AI provides more accurate analysis of prehistoric and modern animals

A new Rice University study of the remains of prehistoric and modern African antelopes found that AI technology accurately identified animals more than 90% of the time compared to humans, who had much lower accuracy rates depending on the expert. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

We rely heavily on groundwater—but pumping too much threatens thousands of underground species

Groundwater is the world's largest unfrozen freshwater reserve. Australia's Great Artesian Basin alone holds enough water to fill Sydney Harbour 130,000 times. Worldwide, groundwater provides drinking water for half the world's population. Countries like Denmark and Austria rely … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

A new method to fabricate optical devices that more closely match their design specifications

Photolithography involves manipulating light to precisely etch features onto a surface, and is commonly used to fabricate computer chips and optical devices like lenses. But tiny deviations during the manufacturing process often cause these devices to fall short of their designer … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Our cities will need to harvest stormwater in an affordable and green way—here's how

When it rains, stormwater runs down surfaces like streets and parking lots and into drains. Most of the time, we see it as a problem because it can cause floods. Recent storms across eastern Australia created huge amounts of stormwater and flooding. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

New research shows that US renters are hit the hardest when a hurricane strikes

With a severe shortage of affordable housing in the United States, renters living along the East and Gulf coasts are uniquely vulnerable to hurricane disasters. Two new studies based on data from 2009 to 2018 show that renters living along the East and Gulf coasts of the United S … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Next-generation nanocatalysts to revolutionize active electron transfer

Various molecular systems have been developed by researchers for photoinduced (i.e., light-driven) electron transfer, including supramolecules, hybrid materials, and organic polymeric systems. While these systems fulfill the distance criterion required by the electron donor and a … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Eelgrass proves to be evolutionarily much younger than we thought

Eelgrass, one of the most abundant plants in the ocean, originated in Japan before spreading around the globe. Now, scientists have shed light on both when and how eelgrass adapted and evolved throughout its history. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Great frigatebirds wearing backpacks map the atmosphere

Scientists often field check their findings, heading outside to see if computer models match with what is happening in the real world. But doing so is challenging when the field is two and a half miles up. Enter a new field assistant: The great frigatebird. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Crystal language empowers AI to design novel materials with desired properties

Over the past decade, generative deep learning models have been applied successfully to the design of novel drug molecules, organic synthesis routes, and functional molecules tailored for electronic/optoelectronic devices. This is largely enabled by the availability of SMILES rep … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Scientists identify biosynthetic pathway of chemotherapeutic derived from yew trees

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology have unraveled the biosynthetic pathway of paclitaxel in yew plants, a chemotherapeutic for cancer treatment. This discovery might facilitate the production of this very complex molecule which is currently pr … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

A new bioimaging method for speeding up and simplifying chemicals identification in tissues

Scientists associated with the international software project MZmine, led by Dr. Robin Schmid and Dr. Tomáš Pluskal from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences, have come up with a new piece of software that significantly speeds up an … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

COP28: countries have pledged to cut emissions from cooling—here's how to make it happen

Cast your eyes over the statistics in a new report I helped author on staying cool in a warming climate and the urgency becomes clear: 1 billion people, mostly in Africa and Asia, are at high risk from extreme heat because they lack access to cooling, while a further 2.9 billion … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Rizz: I study the history of charisma—here's why the word of the year is misunderstood

The Oxford English Dictionary has selected rizz as its word of 2023. If you've heard of it at all, you'll probably have heard that it comes from the word charisma. However, the OED definition pins it down as "style, charm or attractiveness, and the ability to attract a romantic o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Research looks to flip commercial fishing method to aid species conservation

A QUT researcher has suggested a technology widely used by fishing fleets to attract open ocean species could be used in Marine Protected Areas to protect, conserve and sustain exploited fish species. The study is published in Conservation Letters. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

How much should a textbook cost? Try '$0.00'

OER (open educational resources) are learning materials that have been licensed for payment-free use by educators and students. Researchers and experts in the field of higher education are increasingly considering OER as a useful tool for reducing the financial burden on students … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Homes hit hardest by fuel poverty not benefiting from government's flagship energy scheme

Households in areas hit hardest by fuel poverty are not benefiting most from the government's flagship energy support scheme, a damning report has found. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Study overturns conventional wisdom about wild turkey nesting survival

A new study finds that precipitation levels during nesting season are not related to reproductive success for wild turkeys, which runs counter to the conventional wisdom regarding the role that rainfall plays in wild turkey nesting success. The findings shed new light on how clim … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Big-box retail chains were never a solution for America's downtowns, and now they're fleeing back to suburbia

Holiday shopping is in full swing, but city dwellers may have fewer options for buying in person than they did a few years ago. That's because many large chain stores are pulling out of central cities. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Time to abandon null hypothesis significance testing? Moving beyond the default approach

Researchers from Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and University of Colorado published a new Journal of Marketing study that proposes abandoning null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) as the default approach to statistical analysis and reporting. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

A surprisingly simple expression for enzyme activity could help guide biotechnologists

A surprising relationship that governs the activity of enzymes—the molecules that catalyze almost all the chemical reactions of life—has been uncovered by three RIKEN scientists. This finding could help researchers to select and design the best enzymes for use in biotechnology ap … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Large study presents evidence for the importance of behavioral sciences in policymaking

A new global study led by Kai Ruggeri, Ph.D., at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health involving over 80 collaborators from more than 30 countries underscores the crucial role of behavioral sciences in formulating policy decisions, while also asserting the need for clear stand … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Researchers develop a novel dry-powder inhaled vaccine platform

Researchers from the Institute of Process Engineering (IPE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have proposed a new "nano-micro composite" delivery concept for vaccines. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Research discovers that mice possess a natural gene therapy system

