Phys.org news
Phys.org / Electron spin unlocks magnetic control of hydrogen surface reactions
Chemical reactions at surfaces play a central role in many processes, including catalysis and materials synthesis. It is well known that the outcome of these reactions is influenced by the translational, vibrational and rotational ...
Phys.org / First switchable graphene nanoribbon that twists on demand
Researchers at Nagoya University have built a graphene nanoribbon that can switch the direction of its twist using a natural solvent. Graphene nanoribbons are thin, ribbon-shaped structures made of fused carbon rings. Twisted ...
Phys.org / Wrinkled or smooth? Cell growth mechanics determine shape of plant organs
When inner and outer cell layers of sepals—the leaf-like plant organs that cover and protect the flower bud before it opens—all grow upward, the organs stay smooth and uniformly stiff, which is optimal for the plant, according ...
Phys.org / Scientists solve years-long mystery of 'beating' signal in a quantum material
A team of Korean researchers has become the first in the world to identify the origin of the "beating" signal that has long been a major obstacle to interpreting quantum signals in topological insulator (TI) nanowires. Their ...
Phys.org / Chimpanzees have accents too, study finds
A study has found that young chimpanzees develop distinct population-specific vocal patterns as they mature (ontogeny), challenging the long-held assumption that their calls are inflexible and determined solely by genetics. ...
Phys.org / Dual-purpose qubit design could speed operations while cutting quantum errors
Researchers from MIT have designed a new qubit architecture that enables qubits to interact with each other much more quickly while remaining very stable. This advance could someday help scientists build practical quantum ...
Phys.org / Quantum control algorithm looks to explain how birds migrate
The hidden world of quantum mechanics exists at scales many orders of magnitude smaller than living organisms, yet scientists have long theorized that quantum effects play an important role in biology. Birds' ability to sense ...
Phys.org / Microbial 'dark matter' yields 173 potential carbon dioxide-fixing strains
There are millions of species of bacteria and archaea on Earth, remarkably little is known about most of them. Now, researchers have mined the genomes of thousands of microorganisms preserved at the RIKEN BioResource Research ...
Phys.org / Surf's up: How the seafloor shapes breaking waves
A new study led by surfing scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego revealed the physical relationships underlying a pattern familiar to generations of surfers.
Phys.org / How stressed cells put the brakes on protein 'shipping'
Cells synthesize proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), and these proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus for distribution to their ultimate destinations inside and outside the cell. The structures that transport ...
Phys.org / Pigment found in beets linked to plants' adaptation to harsh environments
The pigments that give beets their red color may have helped a major group of flowering plants repeatedly adapt to dry environments, setting the stage for the evolution of traits that allowed plants to adapt to some of the ...
Phys.org / Rising species numbers on Europe's mountaintops may mask increasing losses of high-elevation plant specialists
Decades of warming have relaxed cold-temperature constraints on mountain plant distribution and increased species numbers on mountaintops. An international research team led by scientists from the University of Vienna, together ...
