Study identifies key ingredient for affordable fuel cell catalysts

To make fuel cells more affordable, researchers have spent decades searching for low-cost catalysts to replace platinum and other expensive metals. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Alabama researchers get $2.5 million to study impact of court fines, fees nationally

For many, a $200 traffic ticket can devastate their households' savings and finances. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Study proposes new explanation for California anchovy booms and busts

New research from Scripps and NOAA scientists has discovered ecological correlations that could help explain the booms and busts of California's anchovy population. If the correlations hold up to further research, they could one day help inform management of California's anchovy … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Diamonds and rust help unveil 'impossible' quasi-particles

Researchers have discovered magnetic monopoles—isolated magnetic charges—in a material closely related to rust, a result that could be used to power greener and faster computing technologies. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

World could breach 1.5C warming threshold in 7 years: Study

The world may cross the crucial 1.5C global warming threshold in seven years as fossil fuel CO2 emissions continue to rise, scientists warned Tuesday, urging countries at the COP28 talks to "act now" on coal, oil and gas pollution. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Green turtles fight to survive against Pakistan's urban sprawl

Against the backdrop of the mega port city of Karachi, choked with traffic and construction, four green turtles emerge from the frothy Arabian Sea seeking a spot to lay their eggs. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Wellington welcomes first wild-born kiwi chicks in a century

Conservationists in New Zealand celebrated on Tuesday after discovering that kiwi chicks had been born in the wilds around Wellington for the first time in more than a century. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Saudi Arabia says 'absolutely not' to oil phase down at COP28

Saudi Arabia's energy minister has slammed the door shut to agreeing to phase down fossil fuels at the UN's COP28 climate talks, setting the stage for difficult negotiations in Dubai. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Eight dead as cyclone batters India's southeast coast

Chest-high waters surged down the streets of India's southern city Chennai on Tuesday with eight people killed in intense floods as Cyclone Michaung was set to make landfall on the southeast coast. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Toxic air divides Delhi between poverty and privilege

Environmental change hits the poorest the hardest, experts say, and in India's toxic smog-filled capital that includes the air people breathe. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Bird feeding may give humans something to chirp about

Associate professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Tech, Ashley Dayer is the lead author of an article published in People and Nature that argues not only for the acknowledgment of the activity's benefit to humans, but that it should play a role i … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

American Eel as an emerging consumer target

Research led by Hiromi Shiraishi, a researcher at Chuo University, indicated a steep rise in the importation of American Eel (Anguilla rostrata) live fry to East Asia for aquaculture purposes. This surge poses a potential threat to the already endangered species, further depletin … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Interpreting the afterglow of a black hole's breakfast

An entirely new way to probe how active black holes behave when they eat has been discovered by an international team of astronomers. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Annual report shows fossil CO₂ emissions at record high in 2023

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels have risen again in 2023—reaching record levels, according to new research from the Global Carbon Project science team. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Research shows that wildfires have erased two decades' worth of air quality gains in western United States

You need only to remember last summer's wildfires in the United States and Canada, which fouled the air from coast to coast, to know the effects these blazes can have on the environment and human health. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Collisions change how fast ions surf on plasma waves in fusion experiments and beyond

Just like there are waves in the ocean, waves can also occur in an electrically charged gas called a plasma, made up of electrons and ions. In the ocean, people surf by riding their boards at nearly the same speed as the waves. This matching condition, called resonance, allows th … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

National climate assessment offers new insights on community resilience and adaptation

A major weather event such as a hurricane or wildfire can have lasting, visible impacts on communities, but the longer-term, compounding effects of a changing climate can be harder to see. In its contributions to the recently released Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Researchers urge caution with 'net zero' in climate policy

While a trend reversal in global CO₂ emissions is still yet to come, more and more countries are announcing the goal of "net zero" by mid-century. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Consistency key to corporate expressions of racial solidarity, says study

After violent incidents such as police shootings, and around annual observances like Black History Month, why do some corporate expressions of solidarity with marginalized groups register as genuine, while others may seem performative or even backfire? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Applying pulp mill waste to soil could be a win-win for the environment and industry

Pulp mill waste destined for the landfill could instead be useful as an organic fertilizer that can help reduce the environmental impact of using conventional fertilizers while improving soil and tree growth, University of Alberta research shows. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Small publishers increasingly important for translated literature, researcher says

Over the period 1970–2016, small publishing houses became increasingly important for the publication of literature in translation in Sweden. More than ever, Nobel laureates are being published by relatively small independent publishers. A specialization in translations often stem … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

3D models for placing nanoparticles in the palm of your hand

Nanoparticles are super tiny―as small as one nanometer, or one billionth of a meter―and are of keen interest to materials scientists for their unique physical and chemical properties. They cannot be detected by the naked eye and require a highly specialized electron microscope to … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Tracking undetectable space junk

Satellite and spacecraft operators may finally be able to detect small pieces of debris orbiting Earth using an approach proposed by researchers from the University of Michigan. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Q&A: How to choose the perfect Christmas tree

If you are heading to a farm or the local lot this weekend to pick out your perfect Christmas tree, Timothy Waller, an evergreen researcher, has some advice for you. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Neutron capture research offers insight into astrophysics and detector design

In a study published in the journal Nuclear Science and Techniques, researchers from Sun Yat-sen University have conducted a novel study on neutron capture by bromine at the China Spallation Neutron Source, providing invaluable insights into both astrophysics and cutting-edge det … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Study shows how ethical brands fare in a recession

A new study from the University of East Anglia reveals why some 'eco goods' may fare better than others as a UK recession looms. The new study, published today, shows that when money gets tight, people are more likely to keep up more expensive ethical purchases like buying fair t … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