A previously mysterious small RNA molecule in mice is found to play a crucial role in gene expression, and may be the first identified member of a new class of regulatory RNAs. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Cell types in the eye have ancient evolutionary origins

Karthik Shekhar and his colleagues raised a few eyebrows as they collected cow and pig eyes from Boston butchers, but those eyes—eventually from 17 separate species, including humans—are providing insights into the evolution of the vertebrate retina and could lead to better anima … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Pacific Northwest snowpack endangered by increasing spring heat waves

Even in the precipitation-heavy Pacific Northwest, more frequent heat waves are threatening a key source of water supply. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

The myths and truths of individualism in America

In America, where "having it your way" is a major selling point for everything from fast food to home-building, and making your own way in the world is the gold standard of achievement, individualism stands as the ideal for realizing the American dream. But when and why did this … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

From wildfires to melting sea ice, the warmest summer on record had cascading impacts across the Arctic

The year 2023 shattered the record for the warmest summer in the Arctic, and people and ecosystems across the region felt the impact. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Health misinformation is rampant on social media—here's what it does, why it spreads and what people can do about it

The global anti-vaccine movement and vaccine hesitancy that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs of abating. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

A road map for the lawful use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia—and elsewhere

Violent crime, and how to reduce it, dominated the 2023 Philadelphia mayoral campaign. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Nonalcoholic beer: New techniques craft flavorful brews without the buzz

The holiday season for me includes socializing over drinks with friends and family. But all the celebrating tends to catch up with my waistline, and by New Year's Day, it's time to get back in shape. Besides vowing to hit the gym more, my approach involves a "Dry January." But as … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Children born or raised during lockdown are developing language skills at a slower rate

Social interactions in the first months of life are fundamental for babies to learn how to communicate and develop their language skills. Physical contact, touch, smiling and our first face-to-face "conversations" are the pillars on which we build our understanding of the social … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Study shows digital leisure reading does little to improve reading comprehension for students

For years, research showed that print reading, whether for leisure or school, improved developing readers' ability to comprehend text. However, the explosive use of digital reading devices, constant access to these devices, and new types of reading materials have introduced new r … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Investigation shows inequity in US wildfire emergency response

Recent U.S. wildfire events—including the 2023 Maui wildfire in Hawaii, the 2022 Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon fire in New Mexico, and the 2020 Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado—are tragic examples of how disadvantaged communities can suffer most during and after a wildfire. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Measuring 3D pores for better wound healing

Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a method to identify and characterize the empty spaces between particles in any packed structure. By mapping out these empty spaces, researchers can better understand how cells and other phenomena will respond to their surrou … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Tagged turtles and 3D ocean current maps reveal loggerheads' navigation mechanisms

A study published in the Journal of The Royal Society Interface has revealed new insights into the navigational strategies of sea turtles during their pre-reproductive migration. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

How forests smell: Investigating how biodiversity affects the atmosphere

Plants emit odors for a variety of reasons, such as to communicate with one another, to deter herbivores or to respond to changing environmental conditions. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Leipzig University, the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

A sugar analysis could reveal different types of cancer

In the future, a little saliva may be enough to detect an incipient cancer. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg have developed an effective way to interpret the changes in sugar molecules that occur in cancer cells. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

New study identifies the best areas for rewilding European bison

At the end of the last ice age, large herds of bison roamed across Europe. But by 1927, the European bison became extinct in the wild, with only about 60 individuals remaining in captivity. Scientists have long debated the exact causes of the grazers' near extinction, and how muc … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Spectroscopic data from atmospheric green ghost captured for the first time

A team of astronomers from Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía, and Universitat Politécnica de Catalunya has captured spectroscopy data from a mesospheric green ghost for the first time. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Researchers build a physical model to probe the creative destruction inside cells

Researchers at Princeton University have demonstrated the mechanics behind a key process in living cells, where liquid droplets form and carry out complex tasks within the intricate polymer scaffolds that crisscross the cells' interiors. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Revealing the secrets of the sun: How magnetic structures drive coronal rotation

Solar rotation, a fundamental characteristic of the sun, is second in importance only to the Schwabe cycle, an approximately 11-year cycle. The energy and matter of the solar atmosphere originate from the interior of the sun and drive the rotation of the solar atmosphere from the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Physicists discover new quantum phases in low-dimensional polar systems

A new paper published in Nature Communications by a team of physicists at the U of A charted the discovery of new quantum phases in low-dimensional systems. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Unlike most other animals, Tasmanian devils only have one set of teeth

A Tasmanian devil expert has uncovered an evolutionary quirk that sets carnivorous marsupials apart from the crowd—and the secret lies behind their smiles. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Researchers predict protein placement on atomic force microscopy substrates

Researchers at Kanazawa University report in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences a computational method to predict the placement of proteins on AFM substrates based on electrostatic interactions | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Global assessment of free-ranging cats shows they eat more types of creatures than previously thought

A small team of environmental and wildlife specialists from the U.S., France, Australia and New Zealand has found via study of prior research efforts that cats eat a wider variety of other creatures than previously known. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

AI method for describing soft matter opens up new chapter in density functional theory

Scientists from Bayreuth have developed a new method for studying liquid and soft matter using artificial intelligence. In a study now published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they open up a new chapter in density functional theory. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Male sea snakes may have evolved bigger eyes to help them find a mate

A trio of marine scientists from Macquarie University, working with a colleague from the Australian Institute of Marine Science, all in Australia, has found evidence suggesting that male aipysurine sea snakes have evolved to have relatively large eyes as a means to find female ma … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned, or thinned

A 20-year experiment in the Sierra Nevada confirms that different forest management techniques—prescribed burning, restoration thinning or a combination of both—are effective at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire in California. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 11 months ago