Tonga: Whole country cut off from Facebook, YouTube

Tonga has been plunged into virtual cyber darkness after an undersea cable broke, cutting off the Pacific island kingdom from almost all cell phone and Internet services. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Blue Origin to make 10th flight test of space tourist rocket

Blue Origin, the rocket company headed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is poised to launch the 10th test flight of its unmanned New Shepard rocket on Wednesday as it competes with Virgin Galactic to become the first to carry tourists on brief visits to space. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Sony to shift UK HQ to avoid Brexit disruption

Sony will shift its European headquarters from Britain to the Netherlands to avoid Brexit-related customs issues, but operations at its current UK company will remain unchanged, a company spokesman said Wednesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Shutdown makes it tough for groups to help endangered whales

Rescuers who respond to distressed whales and other marine animals say the federal government shutdown is making it more difficult to do their work. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Humpback whales' songs at subarctic feeding areas are complex, progressive

Humpback whales overwintering in feeding areas may sing complex, progressive songs which closely resemble those associated with breeding grounds, according to a study published January 23, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Edda E. Magnúsdóttir and Rangyn Lim from the Un … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

How male dragonflies adapt wing color to temperature

New research from Case Western Reserve University in how dragonflies may adapt their wing color to temperature differences might explain color variation in other animals, from lions to birds. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Not only do Gulf of Aqaba corals survive climate change but their offspring may too

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Team uses synthetic biology to elucidate the complexities of cell function

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

A close look at the specific feeding habits of territorial damselfish reveals strategies for coexistence

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Assessing the airborne survival of bacteria in aerosol droplets from coughs and sneezes

The airborne transmission of diseases including the common cold, influenza and tuberculosis is something that affects everyone with an average sneeze or cough sending around 100,000 contagious germs into the air at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Astronomers use split images of quasars to produce a new estimate of the Hubble constant

The question of how quickly the universe is expanding has been bugging astronomers for almost a century. Different studies keep coming up with different answers—which has some researchers wondering if they've overlooked a key mechanism in the machinery that drives the cosmos. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Without habitat management, small land parcels do not protect birds

Designating relatively small parcels of land as protected areas for wildlife with no habitat management—which has frequently been done in urban-suburban locales around the world—likely does not benefit declining songbird species, according to a team of researchers who studied a l … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

General Electric to cut up to 468 jobs in France: unions

US energy giant General Electric plans to slash up to 468 jobs across France, union sources said Tuesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Materials chemists tap body heat to power 'smart garments'

Many wearable biosensors, data transmitters and similar tech advances for personalized health monitoring have now been "creatively miniaturized," says materials chemist Trisha Andrew at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, but they require a lot of energy, and power sources c … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Greece removes ancient sites, museums, from development list

Greece's government has removed hundreds of archaeological museums, ancient sites and castles inadvertently put on a provisional list of properties up for private development under the country's bailout terms. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Trout, salamander populations quickly bounce back from severe drought conditions

Populations of coastal cutthroat trout and coastal giant salamanders in the Pacific Northwest show the ability to rebound quickly from drought conditions, new research by Oregon State University suggests. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

France to seek tougher oversight of 5G network gear

France will require telecommunications companies to allow more government oversight and control of the equipment required for next-generation 5G wireless networks due to security concerns, a government official said Tuesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

When bad financial advisers happen to good people

Over 650,000 registered financial advisers in the United States help manage over $30 trillion of investible assets and represent approximately 10% of total employment of the finance and insurance sector. However, despite their prevalence and importance, financial advisers are oft … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Farm manure boosts greenhouse gas emissions—even in winter

Decisions farmers make over the spring and summer can dramatically increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions later in the winter. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study predicts how air pollutants from US forest soils will increase with climate change

A study from Indiana University has found that trees influence whether soil can remove or emit gases that cause smog, acid rain and respiratory problems. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Astrophysicists develop technique to locate undiscovered planets, celestial bodies

A revolutionary technique developed by an astrophysicist at Rochester Institute of Technology could allow for a better understanding of the fates of solar systems when their stars cease to shine. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Youth with disabilities have increased risk for technology-involved peer harassment

New research from the University of New Hampshire finds that while youths with disabilities, mental health diagnoses and special education services experience peer harassment or bullying at similar rates as other youth, understanding differences in how they experience it may lead … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study looks at ranger motivation in dangerous African park

A new study by WCS looks at the job satisfaction of front line conservation rangers working in challenging conditions at a national park in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and identifies ways to improve motivation to make them more effective at enforcing the la … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New method uses ultraviolet light to control fluid flow and organize particles

A new, simple, and inexpensive method that uses ultraviolet light to control particle motion and assembly within liquids could improve drug delivery, chemical sensors, and fluid pumps. The method encourages particles—from plastic microbeads, to bacterial spores, to pollutants—to … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Precision pest control: smartphone app is the farmer's newest weapon in crop protection

