Musk says LA Hyperloop tunnel to be unveiled December 10

Elon Musk's Hyperloop ultra high-speed transport system will be unveiled in Los Angeles in early December with free test rides to the public, the entrepreneur announced. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Ryanair's Dutch-based cabin crews to strike Tuesday

Ryanair's Dutch-based cabin crews Monday announced a last minute 24-hour strike to protest the Irish budget airline's decision to close its base in the southern city of Eindhoven. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Spotlighting differences in closely-related species

There are millions of fungal species, and those few hundred found in the Aspergillus genus play important roles in areas ranging from industrial production to agricultural plant pathogens. Reported October 22, 2018, in Nature Genetics, a team led by scientists at the Technical Un … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Research finds NJ numerical nutrient criterion used to protect streams is too high

A new way of measuring the relative habitability of freshwater environments for fish and aquatic insects suggests that New Jersey's water monitoring and treatment standards could use a boost. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientists make new 'green' electronic polymer-based films with protein nanowires

An interdisciplinary team of scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has produced a new class of electronic materials that may lead to a "green," more sustainable future in biomedical and environmental sensing, say research leaders microbiologist Derek Lovley and po … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How have textbooks portrayed climate change?

Back in 2007, the world's foremost body charged with assessing climate change stated with "very high confidence" that humans were a primary driver of climate change. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Ancient enzymes the catalysts for new discoveries

University of Queensland-led research recreating 450 million-year-old enzymes has resulted in a biochemical engineering 'hack' which could lead to new drugs, flavours, fragrances and biofuels. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Cellular trash cans reveal the roles of proteins in disease

If we really want to know how our body's cells work—or don't work, in the case of disease—we might need to look beyond their genes and even beyond the proteins they are made of. We may need to start going through the cellular "trash." The group of Dr. Yifat Merbl of the Weizmann … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Asian elephants could be the maths kings of the jungle

Asian elephants demonstrate numeric ability which is closer to that observed in humans rather than in other animals. This is according to lead author Naoko Irie of SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) in Japan. … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How a game can move people from climate apathy to action

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has been called a "deafening" alarm and an "ear-splitting wake-up call" about the need for sweeping climate action. But will one more scientific report move countries to dramatically cut emissions? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Nanosized ferroelectrics become a reality

Using ferroelectricity instead of magnetism in computer memory saves energy. If ferroelectric bits were nanosized, this would also save space. But conventional wisdom dictates that ferroelectric properties disappear when the bits are made smaller. Reports that hafnium oxide can b … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New protein sequencing method could transform biological research

A team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has demonstrated a new way to sequence proteins that is much more sensitive than existing technology, identifying individual protein molecules rather than requiring millions of molecules at a time. The advance could have … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Fish give up the fight after coral bleaching

Researchers found that when water temperatures heat up for corals, fish 'tempers' cool down, providing the first clear evidence of coral bleaching serving as a trigger for rapid change in reef fish behaviour. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Cells that change jobs to fight diabetes

Diabetes is characterized by persistent high blood sugar levels that occur when certain cells in the pancreas—the insulin-producing β cells—are destroyed or are no longer able to secrete insulin. Researchers at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) have succeeded in showing how part o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers wake-up DNA from soil bacteria to discover novel acid antibiotic

Scleric Acid has been discovered by capturing and engineering a DNA fragment from soil bacteria Streptomyces sclerotialus, and could help fight bacterial infections—by researchers at the School of Life Sciences and Department of Chemistry, University of Warwick. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Eye disorder may have helped Da Vinci's art: journal

A common eye disorder may help explain Leonardo Da Vinci's talent for three-dimensional representation and the sense of perspective in his mountain landscapes, according to research published in an academic journal. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Industrial robots increase wages for employees

In addition to increasing productivity, the introduction of industrial robots has increased wages for the employees. At the same time, industrial robots have also changed the labour market by increasing the number of job opportunities for highly skilled employees, while opportuni … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How this researcher's risky idea could mean big things for regenerative medicine

Every cell in your body contains thousands of different proteins. These complicated molecules regulate chemical reactions, bind to invading bacteria or viruses, carry signals in and between cells, and much more. They are vital to your existence. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

The risk of 'cascading' natural disasters is on the rise

In a warming world, the dangers from natural disasters are changing. In a recent commentary, we identified a number of costly and deadly catastrophes that point to an increase in the risk of "cascading" events – ones that intensify the impacts of natural hazards and turn them int … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Scientist explores a better way to predict space weather

Findings recently published by a Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) space scientist shed new light on predicting the thermodynamics of solar flares and other "space weather" events involving hot, fast-moving plasmas. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Mathematics as weapon against desertification

Ph.D. student Robbin Bastiaansen applies mathematics to get insight in practical problems. By comparing mathematical models with developments in existing ecosystems, he hopes to demystify the process of desertification. His research has been published in Proceedings of the Nation … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Rising insurance costs may convince Americans that climate change risks are real

One of the great challenges of tackling climate change is making it real for people without a scientific background. That's because the threat it poses can be so hard to see or feel. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

In Alaska, everyone's grappling with climate change

Coastal villages are washing into the Bering Sea, trees are sprouting in the tundra and shipping lanes are opening in an ocean that was once locked in ice. In Alaska, climate change isn't a distant or abstract concern. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

