Phys.org news
Phys.org / Neanderthals may have used birch tar for its anti-bacterial properties, experiments suggest
Neanderthals probably used birch tar for multiple functions, including treating their wounds, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by a team of researchers led by Tjaark Siemssen of the University ...
Phys.org / Children shaped clay 15,000 years ago, long before pottery or farming, archaeologists find
Long before pottery, before agriculture, when the first villages took shape, people in the Levant were already molding clay with their hands, carefully, deliberately, and sometimes playfully. Some of those hands belonged ...
Phys.org / Challenging a 300-year-old law of friction
Researchers at the University of Konstanz have uncovered a new mechanism of sliding friction: resistance to motion that arises without any mechanical contact, driven purely by collective magnetic dynamics. The study, published ...
Phys.org / Microwave quantum network shows resilience against heat-related disturbances
Quantum communication systems are emerging solutions to transmit information between devices in a network leveraging quantum mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement. Entanglement is a quantum effect that entails a link ...
Phys.org / Clearing circular RNA from cells extends lifespan, C. elegans study reveals
Cells in our bodies produce RNA based on genetic information stored in DNA, and RNA serves as a blueprint for making proteins. Researchers at KAIST have discovered a new phenomenon: Removing "circular RNA" that accumulates ...
Phys.org / Most mass spectrometers can process just a few molecules at once: Reengineered prototype does a billion simultaneously
Mass spectrometry is already a powerful tool for determining what kind and how many molecules are present in a given sample. But most instruments still analyze their molecules one or just a few at a time, an approach that ...
Phys.org / NASA's Hubble unexpectedly catches comet breaking up
In a happy twist of fate, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope witnessed a comet in the act of breaking apart. The chance of that happening while Hubble watched is extraordinarily minuscule. The findings are published in the journal ...
Phys.org / Some 'designer' crossbreed dogs may have more problem behaviors than pure breeds
In a new, survey-based study of three kinds of "designer" crossbreed dogs, cockapoos, cavapoos and labradoodles, all three showed more undesirable behaviors than at least one of their purebred progenitor breeds, with cockapoos ...
Phys.org / A 'consortium' of bacteria cooperates to eat phthalate plasticizers that single microbes can't stomach
Plastic trash has reached the world's most remote locations, from the bottom of the Mariana Trench to the summit of Everest. Hundreds of plastic-eating microbes that could help us clean up have been discovered over the past ...
Phys.org / Terahertz spin waves can be converted into computer signals, study shows
What will the computers of tomorrow look like? Chances are good that spintronics will play a decisive role in the next generation of computers. In spintronics, the intrinsic angular momentum of an electron (the spin) is used ...
Phys.org / Seals risk death by polar bear for a varied meal, study finds
As climate change reshapes Arctic food webs, ringed seals will swim into risky polar bear territory if the menu is varied enough. This is the central finding of a new study published in Ecology Letters. UBC researchers tracked ...
Phys.org / New DNA base editor minimizes bystander edits while maintaining high efficiency
The trajectory of base editing has been remarkable, progressing from the laboratory to patient care, treating debilitating or terminal illnesses, in less than a decade. A type of gene editing that makes chemical changes to ...
