Aalto University have developed a new method based on laser modification, which allows metal-organic materials to be grown locally one molecule-thick layer at a time. The ...
Phys.org / Seismic activity in California varies with the seasons
Earthquakes occur when the tectonic plates of the Earth's crust shift, jolting past each other in a release of built-up tension. However, other natural forces can also influence seismic activity: Hydrological dynamics, like ...
Phys.org / Hearing research traces evolution of key inner ear protein
In the intricate machinery of the inner ear, hearing begins with a protein that moves a few billionths of a meter up to 100,000 times per second. That protein, called TMC1, sits at the tips of sensory hair cells deep in the ...
Phys.org / A captive chimp's instrumental performances hint at the evolution of vocal externalization
In February 2023, a resident at Kyoto University's Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior—EHUB—treated researchers to a spontaneous musical performance. Ayumu, a 26-year-old male chimpanzee, removed floorboards ...
