Exploring new ways to control thermal radiation

When scientists are trying to make things better, they will often turn to a standard rule and try to disprove or disrupt it. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Unique synthetic antibodies show promise for improved disease and toxin detection

Scientists have invented a new "synthetic antibody" that could make screening for diseases easier and less expensive than current go-to methods. Writing in the journal Nano Letters, a team led by Markita Landry of Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley describes how peptoids – syntheticall … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New statistical technique finds La Nina years more favorable for mountain snowpack than El Nino years

When there are multiple factors at play in a situation that is itself changing, such as an El Nino winter in a changing climate, how can scientists figure out what is causing what? Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have developed an advanced statistical method … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Twitter expanding video programming and working with NFL, MTV, Univision and others

Twitter is expanding its lineup of live and on-demand premium video programming across sports, gaming, entertainment and news. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

SAS cancels more flights as pilot strike continues

Scandinavian air carrier SAS said Tuesday it had to cancel another 504 flights on Wednesday, affecting 47,000 passengers, as a pilot strike continued into its fifth day. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Nasdaq extends acceptance period for Norway exchange

US stock market operator Nasdaq said Tuesday it was giving Oslo Stock Exchange shareholders more time to accept its near-700 million euro takeover bid, as it battles Euronext for control of the Norway bourse. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Sponges and corals: Seafloor assessments to help protect against climate change

Little is known about deep ocean environments. But scientists focussing on the depths of the North Atlantic are now learning more about their ecosystems—including the role of vast sea sponge grounds – and how to safeguard them against the effects of climate change and industry. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Drone used to aid 3D remake of Japanese internment camp

A University of Denver team is using drone images to create a 3D reconstruction of a World War II-era Japanese internment camp in southern Colorado. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Samsung denies new Galaxy phone burnt from malfunctioning

Samsung on Tuesday stood by its new Galaxy S10 5G model after a South Korean smartphone owner posted pictures online of a charred handset claiming it had mysteriously "burnt". | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Expert: Justin Trudeau's French isn't bad; Quebecers just don't think he belongs

Quebec's criticism of Justin Trudeau's French serves to position him as an "outsider" to Quebecois identity, according to a professor at Binghamton University, State University of New York. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Miniature transponder technology to be used in the war against ocean plastic

Low-cost acoustic tags attached to fishing nets are being trialled as part of a major new project to reduce marine litter and 'ghost fishing'. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Airbus profits plunge, blames scrapping of A380

European aerospace giant Airbus announced Tuesday its net profit fell sharply in the first quarter, blaming in part its decision to stop building the loss-making A380 super-jumbo. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

What if an asteroid was about to hit Earth? Scientists ponder question

Here's a hypothetical: a telescope detects an asteroid between 100 and 300 meters in diameter racing through our solar system at 14 kilometers per second, 57 million kilometers from Earth. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Egypt's rebounding tourism threatens Red Sea corals

In serene turquoise waters off Egypt's Red Sea coast, scuba divers ease among delicate pink jellyfish and admire coral—yet a rebounding tourism sector threatens the fragile marine ecosystem. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Samsung Electronics hit with quarterly profit slump

Samsung Electronics, the world's biggest smartphone and memory chip maker, reported a slump in first-quarter net profits Tuesday, in the face of a weakening chip market and rising competition. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

High fuel costs drive Lufthansa deeper into red in Q1

German airline group Lufthansa plunged deeper into the red in the first quarter, it said Tuesday, blaming the rising price of fuel and intense competition in Europe but sticking to annual targets. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Virgin Australia delays Boeing 737 MAX order

Virgin Australia said on Tuesday it had delayed delivery of its order of 48 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft over safety concerns, following two deadly crashes. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Girls outscore boys on tech, engineering, even without class

Though less likely to study in a formal technology or engineering course, America's girls are showing more mastery of those subjects than their boy classmates, according to newly released national education data. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Slowing digital-ad growth could force change on Google

While Google has dominated the online ad market for almost the entirety of its existence, its first quarter earnings report suggests that competitors may be nipping at its heels. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Pesticide exposure causes bumblebee flight to fall short

Bees exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide fly only a third of the distance that unexposed bees are able to achieve. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Toyota to assemble Lexus in Canada: Trudeau

Japanese automaker Toyota will assemble two models of its Lexus in Canada starting in 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Monday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Federal research significant in environmental rule-making

Federally-sponsored science plays a more significant role in bringing together stakeholders and facilitating environmental governance debates than all other types of research, according to an international team of researchers. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Right' cover-crop mix good for both Chesapeake and bottom lines

Planting and growing a strategic mix of cover crops not only reduces the loss of nitrogen from farm fields, protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, but the practice also contributes nitrogen to subsequent cash crops, improving yields, according to researchers. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Several US airlines hit by brief computer-related outage

At least three major U.S. airlines were briefly affected Monday by an outage at a technology provider that shut down ticketing and check-in online and at airport kiosks. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Lawyer fighting palm oil among six to win environmental prize

When Alfred Brownell arrived in a remote Liberian village, the surrounding tropical rainforest had been leveled by bulldozers. Burial grounds were uprooted, religious shrines were desecrated and a stream people depended upon for water was polluted. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A daunting task begins: Reducing lobster gear to save whales