People may support climate action more strongly if they understand how their health is at risk

Highlighting the health relevance of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions can generate support for climate action, a major review of evidence on the subject has found. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

New book anticipates a world of military robots, and the need to regulate them

In our digitally mediated world, the atrocities of war are hard to ignore. Conflagrations in Europe (Ukraine–Russia), the Middle East (Israel–Hamas) and elsewhere relay images of death and destruction as quickly as our feeds can process them. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Three benefits of genetically improved Christmas trees

Christmas trees are the centerpiece of the holiday season. But the fear of needles falling can deter shoppers from buying real trees from local growers. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

ALICE records about 12 billion heavy-ion collisions

After a five-year pause, on the evening of 26 September, lead ions collided at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at an unprecedented high energy of 5.36 TeV per pair of nucleons (protons or neutrons) and a collision rate six times higher than before. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Researchers design limestone putty nanogenerator to harvest energy from everyday motion to power small devices

Researchers at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) have created a new kind of triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that produces electricity through the use of limestone putty, promising considerable cost savings over conventional manufacturing methods. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Could our body's 'bleach' be key to fighting a common fungal pathogen?

A study that assesses the effects of hypochlorous acid (HOCI), commonly known as bleach, as it is generated during the immune response of a cell (phagocytosis) when fighting a common fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, reveals that HOCI is a potent killing agent. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Artificial intelligence tackling global water shortages

A company using artificial intelligence to save billions of liters of water has partnered with University of the West of Scotland (UWS) to further enhance its technology. FIDO Tech is helping communities affected by water shortages and restrictions around the world—working with u … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Polarized hetero-structured luminant: The 'marriage' of 2D materials and 0D quantum dots

The generation, modulation, and detection of polarized light play a pivotal role across diverse fields, including optical communication, laser processing, dynamic displays, and biomedical imaging. The advancement of multifunctional prototype devices, seamlessly integrating an arr … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Deep sea sensor reveals that corals produce reactive oxygen species

Just like us, corals breathe in oxygen and eat organic carbon. And just like us, as a byproduct of converting energy and oxygen in the body, corals produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), a family of chemical compounds that are naturally made by cells during cell division, while f … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Strange burn: New research identifies unique patterns in Utah wildfires

For a century fire ecologists have worked to decipher a complex question—what does a "normal'' wildfire year look like in the West? That's a hard question to answer for many reasons, but new research from a team in the Quinney College of Natural Resources shows that thanks to the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Engineered surface helps boiled bubbles jump to carry more heat

Water is often the go-to resource for heat transfer, being used in large-scale cooling operations like data centers that power the internet and nuclear power plants that power cities. Discovering dynamic phenomena to make water-based heat transfer more energy and cost-efficient i … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Pioneering the future: An innovative approach to plant synthetic genomics

In October 2023, BioDesign Research published a perspective article titled "Toward Synthetic Genomics in Plants." Focusing on the emerging field of plant synthetic genomics, this study delves into the complexity of assembling and engineering large genomes, a task made challenging … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Soil drought weakens forest microclimatic cooling, study finds

Scientists from Stockholm University have investigated the mechanisms that create cool microclimates beneath forest canopies during warm and dry summer days. The study reveals how canopy shading and water evaporation together create cooler forest microclimates compared to tempera … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Advancing food safety: Natural alternatives for meat preservation

In a study published in the journal Food Quality and Safety on 19 October 2023, researchers from Zhejiang A&F University and Zhejiang University conclude that natural preservatives offer a viable alternative to synthetic chemicals in meat preservation. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

'Doughnut' beams help physicists see incredibly small objects

In a new study published in Optica, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have used doughnut-shaped beams of light to take detailed images of objects too tiny to view with traditional microscopes. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

New study examines long-term negative effects of COVID-19 pandemic on well-being of young people

A study led by education professor Martin Neugebauer of Freie Universität Berlin and published in the European Sociological Review shows that young people's life satisfaction significantly declined during the pandemic. The decline was three times stronger than among the overall G … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Lift-off for EIRSAT-1, Ireland's first ever satellite

Six years of hard work and dedication paid off in spectacular fashion on Dec. 1 as the Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, successfully blasted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. Hitching a ride on a Space-X Falcon-9 launcher, the tiny satellite—measuri … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Q&A: Unveiling a new era of imaging—engineers lead breakthrough microscopy techniques

When microscopes struggle to pick up faint signals, it's like trying to spot subtle details in a painting or photograph without your glasses. For researchers, this makes it difficult to catch the small things happening in cells or other materials. In new research, Boston Universi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Capital, canaries, or catalysts: Insurance industry's role in tackling climate change risks

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, canaries were used in coal mines to assess the risk of toxic gases. If the birds became ill or passed away, their fate served as a warning for miners to vacate the premises. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Study explains the rapid deterioration of one of painter Juan Miró's favorite colors

A photo from 1978 shows famous Catalan surrealist painter Juan Miró in his Taller Sert, surrounded by his paintings. In the background, the bright, intense yellow of Femme dans le rue (1973), stands out. Fifty years later, that cadmium-based yellow is faded and chalky. The same p … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

In hotter regions, mammals shown to seek forests and avoid human habitats

The cool of the forest is a welcome escape on a hot day. This is especially true for mammals in North America's hottest regions, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. The study indicates that, as the climate warms, preserving forest cover will be increasi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago

Decoupled direct payments make agriculture more productive, finds study

Better alignment with the market is one of the goals pursued by the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in recent decades. One of the measures used to achieve this was to decouple direct payments from production. Agricultural economists at the Technical University of Munich (TU … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 1 year ago