Phys.org news
Phys.org / Q&A: Climate shifts drove carnivores' evolution from mongoose-like ancestors to diverse forms
The ancestors of our furry cats and dogs once looked similar to today's modern mongoose, a mammal with a long body and small, round ears. In fact, all members of the order Carnivora, which includes a variety of mammalian ...
Phys.org / A 'scientific sandbox' lets researchers explore the evolution of vision systems
Why did humans evolve the eyes we have today? While scientists can't go back in time to study the environmental pressures that shaped the evolution of the diverse vision systems that exist in nature, a new computational framework ...
Phys.org / Carbon-based filter removes PFAS from groundwater in field tests
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been mass produced for decades in consumer products like frying pans, water-resistant clothing, food packaging and cosmetics. They have also been used in a range of industrial ...
Phys.org / The perfect polymer? Plant-based plastic is fully saltwater degradable and leaves behind zero microplastics
Researchers led by Takuzo Aida at the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS) in Japan have one-upped themselves in their quest to solve our microplastic problem.
Phys.org / Overlooked hydrogen emissions are heating Earth and supercharging methane, research finds
Rising global emissions of hydrogen over the past three decades have added to the planet's warming temperatures and amplified the impact of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, according to new research published ...
Phys.org / Bronze Age DNA from Calabria reveals a distinct mountain community
An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Max Planck Harvard Research Center for the Ancient Mediterranean (Leipzig, Germany) and the University of Bologna (Italy) has reconstructed, for the first time, ...
Phys.org / Color-superconducting quark matter may explain stability of massive neutron stars
Describing matter under extreme conditions, such as those found inside neutron stars, remains an unsolved problem. The density of such matter is equivalent to compressing around 100,000 Eiffel Towers into a single cubic centimeter. ...
Phys.org / In echo of Jurassic Park, mosquitoes capture entire ecosystems in their blood meals
Jurassic Park—and its never-ending sequels and spinoffs—starts with a basic premise: extracting the DNA of long-dead dinosaurs from mosquitoes frozen in amber.
Phys.org / Gut bacteria rapidly adapt to digest starches in ultra-processed foods, study finds
Gut bacteria evolve rapidly in response to different diets, UCLA evolutionary biologists report in a new study. The researchers found that gene variants that help microbes digest starches found in ultra-processed foods have ...
Phys.org / Genetic teamwork may be the secret to climate-resilient plants
A plant's success may depend on how well the three sets of genetic instructions it carries in its cells cooperate, according to a new study led by plant scientists at Penn State. In an analysis of the hybrids of two crossbred ...
Phys.org / 13 years of detailed US CO₂ emissions data released
New research from Northern Arizona University shows detailed CO2 emissions for the United States from 2010 to 2022.
Phys.org / This genetic trick gives woodrats an evolutionary advantage against rattlesnake venom
Woodrats weigh less than half a pound but can survive venomous rattlesnake bites that would hospitalize, or even kill, a full-grown human.
