Phys.org news
Phys.org / African frogs haven't forgotten the ice ages. Scientists can tell by where they live.
Why are frogs diverse in some parts of Africa's rainforests and less so in others? The patterns of cooling and glaciation during the last ice age would probably not have been your first answer or even your last-ditch guess, ...
Phys.org / Researchers clarify how cells remove damaged endoplasmic reticulum
The cell's endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a central role in protein synthesis, folding, and calcium (Ca²⁺) storage. When damaged, ER-phagy (self-eating) removes affected ER regions via double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. ...
Phys.org / Parabolic flight test shows lasers can propel graphene aerogels in microgravity
Lasers could one day steer solar sails and adjust a satellite's position in outer space, thanks to graphene. An experiment on a gravity rollercoaster ride showed how this innovative material has the potential to revolutionize ...
Phys.org / When trees get 'sunburn': Study shows how young trees can handle the heat
Can our forests adapt to a hotter and drier future climate? Temperatures are predicted to rise up to 5°C compared to pre-industrial times. Forest management needs to adapt to these conditions, which requires a better understanding ...
Phys.org / Fly ball: Drosophila can learn while playing with tiny spheres
For more than a century, the fruit fly has been a workhorse of the biological sciences that has helped scientists to make fundamental breakthroughs in fields such as genetics and neuroscience. As it turns out, human scientists ...
Phys.org / Metamaterial chains learn new shapes by sharing data hinge to hinge
In a new Nature Physics publication, University of Amsterdam researchers introduce human-made materials that spring to life. These 'metamaterials' don't just learn to change shape, but can autonomously adapt their shape-changing ...
Phys.org / Phengite identified as key carrier of halogens into Earth's deep mantle
Surface volatiles—chemical substances that easily become gases or fluids at relatively low temperatures and pressures—are transported into Earth through subduction zones, with some being transported into the deep mantle and ...
Phys.org / Hot-dry extremes could hit 28% of humanity five times more often by end of century
In their current state, climate policies around the world could leave a significant chunk of the global population exposed to simultaneous extreme heat and drought over five times more often by the end of this century than ...
Phys.org / Would you spread pain to be fair? fMRI study tests moral choices in ice water
When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS ...
Phys.org / Network analysis reveals mammal food web drivers across Africa
Ecology is often understood as a hyperlocal thing. The ecology of a pond, for instance, is vastly complex, even if the pond is tiny. But learning solely from local ecosystems is a slow and laborious approach that may not ...
Phys.org / Molecular editing tool relocates alcohol groups to neighboring sites while preserving 3D structure
In a discovery recently published in Nature, MIT chemists led by Professor Alison Wendlandt have developed a precision technique that allows scientists to seamlessly relocate alcohol functional groups from one spot on a molecule ...
Phys.org / 3D microscopy reveals how a tick-borne virus reshapes human cells to replicate
Researchers at Umeå University show how tick-borne viruses remodel human cells into virus factories, using an advanced microscopy method. The findings provide new insight into how the virus replicates and matures, knowledge ...
