Alibaba hits another 'Singles Day' record but growth slows

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba filled a record $30.7 billion in orders on Sunday during its annual "Singles Day" shopping frenzy, but growth slowed from previous years. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

SAP buying Qualtrics for $8 billion in cash

SAP says it has agreed to pay $8 billion cash for survey-software provider Qualtrics International Inc., which was preparing for an initial sale of stock to the public. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

How to drive a robot on Mars

Some 78 million miles (126 million kilometers) from Earth, alone on the immense and frigid Red Planet, a robot the size of a small 4x4 wakes up just after sunrise. And just as it has every day for the past six years, it awaits its instructions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Urban planning policy contributes to political polarization

Urban planning decisions from decades past are likely a contributing factor to the rise of right-wing populism, a study from the University of Waterloo has found. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Crazy in love? The Japanese man 'married' to a hologram

Akihiko Kondo's mother refused an invitation to her only son's wedding in Tokyo this month, but perhaps that isn't such a surprise: he was marrying a hologram. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Queens neighborhood wary of Amazon coming to town

New York's Long Island City, where Amazon is tipped to set up a new home, is a neighborhood in flux—a construction site of warehouses and skyscrapers where some fear the online retail giant will only make everything worse. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Despite restrictions, digital spending hits record in US midterms

Even as online platforms tightened rules for political ads, digital spending set new records in the 2018 US midterm elections and appears poised for further growth in 2020. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

'Ababis' and 'Star Wnrs': Knockoffs thrive in China e-commerce

Sneakers on a popular Chinese e-commerce platform look like Adidas, but are branded "Ababis". Underwear resembling Calvin Klein are called "Caiwen Kani". Toys with an uncanny resemblance to a certain blockbuster movie franchise opt for "Star Wnrs". | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

California's Paradise: a ghost town emerging from hell

Smoldering debris, skeletons of cars with melted glass, a cat with a singed, soot-covered coat: ravaged by the most destructive fire to hit California, Paradise is now a ghost town. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Surfer bitten by shark in latest Australia attack

A surfer was bitten on the leg by a shark off a beach on Australia's west coast Sunday, authorities said, the latest in a spate of recent attacks that saw another man killed. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

With Uber Eats' fast growth comes potential for profit

In three years, the Uber Eats restaurant food delivery service has grown from an experiment to serving much of the U.S. and major cities worldwide. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Warming hurting shellfish, aiding predators, ruining habitat

Valuable species of shellfish have become harder to find on the East Coast because of degraded habitat caused by a warming environment, according to a pair of scientists that sought to find out whether environmental factors or overfishing was the source of the decline. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Paradise lost: California fires rage on

Firefighters in California on Saturday battled raging blazes at both ends of the state that have left at least nine people dead and thousands of homes destroyed, but there was little hope of containing the flames anytime soon. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Egypt's newly discovered tombs hold mummies, animal statues

A top Egyptian antiquities official says local archaeologists have discovered seven Pharaonic Age tombs near the capital Cairo containing dozens of cat mummies along with wooden statues depicting other animals and birds. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Plastic microfibers found for first time in wild animals' stool, from South American fur seals

For the first time, plastic microfibers have been discovered in wild animals' stool, from South American fur seals. The findings were made by a team of Morris Animal Foundation-funded researchers at the University of Georgia, who suggest examining scat from pinnipeds can be an ef … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

New flexible, transparent, wearable biopatch, improves cellular observation, drug delivery

Purdue University researchers have developed a new flexible and translucent base for silicon nanoneedle patches to deliver exact doses of biomolecules directly into cells and expand observational opportunities. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A two-atom quantum duet

Researchers at the Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) achieved a major breakthrough in shielding the quantum properties of single atoms on a surface. The scientists used the magnetism of single atoms, known as spin, as a basic buildi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Graphene on the way to superconductivity

Scientists at HZB have found evidence that double layers of graphene have a property that may let them conduct current completely without resistance. They probed the band structure at BESSY II with extremely high resolution ARPES and could identify a flat area at a surprising loc … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

"Disney+" service a year away from streaming shows

The Walt Disney Company will launch a "Disney+" streaming service in the United States late next year, boosting it with live-action shows spun from hit "Star Wars" and Marvel hero films. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Transmission of antibiotic resistant E. coli mapped in wild giraffe social networks

A team from the University of Minnesota has shown that antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli bacteria in wild giraffes most likely come from anthropogenic sources, such as local cattle herds and humans. The research is published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Next US astronaut on Russian rocket confident after mishaps

A U.S. astronaut says she has no qualms about riding a Russian rocket next month despite back-to-back mishaps. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Protests at Joburg zoo over widowed elephant

Johannesburg Zoo is under mounting pressure to send a lonely elephant to an animal sanctuary after her male companion died last month. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Thai businessman to buy Fortune magazine

Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon agreed Friday to buy Fortune magazine for $150 million in the latest deal for titles from the former Time Inc. family. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

France grounds Ryanair plane to force subsidy repayment

French authorities said on Friday they seized a Ryanair plane, forcing 149 London-bound passengers off the aircraft, to get the Irish low-cost airline to repay illegal public aid, the latest in a string of troubles for the carrier. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

