Phys.org news
Phys.org / Tracking the toxic metals left behind by wildfires
Between 2023 and 2025, more than 30 million hectares burned in Canada due to wildfires. The threat from increasingly frequent and intense wildfires goes beyond fire and smoke—the heat can also transform naturally occurring ...
Phys.org / How evolution shapes color diversity in coral reef fish
Why does a Caribbean angelfish sometimes resemble its Indo-Pacific cousin, even though they have never lived in the same ocean? Why do coral reefs harbor such a wide range of stripes, spots and patterns? A study conducted ...
Phys.org / Ocean currents drive disease spread between oyster reefs: Research identifies restoration sites at risk
The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) was once widespread in the North Sea. However, overfishing, habitat destruction and infectious diseases pushed the species to the brink of extinction in some regions nearly one hundred ...
Dialog / Chemically tuning nanographene into topological spin chains and why the ends matter
When most people hear "polymer," they think of plastics. In our group, polymerization is a way to line up identical molecules like beads on a string and let quantum mechanics take over. Put magnetic building blocks in a one-dimensional ...
Phys.org / Thermogenetics: How proteins are controllable by heat
Protein activity can be precisely regulated via subtle changes in temperature using heat-sensitive switches. Underlying this capability is a novel modular design strategy developed by researchers at the Institute of Pharmacy ...
Phys.org / Real-time imaging of microplastics in the body improves understanding of health risks
Microplastics (MPs), defined as plastic fragments with sizes ranging from millimeters (
Phys.org / Flipped chromosomal segments drive natural selection, Atlantic silversides study shows
When a species lives in two distinct types of habitats, individuals with traits better suited to each habitat will thrive and reproduce, naturally selecting descendants with those traits. But what about mobile aquatic species ...
Phys.org / Paleontologists challenge use of bone growth rings to age crocodiles, dinosaurs
Do the bones of all Nile crocodiles have the same number of growth marks as their age? And can such growth rings be counted to accurately gauge the age of these reptiles? Is this also an accurate method to use when trying ...
Phys.org / Environmental sampling finds more poultry viruses than bird swabs in live markets
Scientists at Duke-NUS Medical School have found that viruses circulating in live poultry markets can be detected more effectively by sampling the surrounding environment than by testing individual birds. The study, published ...
Phys.org / Burned permafrost peatlands release carbon for years after wildfires, researchers find
In the face of climate change, permafrost peatland wildfires could play more of a role in the destructive cycle of global warming, University of Alberta research suggests.
Phys.org / Scientists clock a driving factor in the evolution of error correction
All complex biological systems—like the DNA, RNA and proteins constantly being copied and built within our cells—are prone to errors. That means as life evolved to be more elaborate, it also had to evolve error-correcting ...
Phys.org / Whole-genome study of koalas shows genetic diversity alone can misread extinction risk
A new study published in Science is challenging long-held assumptions about how we measure genetic risk in endangered species. Researchers analyzed whole genomes from hundreds of koalas, finding that populations previously ...
