Phys.org news
Phys.org / Fast-moving droplets synthesize key drug compounds at room temperature, no catalysts needed
Chemical reactions are the backbone to nearly all biological processes, including those used to make new medicines. However, these reactions can often take considerable time and require harsh conditions or materials—potentially ...
Phys.org / Low-cost method uncovers conical intersections that steer light-driven molecular reactions
Conical intersections are crucial molecular switching points in light-driven reactions, but accurately predicting them usually requires computations. A researcher from Shibaura Institute of Technology has developed a new ...
Phys.org / From hybrids to 'virgin birth,' stick insects reveal stepwise loss of sex
The evolution of sex remains one of biology's greatest puzzles. While sexual reproduction dominates across the animal kingdom, scientists still debate why it persists despite its high costs. Even more mysterious is the loss ...
Phys.org / Enzymes that assemble into droplets can speed up cellular reactions, biologists find
Within the past decade, biologists have discovered that one strategy cells use to keep their contents organized is a phenomenon known as phase separation. Similar to the way oil forms droplets that float in a vinegar solution, ...
Phys.org / Ancient oceans began suffocating millions of years before Triassic mass extinction, geologists discover
One of the most devastating extinctions in Earth's history is best known for what didn't die—dinosaurs. But the end-Triassic extinction 201 million years ago wiped out roughly 60% of Earth's species, and scientists are still ...
Phys.org / Wounds may trigger 'aged' cells within hours, reshaping how senescence starts
What if a process we associate with aging actually helps the body heal? A study led by Mikolaj Ogrodnik, LBI Trauma, published in Nature Cell Biology, shows that cells enter a state of senescence within minutes to hours after ...
Phys.org / Why dirty farm plastic matters: Cleaner mulch film could cut landfill waste and fossil fuel use
Nearly a billion pounds of plastic film mulch is used in American agriculture each year, and most of it is dumped into landfills. New research from Washington State University shows that recycling could be a feasible alternative, ...
Phys.org / Understanding how things connect helps people invent, 1,200-player experiment suggests
Our capacity for innovation, rather than being the work of random variation, is based on an intrinsic understanding of how the world works, claim Karolinska Institutet and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam researchers in a new ...
Phys.org / Living brain gene activity revealed noninvasively through programmable blood test
Cell function is determined by how DNA is expressed into proteins. That process includes two main steps—transcription, when messenger RNA (mRNA) makes copies of active genes; and translation, when mRNA guides protein assembly.
Dialog / Bridged or not? Scientists uncover a key step in hydrogenase assembly
How does nature build one of the most sophisticated catalytic metal centers found in biology? An international team of researchers has now resolved a long-standing debate surrounding the assembly of the active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenases—enzymes ...
Phys.org / Space station dust maps slash climate uncertainty over iron-rich particles
New research from a team of scientists led by Cornell is transforming how researchers understand one of the atmosphere's most abundant and least understood constituents: mineral dust.
Phys.org / Researchers discover how to turn one germ's drug resistance into an Achilles' heel
Decades of reliance on the antibiotic rifampicin have fueled the rise of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). But as the bacterium mutates to protect itself from the drug, it also creates new weak points that ...
