Phys.org news
Phys.org / Mutagenesis technique boosts the efficiency of rubisco, a key enzyme in photosynthesis
During photosynthesis, an enzyme called rubisco catalyzes a key reaction—the incorporation of carbon dioxide into organic compounds to create sugars. However, rubisco, which is believed to be the most abundant enzyme on ...
Phys.org / North America's oldest known pterosaur unearthed in Petrified Forest National Park
A Smithsonian-led team of researchers have discovered North America's oldest known pterosaur, the winged reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs and were the first vertebrates to evolve powered flight.
Phys.org / Hydrogen atom transfer method selectively transforms carboxylic acids using an inexpensive photocatalyst
Carboxylic acids are ubiquitous in bioactive organic molecules and readily available chemical building blocks. Carboxylic acids can be converted into carboxy radicals that can initiate versatile carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom ...
Phys.org / PodGPT: AI model learns from science podcasts to better answer questions
The rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large language models (LLMs), has marked a transformative shift in data analysis, interpretation and content generation. These models, trained on extensive ...
Phys.org / Plate tectonics—mineral olivine found crucial for heat transport in the mantle
Due to the radiative thermal conductivity of the mineral olivine, only oceanic plates over 60 million years old and subducting at more than 10 centimeters per year remain sufficiently cold to transport water into Earth's ...
Phys.org / Study uncovers how harmful RNA clumps form—and a way to dissolve them
Look inside a brain cell with Huntington's disease or ALS and you are likely to find RNA clumped together. These solid-like clusters, thought to be irreversible, can act as sponges that soak up surrounding proteins key for ...
Phys.org / Physicists reveal how a lone spinon emerges in quantum magnetic models
Researchers from the Faculty of Physics at the University of Warsaw and the University of British Columbia have described how a so-called lone spinon—an exotic quantum excitation that is a single unpaired spin—can arise ...
Phys.org / Collective behavior study explores whether pigeons track others' eye movements
There's something magnetic about a group of people looking in the same direction—others will follow their gazes to see what has caught their attention. But is the same true for animals like pigeons? If so, does it make ...
Phys.org / Beyond the alpha male: Primate studies challenge male-dominance norms
New findings by researchers at the University of Montpellier, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, and the German Primate Center in Göttingen resolve why male-female power asymmetries vary across ...
Phys.org / Research on ice-forming compound could improve pipeline safety, carbon capture and storage
Canadians may think they're intimately familiar with ice in all its forms, but there is one kind that most have probably never heard of. Clathrate hydrates are tiny crystalline cages of ice that can trap other gases or liquids ...
Phys.org / Scientists discover giant 'sinkites' beneath the North Sea
Scientists have discovered hundreds of giant sand bodies beneath the North Sea that appear to defy fundamental geological principles and could have important implications for energy and carbon storage.
Phys.org / Fear in sync: Fruit flies experience collective survival through neurogenomic diversity
From schools of fish darting away from sharks to flocks of starlings swirling through the sky, the animal kingdom is full of examples of how group behavior offers a survival advantage. Through collective behaviors, animals ...
