Phys.org news
Phys.org / Protein modification discovery opens cancer therapy possibilities
A research team led by Purdue University's W. Andy Tao has discovered a new type of protein modification related to cellular mutation that impairs a crucial enzyme's ability to help drive energy processes. Their discovery, ...
Phys.org / Importance of sublimation for the Rocky Mountain snowpack highlighted in study
This past winter, the Rocky Mountains experienced an historic snow drought, a worrying development for the tens of millions of people in the arid American West who depend on snowmelt for water. Now, a new study in the journal ...
Phys.org / A forest cleanup crew at risk? What hotter Amazon lowlands could mean dung beetles
Dung beetles remove feces from wild animals in forests and thus inhibit the spread of parasites. They work the dung into the soil and thus supply nutrients to plants. They fulfill this task both in European commercial forests ...
Phys.org / It's go time: historic Moon mission set for lift-off
More than half a century after the groundbreaking Apollo program's last crewed flight to the moon, three men and one woman are preparing for a lunar journey set to turn a new page in American space exploration.
Phys.org / Past CO₂ emissions may drive far bigger future economic losses
The economic damage yet to come from carbon dioxide emitted decades ago far exceeds the harm it has wrought so far, according to a new Stanford University study. The research, published in Nature, puts a dollar value on the ...
Phys.org / Dancing to invisible choreography, quantum computers can balance the noise
Large-scale quantum computers are waiting in the wings. One of the main reasons we don't have them yet is because quantum hardware is so noisy. This isn't the type of noise you'd want to shush in a crowded theater. When it ...
Phys.org / Using 'imaginative' AI to survey past and future earthquake damage
Researchers have used artificial intelligence to develop a new tool for assessing earthquake damage, a leap that could ultimately help first responders in making critical rescue decisions, suggests a new study. The team's ...
Phys.org / Amazon wildfire emissions may be up to three times higher than estimated
Fires are a recurring phenomenon in central South America, often intensified by drought and deforestation. In 2024, wildfire activity reached its highest levels in 20 years, affecting vast areas of the Amazon rainforest and ...
Phys.org / Significant grade inflation may be occurring in graduate education, according to decades' worth of data
Analysis of two decades of student data at a large U.S. university suggests that grade inflation exists in graduate education. Researcher Vivien Lee and colleagues at the University of Minnesota, U.S., present these findings ...
Phys.org / Cactus catalog could help plant's prickly problem
With almost a third of cacti species threatened with extinction, a new open-access database of cactus ecology and evolution could help scientists and conservationists save species from the brink.
Phys.org / Low-cost sensor system could warn farmers of salt stress in plants
Soil salinity is a critical concern in agriculture when excessive soluble salts restrict a plant's water uptake, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, hindering crop growth and reducing yields on roughly 30% of ...
Phys.org / Why some reefs recover faster than others—mathematical model spotlights coral recruitment patterns
Climate-driven disturbances such as marine heat waves are rapidly reducing coral cover and degrading reef ecosystems worldwide. Using a mathematical model, a research team led by Subhendu Chakraborty at the Leibniz Center ...