Phys.org news
Phys.org / Maize-fed animals may have helped Maya farmers solve corn's protein deficiency
Maize (corn) is a major dietary staple in Maya communities past and present because of its reliability, potential for surplus, and suitability as both food and fodder. It became so important to ancient Mesoamerican communities ...
Phys.org / Hidden jet from a 'missing-link' black hole lights up the radio sky
Astronomers using the U.S. National Science Foundation Very Large Array (NSF VLA) have detected an extraordinary burst of radio light from a rare cosmic event in which an intermediate-mass black hole tears apart a star, revealing ...
Phys.org / California wolves feed heavily on cattle and their presence causes significant stress among livestock
Two new studies examining gray wolves in California paint a complex picture of life on the state's ranching landscapes: Wolves eat cattle more than anything else, and the presence of the predators causes significant stress ...
Phys.org / Ancient atmospheric oxygen found in iron ore deposits
How do some of geology's most mysterious iron ore deposits form? This question has preoccupied the geosciences for more than a century. An international research team led by Dr. Stefan Peters from the Leibniz Institute for ...
Phys.org / Nature's puncture tools reveal shape trade-offs between piercing power and strength
Nature has invented countless types of pointy appendages, and scientists have long sought to explain what makes these structures so effective at puncturing other things. A new study models the key physical characteristics ...
Phys.org / Peru Amazon highway tied to 400% dengue surge within 5 kilometers of road
New roads bring changes to the regions they traverse. They can enable job opportunities, access to medicine and health care, and electricity. But they also disrupt local ecosystems and can have surprising consequences for ...
Phys.org / Beavers thrive in river estuaries along North America's northwest coast
Beavers are widespread in estuaries and tidal wetlands in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, demonstrating that they are not restricted to rivers and streams, Gregory Hood at the Skagit River System Cooperative, ...
Phys.org / Optimizing RNA design with AI and an Ising machine: Encoding matters
RNA has emerged as one of the most promising molecules in modern medicine, enabling advances from mRNA vaccines and gene therapies to genome editing and synthetic biology. However, designing RNA molecules that reliably fold ...
Phys.org / How sea stars build materials that can see
When engineers think about protective materials, like those used in packaging and support, they usually think about strength, stiffness and durability. But what if those same materials could also sense their external environment?
Phys.org / Warm temperatures disrupt spider sex-changing bacteria across generations
A new study reveals that exposing dwarf spiders to a brief period of warm temperatures can disrupt a phenomenon in which internal bacteria normally force genetic males to develop as females. Surprisingly, this reproductive ...
Phys.org / International team says science alone won't save coral reefs
Coral reefs are disappearing at an unprecedented rate as climate change, marine heat waves, pollution and coastal development threaten one of Earth's richest ecosystems. While scientific research has greatly advanced understanding ...
Phys.org / Ocean acidification may be shrinking the brains of the world's most intelligent invertebrates
An ongoing research project exploring the effects of rising levels of oceanic CO2 on squid neurology reveals that exposure to future levels of ocean acidification could shrink their brain volume by around 50%. This severe ...