Scientists are creating a new smartphone app to help farmers tackle the pests destroying their crops, and it could soon have a major impact on the way information about the natural world is gathered, stored and accessed worldwide. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Bird beaks did not adapt to food types as previously thought, study suggests

A study, led by the University of Bristol, has shed some new light on how the beaks of birds have adapted over time. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Researchers uncover migratory schedule of swallows, new study

Each year, migratory birds journey from their breeding grounds to their wintering grounds, making pit stops along the way. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Revealing Greater Cahokia' details research on ancient North American metropolis

With a population between 10,000 and 30,000 in its heyday (A.D. 1050-1200) and a sprawling assortment of homes, storage buildings, temples, cemeteries, mounds and other monuments in and around what is now St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois, the ancient Native American city kn … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Creating attraction between molecules deep in the periodic table

A McGill-led international research team provides the first experimental and theoretical proof that it is possible to form strong, stable attractions between some of the heavier elements in the periodic table—such as arsenic or even antimony. Because hydrogen is not involved in c … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Milky Way's neighbors pick up the pace

After slowly forming stars for the first few billion years of their lives, the Magellanic Clouds, near neighbors of our own Milky Way galaxy, have upped their game and are now forming new stars at a fast clip. This new insight into the history of the Clouds comes from the first d … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Emerging significance of gammaherpesvirus and morbillivirus infections in cats

Emerging infectious diseases comprise a substantial fraction of important human infections, with potentially devastating global health and economic impacts. A 2008 paper in Nature described the emergence of no fewer than 335 infectious diseases in the global human population betw … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Dyson switches HQ from Britain to Singapore: company

British electric appliance pioneer Dyson will switch headquarters to Singapore this year due to booming Asian demand but not because of Brexit, the company said Tuesday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Long-read DNA analysis can give rise to errors, experts warn

Advanced technologies that read long strings of DNA can produce flawed data that could affect genetic studies, research suggests. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Google's self-driving unit Waymo to put factory in Michigan

Google's autonomous vehicle unit Waymo says it plans to bring a factory to Michigan. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Plants blink: Proceeding with caution in sunlight

Plants have control mechanisms that resemble those in human senses. According to a new Weizmann Institute of Science study, plants adjust photosynthesis to rapid light changes using a sophisticated sensing system, much in the way that the human eye responds to variations in light … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New Zealand academic offers new explanation for Alexander the Great's death

It may have happened more than 2300 years ago, but the mystery of Alexander the Great's death could finally be solved, thanks to a University of Otago, New Zealand, academic. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Surveillance in our schools: Beneath the friendly exterior of ClassDojo

ClassDojo is one of the most popular education apps in the world. Its company estimates it is used by millions of teachers and children across 180 countries. Beneath its friendly exterior lie disturbing implications, say researchers. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Otago researcher contributes piece to the puzzle of baleen whales' evolution

An Otago researcher has added another piece to the puzzle of the evolution of modern baleen whales with a world-first study examining the teeth and enamel of baleen whales' ancestors. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Huawei warns of action against hostile markets

Chinese tech giant Huawei said Tuesday it could pull out of partnerships in hostile countries as it seeks to counter security concerns in the West over its 5G technology. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Elliott pushes for changes at eBay

An activist shareholder says eBay would be better off without StubHub or its classified ads businesses. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New tool enables imaging of neural activity with near-infrared light

A new, groundbreaking tool for visualizing neural activity has implications for understanding brain functions and disorders, according to new research by University of Alberta scientists and a team of international collaborators. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Engineers create decision-making tool for oil spill clean-up

A team of Southwest Research Institute engineers has created an interactive decision tree aimed at finding the best solution for specific oil spill scenarios. Numerous chemical dispersant technologies are available to address different types of oil spills and countless variables … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Brits and Germans have very different views on the future of state pensions

British and German citizens have very different views on whether or not their governments should continue to provide a state pension in the years ahead, according to new research by the University of Kent. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Silent slip' along fault line serves as prelude to big earthquakes, research suggests

Big earthquakes appear to follow a brief episode of "shallow mantle creep" and "seismic swarms," suggests new research at Oregon State University that offers an explanation for the foreshocks observed prior to large temblors. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Do endangered woods make better guitars?

Researchers have tested the sounds made by six different acoustic guitars in a study addressing the effects of the type of wood used in their construction. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A fleeting moment in time

The faint, ephemeral glow emanating from the planetary nebula ESO 577-24 persists for only a short time—around 10,000 years, a blink of an eye in astronomical terms. ESO's Very Large Telescope captured this shell of glowing ionized gas—the last breath of the dying star whose simm … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Corals light the way to a healthy partnership

Corals know how to attract good company. New research finds that corals emit an enticing fluorescent green light that attracts the mobile microalgae, known as Symbiodinium, that are critical to the establishment of a healthy partnership. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientists demonstrate effective strategies for safeguarding CRISPR gene-drive experiments

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time how two molecular strategies can safeguard CRISPR gene-drive experiments in the lab, according to a study published today in eLife. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago