Phys.org news
Phys.org / A severe El Niño could threaten something essential to half of humanity—rice
Forecasters expect the El Niño now underway in the tropical Pacific to strengthen into a strong or very strong climate driver later this year.
Phys.org / Human activity has not always harmed biodiversity—quite the opposite
For millennia, farming in Switzerland did not reduce plant diversity but helped increase it, University of Basel researchers have shown in a detailed reconstruction covering the past 7,000 years. Only recent decades paint ...
Phys.org / The invasive fern that science misidentified for decades
Salvinia molesta can double its biomass in 36 hours. It spreads across ponds, lakes and slow-moving waterways in a smothering green mat, blocking sunlight, consuming oxygen and collapsing the ecosystems beneath it. Now present ...
Phys.org / AI deciphers long-range DNA signals behind RNA splicing
Accurate RNA splicing is essential for gene expression and human health, yet predicting how DNA sequence variations affect splicing remains a major challenge. Although recent artificial intelligence (AI) models have improved ...
Phys.org / New way to clean up environmental pollution using phage bioaugmentation
The ability of bacteria to remove pollutants from soil, water, mine waste and other environments could be supercharged by a "friendly" compatible virus, according to a study led by Flinders University. The new insights, published ...
Phys.org / How a sugar building block influences viral attachment
Sialic acid is a natural sugar building block found on the surfaces of our cells. It acts as a protective and recognition molecule and plays a central role in the development of the nervous system. Following the modular principle, ...
Phys.org / New findings on how malaria parasites invade human cells yield proof of concept for new antimalarial drug
For nearly half a century, scientists have known that malaria parasites force their way into human red blood cells through a ring-shaped structure called the moving junction. What no one could work out was what it actually ...
Phys.org / World Cup research reveals strategy to give teams a penalty-shootout edge
One of football's most iconic moments—the penalty shootout—may be far more strategic than previously thought, with new research challenging the notion that the team kicking first holds a major advantage.
Phys.org / Camouflaging snails change color in the rain
How does a stripy tree snail hide from hungry birds? The Hypselostyla camelopardalis from the Philippines and Reinia variegata from Japan have both evolved a form of dynamic camouflage to survive. Their light-colored patterns ...
Phys.org / Arabian Sea sediments reveal summer and winter monsoons shifted differently after last ice age
High-resolution sediment analyses from the Arabian Sea reveal, for the first time, that summer and winter monsoons respond differently to global climate change. The study enhances understanding of past precipitation patterns ...
Phys.org / How cricket mothers control the developmental timing of their offspring
Diapause is a fascinating form of biological dormancy employed by a broad array of animals as a survival strategy to endure adverse environmental conditions. To overcome the problems associated with seasons that are unsuitable ...
Phys.org / Solar storms leave their mark on cosmic rays that reach Earth
A new study has revealed an unexpected link between solar storms and the flux of high-energy cosmic rays arriving at Earth. The findings, made using one of the world's largest cosmic ray detectors, could open up a new way ...
