Phys.org news
Phys.org / How AI is distorting online research, from polls to public policy
Artificial intelligence is increasingly able to simulate human behavior and answer online surveys and political polls, putting the reliability of survey-based research at risk. Consequences can be serious, not only for science ...
Phys.org / Exploring how the Gulf Stream affects the climate system and the carbon cycle
It is well documented that the Gulf Stream plays a pivotal role in the climate system through its transfer of heat, which ultimately supplies warmth to northern latitudes in the North Atlantic. What remains less well understood ...
Phys.org / A DNA 'on-off' switch? Light and redox cues reversibly link strands for nanotech
DNA, the blueprint of life, is best known for its fundamental role as genetic material—storing and transmitting biological information through the precise sequence of its bases. For decades, this information-storage function ...
Phys.org / How plants balance woody xylem and fleshy tissues: Thermospermine targets methylated ribosomes
Scientists have identified a crucial mechanism that allows plants to shape their vascular systems, determining whether they grow soft edible storage organs or develop the rigid woody tissue characteristic of trees. Published ...
Phys.org / Temperature affects the quality of male frogs' mating calls: Females can hear the difference
A study from the University of California, Davis, found that temperature affects the sound and quality of male frogs' mating calls. In the colder, early weeks of spring, their songs start off sluggishly. In warmer weather, ...
Phys.org / Predator stress makes road salt far deadlier for freshwater snails, study finds
Freshwater streams, ponds and lakes across the United States are becoming saltier, and new research from the University of Missouri shows the damage may be greater than scientists once thought. Scientists at Mizzou's College ...
Phys.org / Drones with low-cost air quality sensors can improve air quality monitoring
A drone equipped with low-cost air quality sensors has revealed unexpectedly high concentrations of particulate matter at around 100 meters above ground level in Delhi. These new vertical insights could play an important ...
Phys.org / Bio-based coating reveals harmful UV exposure by shifting color
Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed a coating using proteins and bacteria that could enable the development of T-shirts that warn of excessive sun exposure or labels that reveal damage to ...
Phys.org / How redox reactions drive bacteria's Na⁺-NQR sodium pump
The enzyme Na⁺-NQR is a sodium pump that drives the respiration of many marine and pathogenic bacteria. Using redox reactions, the process of exchanging electrons between materials, it powers the transportation of sodium ...
Phys.org / Only humans have chins: Study shows it's an evolutionary accident
Dashiell Hammett mentioned Sam Spade's jutting chin in the opening sentence of his novel, "The Maltese Falcon." Spade's chin was among the facial features Hammett used to describe his fictional detective's appearance, but ...
Phys.org / Hurricane Helene did not shift US climate views or votes, study finds
Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history, did not affect people's views on climate change or their intentions to vote for politicians advocating stricter climate policies. This is shown in a new study ...
Phys.org / Captured on camera for the first time: How tiny marsupials crawl to their mother's pouch
For the first time, scientists have recorded how baby dunnarts, tiny carnivorous marsupials from Australia, reach their mother's pouch not long after being born. While much is known about how many other marsupial babies go ...