NASA satellite sees Tropical Cyclone Alcide nearing Madgascar

Tropical Cyclone Alcide continued to linger just northeast of the Island nation of Madagascar in the Southern Indian Ocean when NASA's Aqua satellite passed overhead and captured an image of the storm. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Study demonstrates 'tunability' of a molecular chaperone

For decades, molecular biologists studying a class of molecular chaperones known as heat shock proteins (Hsp70s) have relied on the Hsp70s found in bacteria as the model system. Now one of the world's experts on the molecule and her team report that their investigation into wheth … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Freshwater turtles navigate using the sun

Blanding's turtle hatchlings need only the sun as their compass to guide them on their way to the nearest wetland—and a place of safety. This is according to John Dean Krenz of Minnesota State University in the US, lead author of a study in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology a … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Solar power—largest study to date discovers 25 percent power loss across UK

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have undertaken the largest study to date into the effectiveness of solar panels across the UK and discovered that parts of the country are suffering an overall power loss of up to 25% because of the issue of regional 'hot spots'. Hot … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientists capture the sound of sunrise on Mars

Scientists have created the soundtrack of the 5,000th Mars sunrise captured by the robotic exploration rover, Opportunity, using data sonification techniques to create a two-minute piece of music. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Quantum 'compass' could allow navigation without relying on satellites

The UK's first quantum accelerometer for navigation has been demonstrated by a team from Imperial College London and M Squared. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Americans got to vote on lots of energy measures in 2018 – and mostly rejected them

Americans in at least seven states voted on ballot initiatives during the 2018 midterm elections. These measures targeted everything from raising targets for the share of electricity drawn from renewable energy to charging a tax on carbon emissions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

How to care for your houseplants during winter

A scattering of houseplants adds much-needed greenery to long Alberta winters, so if they turn brown or draw clouds of bugs, think twice about just tossing them out, says a University of Alberta plant expert. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Eight steps to a stronger cybersecurity strategy

If there's an attack on the country, the military mobilizes. When a natural disaster strikes, recovery plans go into effect. Should an infectious disease start to spread, health officials launch a containment strategy. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Scientist describes first known use of colored rocks in fish nest decoration

Cutlip minnows, a species of small fish that inhabit streams, could be described as the master interior decorators of the fish world. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Experts find stone tools connected communities

Stone tools from the Middle Stone Age in South Africa shows that different communities were connected over long time periods over vast geographical areas. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Pollution in cities damaging insects and ecosystems

High levels of pollution found in many of the world's major cities are having negative effects on plants and insects, according to new research from the University of Sheffield. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Prehistoric teeth give up their secrets

The isotope values of food consumed are reflected in the individual's tissues. As bone is constantly being turned over by remodelling, analysing the stable isotope ratios of bone collagen can shine a light on the main dietary protein sources consumed over many years. New research … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A narwhal frolics with the belugas: Why interspecies adoptions happen

Since the age of the Roman Empire and the story of how the twins Romulus and Remus were raised by a wolf, tales of interspecies adoptions have captivated the human imagination. The story that emerged from Canada's St. Lawrence River in July of 2018 was no exception. While researc … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Americans elected mayors who care about climate change

Being pro-environment was a winning strategy for this country's mayors. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Experts address burnout and exit from the veterinary profession

Employers and employees must work together to tackle issues of confidence and motivation, as a new report from the British Veterinary Association (BVA) reveals day-to-day experiences in the workplace are the biggest drivers for burnout and exit from the veterinary profession. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Music streaming to music subscriber

The music business has changed dramatically in the last couple of decades since the massive expansion of the internet, the development of music file compression algorithms, and the concept of anonymous file-sharing services. The business has perhaps been slow to respond to the te … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Climate change has created a storm of uncertainty. These researchers are making sense of it.

Climate change isn't a monolith. It's characterized by the melting of ice caps over time as much as by a storm surge that cuts off power to a coastal city's subway system. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

A virtual reality approach to social interaction

People tend to copy other people's behaviour, facial expressions or speech when socially interacting with them. Understanding this unintentional mimicry using sophisticated technology was the subject of the INTERHYTHM project. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

French NGO threatens Facebook with privacy lawsuit

A French NGO said Friday it was pursuing a class action suit against Facebook, saying the social network was violating users' privacy despite the enactment of strict new EU rules this year. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Handwoven textiles—a step on the path to sustainable fashion?

The fast-industrial fashion system, where profits go mostly to those at the top, and which produces high volumes of deliberate waste, is a dinosaur that will not survive the transition to sustainability. So believes textile management doctoral student David Goldsmith at the Swedi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Laser system prevents contamination on aircraft surfaces

Scientists have developed a laser material processing method to produce textured surfaces that repel dirt and water. This technology will primarily be used in the aerospace industry. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Stephen Hawking's final book suggests time travel may one day be possible – here's what to make of it

"If one made a research grant application to work on time travel it would be dismissed immediately," writes the physicist Stephen Hawking in his posthumous book Brief Answers to the Big Questions. He was right. But he was also right that asking whether time travel is possible is … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago

Fully identified—the pathway of protons

In their catalytic center, hydrogenases manufacture molecular hydrogen (H2) from two protons and two electrons. They extract the protons required for this process from the surrounding water and transfer them – via a transport chain – into their catalytic core. The exact proton pa … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 5 years ago