The rains in Africa: How global climate influences the water cycle

While water is a precious, life-sustaining resource, too little or too much can spell trouble. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Modern slavery and climate change are in a vicious cycle of degradation, according to experts

The relationship between climate change, environmental degradation and modern slavery needs to be better understood in order for the interconnected crisis to be tackled, according to a new report. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

A bridge to the quantum world

Monika Aidelsburger uses a special type of optical lattice to simulate quantum many-body phenomena that are otherwise inaccessible to experimental exploration. She has now been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to pursue this work. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

World hunger has risen for three straight years, and climate change is a cause

World hunger has risen for a third consecutive year, according to the United Nations' annual food security report. The total number of people who face chronic food deprivation has increased by 15 million since 2016. Some 821 million people now face food insecurity, raising number … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Many Midwesterners will likely never believe in climate change. Here's how to encourage them to act anyway

,The number of politically conservative Americans who are climate skeptics is growing, and the evidence suggests that they're unlikely to change their opinions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Turning 'big brother' surveillance into a helping hand to the homeless

Surveillance evokes fear of a "big brother" state watching our every move. The proliferation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in our cities and the emergence of big data have only deepened this fear. Marginalised groups such as people sleeping rough feel the impact mos … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

What is climate-ready infrastructure? Some cities are starting to adapt

The most recent international report on climate change paints a picture of disruption to society unless there are drastic and rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Secondary building units (SBUs)—the turning point in the development of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)

There is an urgent need to control materials on the molecular level to make "materials on demand." A strategy to develop such materials is in development in reticular chemistry, derived from the Latin translation "reticulum" as "having the form of a net." The strategy links discr … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Climate change: Nauru's life on the frontlines

International perceptions of the Pacific Island nation of Nauru are dominated by two interrelated stories. Until the turn of the century, it was the dramatic boom and bust of Nauru's phosphate mine, and the mismanagement of its considerable wealth, that captured global attention. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

AI changing the way scientists carry out experiments

There's plenty of speculation about what artificial intelligence, or AI, will look like in the future, but researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) are already harnessing its power. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

European-Japanese mission to investigate the smallest planet in the Solar System

The European-Japanese planetary mission BepiColombo lifted off from the European spaceport in French Guiana at 03:45 Central European Summer time on 20 October 2018 (22:45 on 19 October local time), on board an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. "Not only is the mission designed to investi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Flint water crisis is the most egregious example of environmental injustice, says researcher

The water crisis in Flint is the most egregious example of environmental injustice in recent U.S. history, according to a founder of the movement who has studied the issue for three decades. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Does your dog have a bacterial infection? This test could tell you in two minutes.

Want to know which bacteria are making your dog or cat sick? Northeastern professor Edgar Goluch has started a company to get that answer in minutes, instead of days. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Americans are not financially prepared for old age, study finds

Americans are living longer than past generations, and for many that means working longer, too. While for some this might be a choice, for many it is a financial necessity, according to a new report published Oct. 22 by the Stanford Center on Longevity. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Study of Northeast food system advances understanding of regional potential

After seven years of analyzing a number of consumption, distribution, production, and other aspects of the Northeast U.S. food system, researchers from Penn State and 10 other universities and organizations have made significant gains in understanding the extent to which the regi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

New technique reveals limb control in flies—and maybe robots

A new neural recording technique developed by EPFL bioengineers enables for the first time the comprehensive measurement of neural circuits that control limb movement. Tested on the fruit fly, results from the technique may inspire the development of more sophisticated robotic co … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

HD 87240 is a chemically peculiar star with an overabundance of heavy elements, study suggests

European astronomers have conducted a chemical study of the star HD 87240, a member of the open cluster NGC 3114. The new research, which determined the abundances of several elements in HD 87240's atmosphere, suggests that the object is a chemically peculiar star showcasing an o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How do we cope with demands for water as we enter an era of scarcity?

Urban water systems in California and elsewhere face a time of reckoning, warns Richard Luthy, professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Researchers switch material from one state to another with a single flash of light

Scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have demonstrated a surprisingly simple way of flipping a material from one state into another, and then back again, with single flashes of laser light. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Understanding architecture of cancer-linked BAF protein complexes provides insight into disease

In 2013, Broad Institute member Cigall Kadoch, then a postdoctoral researcher at Stanford University, discovered that approximately 20 percent of all human cancers involve mutations in a group of proteins called BAF, a complex that is also linked to intellectual disability and au … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

AI and human creativity go hand in hand

What does AI look like? You might say it looks like a robot, or flashing LEDs, or a waveform on a screen. But what would AI say AI looks like? To find out, IBM Research asked AI to draw us a picture… of itself. AI's self-portrait was published in The New York Times today and, loo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Washing hands despite lack of water

Even though the water we've used for washing hands is barely contaminated, it usually goes down the drain. A newly developed system allows handwashing water to be recycled, thus not only saving water, but also helping to prevent infectious diseases in developing countries. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

How mission delays hurt young astronomers

Back in Ye Olden Times, the job of astronomer was a pretty exclusive club. Either you needed to be so rich and so bored that you could design, build, and operate your own private observatory, or you needed to have a rich and bored friend who could finance your cosmic curiosity fo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 6 years ago

Gravitational waves could shed light on dark matter

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@phys.org | 6 years ago

NASA calls for instruments, technologies for delivery to the moon

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@phys.org | 6 years ago