Fishing managers on the East Coast began the daunting process Monday of implementing new restrictions on lobster fishing that are designed to protect a vanishing species of whale. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Selling an old computer on eBay? You may also be giving away data you thought you erased

You're donating an old computer storage drive or putting one up for sale on eBay. But first, you erase all the data. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Google revenue falls short of Q1 estimates

Google parent Alphabet is reporting that it beat analyst earnings expectations with a first-quarter profit of $8.3 billion. But the company's revenue fell below expectations. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Sensor-based technologies are promising to support independent living for older women

A study conducted by Assistant Professor Blaine Reeder, Ph.D., and co-authored by Catherine Jankowski, Ph.D., at the University of Colorado College of Nursing on older women's perception of technology found that more active older adult women prefer wearable sensors for themselves … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Patterns of compulsive smartphone use suggest how to kick the habit

Everywhere you look, people are looking at screens. In the decade since smartphones have become ubiquitous, we now have a feeling almost as common as the smartphones themselves: being sucked into that black hole of staring at those specific apps—you know which ones they are—and t … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Won't you be my neighbor? House hunting is a struggle for mixed-race couples with children

Mixed-race couples are a burgeoning population in the United States, accounting for 17 percent of all new marriages. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Astronauts might soon grow SPACE tomatoes

Tiny tomato plants developed at the University of California, Riverside, could one day feed astronauts on the International Space Station. The plants have minimal leaves and stems but still produce a normal amount of fruit, making them a potentially productive crop for cultivatio … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Parasitoid wasps may turn spiders into zombies by hacking their internal code

Parasitoid wasps lay their eggs on a spider's back. This team proposes that by injecting the spider host with the molting hormone, ecdysone, the wasp induces the spider to make a special web for the wasp's pupa. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Beluga whale with Russian harness raises alarm in Norway

A beluga whale found with a tight harness that appeared to be Russian made has raised the alarm of Norwegian officials and prompted speculation that the animal may have come from a Russian military facility. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New polymer films conduct heat instead of trapping it

Polymers are usually the go-to material for thermal insulation. Think of a silicone oven mitt, or a Styrofoam coffee cup, both manufactured from polymer materials that are excellent at trapping heat. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

WeWork, at $47 bn valuation, files for public share listing

WeWork, the fast-growing office-sharing startup, said Monday it had filed documents for a stock market listing to help fuel further expansion. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Are coffee farms for the birds? Yes and no

Over 11 field seasons, between 1999 and 2010, ornithologist Cagan Sekercioglu trekked through the forests and coffee fields of Costa Rica to study how tropical birds were faring in a changing agricultural landscape. Through painstaking banding of individual birds, Sekercioglu ask … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

How the bumble bee got its stripes

Researchers have discovered a gene that drives color differences within a species of bumble bees. This discovery helps to explain the highly diverse color patterns among bumble bee species as well as how mimicry—individuals in an area adopting similar color patterns—evolves. A st … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Pedigree is not destiny' when it comes to scholarly success

What matters more to a scientist's career success: where they currently work, or where they got their Ph.D.? It's a question a team of researchers teases apart in a new paper published in PNAS. Their analysis calls into question a common assumption underlying academia: that a res … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

As oceans warm, microbes could pump more CO2 back into air, study warns

The world's oceans soak up about a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans pump into the air each year—a powerful brake on the greenhouse effect. In addition to purely physical and chemical processes, a large part of this is taken up by photosynthetic plankton as they incorpora … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Climate, grasses and teeth—the evolution of South America mammals

Grass-eating mammals, including armadillos as big as Volkswagens, became more diverse in South America about 6 million years ago because shifts in atmospheric circulation drove changes in climate and vegetation, according to a University of Arizona-led research team. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

For certain invasive species, catching infestation early pays off

An international research team led by invasion ecologist Bethany Bradley at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has conducted the first global meta-analysis of the characteristics and size of invasive alien species' impacts on native species as invaders become more abundant. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Prominently posted rules boost participation, cut harassment online

Clear behavioral rules posted prominently on online discussions can markedly increase participation while cutting harassment, new research from Princeton University has found. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

An important function of non-nucleated sperm

Some animals form characteristic infertile spermatozoa called parasperm, which differ in size and shape compared to fertile sperm produced by single males. Species that have been reported to produce parasperm include snails, cottoid fish, moths and butterflies. Moths and butterfl … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientists planning now for asteroid flyby a decade away

On April 13, 2029, a speck of light will streak across the sky, getting brighter and faster. At one point it will travel more than the width of the full Moon within a minute and it will get as bright as the stars in the Little Dipper. But it won't be a satellite or an airplane—it … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Researcher finds hate crimes committed by groups hurt the most

Hate crimes committed by groups are especially likely to result in injuries such as broken bones and missing teeth, according to a new study from Florida State University. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

10,000 evacuated in Canada floods as rescuers search for pets

More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in eastern Canada in recent days as spring floods broke record levels set in 2017, officials said Monday, warning that it could take weeks for the waters to recede. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Plant cells eat their own... membranes and oil droplets

Biochemists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered two ways that autophagy, or self-eating, controls the levels of oils in plant cells. The study, published in The Plant Cell on April 29, 2019, describes how this cannibalistic-sounding p … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago