Walmart flexes its muscle against Amazon

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Walmart US CEO talks technology, workers

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Disrupting parasites' family planning could aid malaria fight

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

How important is the media in remote areas?

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Fullerene compounds made simulation-ready

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Women build less effective professional networks than men as they underestimate self-worth

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Astronomers find possible elusive star behind supernova

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Analysis of data sources improves ability to respond to climate change in East Africa

East Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to extreme weather and climate events and to variability and change in climate. It is also one of the hardest regions to find good climate data on. Now, thanks to recently published research from UNU-FLORES, decision- … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Sci-fi movies are the secret weapon that could help Silicon Valley grow up

If there's one line that stands the test of time in Steven Spielberg's 1993 classic Jurassic Park, it's probably Jeff Goldblum's exclamation, "Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should." | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Protecting biodiversity in palm oil

News that chocolate, bread and dried fruit all share a common ingredient with household detergents and cosmetics might sound both unlikely and unappetising. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Human excrement efficiently converted to hydrochar

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) demonstrated for the first time that raw human excrement can potentially be converted to a safe, reusable fuel and a nutrient rich fertilizer, solving two major worldwide issues in advance of World Toilet Day on November 1 … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Killer whales share personality traits with humans, chimpanzees

Killer whales display personality traits similar to those of humans and chimpanzees, such as playfulness, cheerfulness and affection, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

More realistic research needed on substances that enter the environment

Chemical substances and nanomaterials are processed on a massive scale in diverse products, while their risks have not been properly assessed. Time and again synthesised substances have been shown to pollute the environment more than lab tests predicted. This is the warning given … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Report on seismic context measurements for induced seismicity

University of Liverpool researchers undertook a study in response to a request from the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to assess induced seismicity and the associated traffic light system (TLS) which is used by hydraulic fracturing operations in the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scorpion venom to shuttle drugs into the brain

The Peptides and Proteins lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) has published a paper in Chemical Communications describing the use of a peptide derived from chlorotoxin, found in scorpion venom to carry drugs across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Social enterprise Ricult uses digital tools to empower rural farmers in developing countries

More than half of the world's poorest people live on small farms in rural areas of developing countries, accounting for over 2 billion people living on around two dollars a day. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Adaptable, scalable and cost effective local solution to urban flooding prevention

Efforts to prevent urban flooding have often resulted in costly and complex systems based on rainfall forecasts which are often inaccurate. A new approach offers more agility, at a fraction of the investment. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Rapid, flexible water analysis creates industry stir

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Minority homebuyers face widespread statistical lending discrimination

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Unearthing evidence: Researchers examine processes that support soil health

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Songbirds set long-distance migration record

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

Humpback whales arrive in the Mediterranean to feed themselves

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@phys.org | 5 years ago

What does a chemical do? Addressing misconceptions about chemistry

When I introduce myself as a Ph.D. student in chemistry, I can often spot fear and incomprehension in people's eyes: chemists are often pictured as crazy scientists, like Dr. Maru in Wonder Woman, doing black magic and explosions. It appears that most of the public fears are base … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Keep it in the ground': What we can learn from anti-fossil fuel campaigns

From the fossil fuel divestment movement to the Stop Adani campaign, in recent years we've seen a wave of climate activism that directly targets fossil fuels—both the infrastructure used to produce, transport and consume them, and the corporations that finance, own and operate th … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Car-free Paris? It was already a dream in 1790

The debate over the place of cars in cities may seem like a recent one, but in fact was raging well before the first automobile even saw the light of day. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New research studies adhesiveness in ants as a way to improve synthetic adhesives

Many of us are used to encountering ants scampering across a sidewalk, a trail path or even in our kitchen floor. But in many parts of the world, like the tropical regions of Central America, ants live their lives up in trees and utilize adhesive pads and claws to scurry from the … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Terahertz laser pulses amplify optical phonons in solids

A study led by scientists of the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter (MPSD) at the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science in Hamburg/Germany presents evidence of the amplification of optical phonons in a solid by intense terahertz laser pulses. These lig … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Taking hydrogen mobility forward in Europe

In the drive to decarbonise Europe's transport sector, fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) offer crucial benefits. For one, their fuel – hydrogen – can be generated from a wide variety of local renewable energy sources, limiting reliance on energy imports. The FCEVs themselves pr … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A super-Earth found in our stellar back yard

The potential discovery of a planet orbiting Barnard's Star – the second closest stellar system to the sun – was announced by researchers today in Nature. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

For the sake of kids, embrace math

Mathematics is causing headaches in schools across Canada, Australia and many other parts of the world. Teachers in both Canada and Australia feel neither competent nor confident in math and, frankly, they are the first to admit it. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Launching new tech? How do you make data-driven decisions without any sales data?

When a tech company decides to launch a brand new, first-of-its-kind tech product, it can be hard to know how many you need to order. Order too few, and you may have to resort to more expensive manufacturing or shipping options to keep up with demand. Order too many, and you've j … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Black students who have one black teacher are more likely to go to college

The influence of having a black teacher can make a monumental difference in a black student's life, and the effect begins early in an education. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Hemimastigotes found to represent a major new branch on evolutionary tree of life

A team of researchers at Dalhousie University has found evidence that suggests hemimastigotes represent a major new branch of evolutionary life. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their genetic study of the dirt-dwelling microbe. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Designer emulsions

ETH material researchers are developing a method with which they can coat droplets with controlled interfacial composition and coverage on demand in an emulsion in order to stabilise them. In doing so they are fulfilling a long-held dream of researchers and industry. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A professor's study of the fictional Hogwarts faculty

Melissa C. Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Focused Inquiry in Virginia Commonwealth University's University College, was initially skeptical of the Harry Potter phenomenon, even as her nieces and nephews eagerly ate up the first book in the seri … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study of rock samples suggests Campi Flegrei could be re-entering a new phase of pressure buildup

A team of researchers from ETH Zürich, Cardiff University, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and Sapienza-Università di Roma has found evidence that suggests Campi Flegrei could be re-entering a phase of pressure buildup. In their paper published in the journal Scien … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

The kilogram is being redefined – a physicist explains

How much is a kilogram? 1,000 grams. 2.20462 pounds. Or 0.0685 slugs based on the old Imperial gravitational system. But where does this amount actually come from and how can everyone be sure they are using the same measurement? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Toilets of the future must be designed with people in mind, not technology

Most of you reading this article probably have a comfortable toilet that you use on a daily basis. As Steve Sugden wrote: "In more developed areas of the world we have forgotten the horrors of using a disgusting toilet and we now take for granted that toilets are comfortable, wel … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Feeling the pressure with universal tactile imaging

Touch, or tactile sensing, is fundamentally important for a range of real-life applications, from robotics to surgical medicine to sports science. Tactile sensors are modeled on the biological sense of touch and can help researchers to understand human perception and motion. Rese … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Insect antibiotic provides new way to eliminate bacteria

An antibiotic called thanatin attacks the way the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria is built. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now found that this happens through a previously unknown mechanism. Thanatin, produced naturally by the spined soldier bug, can theref … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

California wildfires raise concerns about impacts to environment and health

It never rains in California, so instead it burns—often—with prime fire conditions likely to persist until rainstorms arrive. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Quality of sellers critical to growth, revenues for online platforms

Online shopping platforms have changed the way we shop for everything from household items to holiday gifts. These firms – think Amazon, eBay or Etsy – provide a market space for buyers and sellers, and are the growth engines of the online economy, said Ju-Yeon Lee, an assistant … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Cold neutrons used in hot pursuit of better thermoelectrics

Thermoelectric devices are highly versatile, with the ability to convert heat into electricity, and electricity into heat. They are small, lightweight, and extremely durable because they have no moving parts, which is why they have been used to power NASA spacecraft on long-term … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New resources support tribes in preparing for climate change

Which Pacific Northwest streams will warm the most in the next 50 years, and where would restoration work make a difference for salmon? Where will wildfires and pests be most aggressive in forests as the Earth warms, and how can better management help? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Space making the virtual a reality

What do astronauts, Pokémon, wildlife park rangers and surgeons all have in common? | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scouting out bacterial defences to find new ways to counter-attack antibiotic resistance

Research led by the University of Bristol has begun to unpick an important mechanism of antibiotic resistance and suggest approaches to block this resistance. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Why macrophages rest in healthy tissue

ETH scientists have shown that the immune system's macrophages are regulated not only biochemically, but mechanically as well. This could explain why the cells are less active in healthy body tissue. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Researchers unraveling the mystery of how sperm cells navigate

Researchers have found that a protein in the cell membranes of sperm plays a key role in how they find their way to eggs. The PMCA protein may also help explain how egg cells only interact with sperm from the same species. PMCA may even be a target of drug discovery. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago