Phys.org news
Phys.org / Study predicts large disparities in access to food, water and energy in 2050
How will global access to food, water and energy evolve in coming decades? A new study coauthored by MIT researchers suggests the answers could be very different depending on region, resource and income.
Phys.org / New way to harness copper makes antibiotic-resistant bacteria and cancer cells more vulnerable
University of Missouri researchers have discovered a new way to harness one of the body's natural defenses: copper. While copper is essential for life and helps power important biological processes, having too much of it ...
Phys.org / Star-fingered toads use fingertip lobules to detect prey in murky water
Surinam toads (Pipa pipa) are strange, flat frogs with minuscule eyes that live in the murky waters of the Amazon basin and carry their eggs on their backs. The way they catch prey is even weirder. They lie in wait with outstretched ...
Phys.org / New iron-bearing compounds could store water near Earth's core
Geochemical studies of volcanic rocks from Baffin Island, Canada, and Iceland suggest that some of the water dating back to Earth's formation may still be preserved deep within the planet. However, it has remained unclear ...
Phys.org / Superfluid qubit could help scale up quantum computers
Superfluid helium could offer a new way to tackle one of the biggest challenges in scaling up quantum computers, say researchers from the University of Surrey. The research team has introduced a conceptual design for a new ...
Phys.org / ALMA watches a massive binary assemble in real time
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have captured one of the most detailed three-dimensional views yet of a massive binary star system while it is still being born. By tracking the motions ...
Phys.org / Heat waves inhibit antibiotic resistance in soils, but at a price
Extreme heat waves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the same time, heat and drought are causing significant ...
Phys.org / Sea ice creates hidden highways for young Antarctic krill
New research shows that larval Antarctic krill could be carried far from their birthplace by drifting sea ice, linking distant ecosystems in ways conventional models may miss.
Phys.org / Marine heat waves boost coastal CO₂ uptake by 11%, analysis finds
Marine heat waves are a consequence of climate change and are increasingly altering marine and coastal regions worldwide. An international study led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon now shows that many coastal seas absorb ...
Phys.org / Rearranged polymer chains create degradable materials with potential for stronger, tougher packaging
What if the key to making stronger, more sustainable plastics isn't changing their ingredients, but rearranging their molecules? Virginia Tech researchers have put that idea to the test, creating degradable polymers with ...
Phys.org / Melting Svalbard glaciers may flush ancient methane from rocks beneath the ice
Meltwater rivers flowing from Svalbard glaciers are carrying ancient methane from rocks beneath the ice into the open air, new research published in Nature Communications shows.
Phys.org / AI model decodes cell signaling fingerprints across diverse cell types
As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures ...
