Phys.org news
Phys.org / Climate patterns may shape where violent conflict risks are amplified
A new Rice University study is shedding light on a long-debated question: Can climate variability influence the risk of armed conflict? The answer, researchers say, is yes—but in more nuanced and region-specific ways than ...
Phys.org / How carbon dioxide cools the upper atmosphere—and warms Earth below
Even as temperatures rise on Earth's surface and in the lower atmosphere, the planet's upper atmosphere has cooled dramatically. This paradoxical pattern is a well-known sign of humanity's climate impacts—but until now, the ...
Phys.org / Deep beneath Swiss Alps, researchers trigger 8,000 tiny quakes in controlled test
Researchers have made the ground shake in southern Switzerland, triggering thousands of tiny earthquakes in a monitored setting, as they seek to discover seismicity insights that could reduce risks.
Phys.org / New AI tool predicts how cells choose their future—helping uncover hidden drivers of development
What are the first steps that chart the path for a cell to become a blood cell, neuron cell, or pigment cell? Scientists have developed increasingly powerful tools to track those changes, but one challenge has persisted: ...
Phys.org / Light reshapes metal-organic framework to harvest airborne water
Chemists at the University of Iowa have created a three-dimensional lattice that captures water from the air and stores it. In a new study appearing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers describe a ...
Phys.org / Inland seas may face widespread heat waves by midcentury as warming accelerates
Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW), climate simulations were used to investigate how 19 inland seas, including the Baltic Sea, are responding to climate change. The researchers ...
Phys.org / Advanced construction techniques and domestic layouts discovered in Roman-Byzantine villages of Syria
Having weathered nearly 1,500 years of time and exposure, the remains of Roman-Byzantine villages in Syria have been the subject of recent architectural investigations, which reveal remarkable design features, local construction ...
Phys.org / Smarter search for fuel-cell catalysts uses machine learning
A computational method combining generative AI with atomistic simulations can identify promising platinum alloy catalyst structures for hydrogen fuel cells, report researchers from Science Tokyo. Their approach addresses ...
Phys.org / Hidden proton pathways emerge as ultrathin polymer film method splits interface signals
Understanding how protons move at the interface between polymers and electrode materials is essential for improving fuel cells and related energy devices. However, conventional impedance measurements under inert conditions ...
Phys.org / How the Atlantic herring adapted to the brackish water of the Baltic Sea
When the Atlantic herring colonized the Baltic Sea thousands of years ago, it needed to adapt to the low salinity. Genes with a vital role in the functioning of sperm, eggs and embryos were crucial to this adaptation. A new ...
Phys.org / Wildfire smoke's hidden ozone threat may be adding thousands of US deaths each year
A study that assesses the effects of wildfires over two decades shows that wildfire smoke significantly raises ground-level ozone and contributes to excess deaths from wildfire smoke in the United States each year. The research, ...
Phys.org / Machine learning proves that graphene is hydrophobic
For more than a decade, a fundamental mystery has surrounded graphene—the one-atom-thick "wonder material" known for its exceptional strength, conductivity, and transparency. Despite its seemingly simple structure, one basic ...
