Study of two blobs in Earth's mantle shows unexpected differences in height, density

Earth is layered like an onion, with a thin outer crust, a thick viscous mantle, a fluid outer core and a solid inner core. Within the mantle, there are two massive blob-like structures, roughly on opposite sides of the planet. The blobs, more formally referred to as Large Low-Sh … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Scientists warn too many unknowns for deep-sea mining

For the first time, scientists have a comprehensive overview of the gaps in our knowledge about ocean areas targeted for deep-sea mining and how they could be impacted. New research, published in Marine Policy and co-authored by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa oceanographers, show … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

'Scents' of alarm: Volatile chemical signals from damaged plants warn neighbors about herbivore attacks

Animals often use highly specific signals to warn their herd about approaching predators. Surprisingly, similar behaviors are also observed among plants. Shedding more light on this phenomenon, Tokyo University of Science researchers have discovered one such mechanism. Using Arab … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Exploring the Rubin Observatory's giant data acquisition system

When the Vera C. Rubin Observatory starts taking pictures of the night sky in a few years, its centerpiece 3,200 megapixel Legacy Survey of Space and Time camera will produce an enormous trove of data valuable to everyone from cosmologists to the people who track asteroids that m … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Researchers find watershed size plays major role in filtering pollutants

One of the important functions of a river is to remove some of the pollution that can end up in the water, like lawn fertilizers and harmful bacteria, before that water reaches sensitive downstream ecosystems such as estuaries and oceans. Research from the University of New Hamps … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Face-to-face interaction may enhance learning, innovation

Whether virtual or in-person learning is better may be the wrong question. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

The start of the birth of planets in a binary star system observed

Astronomers have observed primordial material that may be giving birth to three planetary systems around a binary star in unprecedented detail. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Dating apps sought to spark love during the pandemic, according to new research

The unwelcome, unsought and altogether unsexy COVID-19 pandemic was arguably the greatest monkey wrench for the dating app industry. The business model is founded on forging proximate relationships, and—rightly or wrongly—associated with casual sex. Beginning in March 2020, it wa … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Emotional labor takes its toll on tourism workers

The emotional cost of a customer-facing job—or emotional labor—puts a heavy burden on tourism resort workers, according to a new study. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Christians, Jews and Muslims experience workplace discrimination differently, new research shows

Two-thirds of Muslims, half of Jews and more than a third of evangelical Protestant Christians experience workplace discrimination, albeit in different ways, according to a new study from Rice University's Religion and Public Life Program (RPLP). | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Labeling is a key to success of software company innovations, research suggests

Companies in the software industry, where novel ideas are prized, use linguistic tactics to develop new labels for their innovations to stay ahead of competitors. Using language to signal that something is "new and different" is an important tool for success, University of Califo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study finds that past global photosynthesis reacted quickly to more carbon in the air

Ice cores allow climate researchers to look 800,000 years back in time. New research indicates that atmospheric carbon acts as fertilizer, increasing biological production. The mechanism removes carbon from the air and thereby slows the acceleration in global warming. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Science behind jets of plasma occurring all over sun's chromosphere unraveled

Scientists have unraveled the science behind the jets of plasma—the fourth state of matter consisting of electrically charged particles that occur just about everywhere in the sun's chromosphere, which is the atmospheric layer just above the sun's visible surface. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Physicists show how frequencies can easily be multiplied without special circuitry

A new discovery by physicists at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) could make certain components in computers and smartphones obsolete. The team has succeeded in directly converting frequencies to higher ranges in a common magnetic material without the need for addi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

After more than 20 years, scientists have solved the full-length structure of a Janus kinase

The breakthrough came on molecular biologist Christopher Garcia's birthday. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Cosmic particle accelerator reaches theoretical limit

With the help of special telescopes, researchers have observed a cosmic particle accelerator as never before. Observations made with the gamma ray observatory H.E.S.S. in Namibia show for the first time the course of an acceleration process in a stellar process called a nova, whi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study finds that water determines magma depth, a key to accurate models of volcanic activity, eruption

Around the world, between 40 and 50 volcanoes are currently erupting or in states of unrest, and hundreds of millions of people are at risk of hazards posed by these potentially active volcanos. Yet, despite the profound hazards posed to human life and property by volcanic erupti … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Researchers discover genetic cause of sometimes deadly esophageal disorder in dogs

Clemson University researchers have discovered a genetic variation associated with an often deadly esophageal disorder frequently found in German shepherd dogs. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Manatees resort to eating more algae when seagrass disappears

Manatees resorted to eating a staggering amount of algae after seagrasses died-off in Florida's Indian River Lagoon. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Seeing lipids more deeply with mass spectrometry

The development of new scientific ways to see more deeply into the building blocks of nature on a cellular level has led to the some of the greatest advances in medicine over the last century. Now, new research into phosphoinositides, which are a family of membrane lipids essenti … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

'Seafloor fertilizer factory' helped breathe life into Earth

Scientists reveal a new part of the recipe for complex life on planets, and it involves the onset of a microbial fertilizer factory on the Earth's seafloor roughly 2.6 billion years ago. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New observations from ICESat-2 show remarkable Arctic sea ice thinning in just three years

Over the past two decades, the Arctic has lost about one-third of its winter sea ice volume, largely due to a decline in sea ice that persists over several years, called multiyear ice, according to a new study. The study also found sea ice is likely thinner than previous estimate … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Magnetism helps electrons vanish in high-temp superconductors

Superconductors—metals in which electricity flows without resistance—hold promise as the defining material of the near future, according to physicist Brad Ramshaw, and are already used in medical imaging machines, drug discovery research and quantum computers being built by Googl … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Q&A: Will machines replace human workers?

Economists have long studied the question of whether machines might one day replace human workers, but the advent of new technologies makes it particularly important as we consider the future of work in the 21st century. New research by Wake Forest economics professor Mark Curtis … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study finds more 'losers' than 'winners' among plants in the age of humans

A new analysis spanning more than 86,000 plant species from John Kress, botany curator emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and Gary Krupnick, head of the museum's plant conservation unit, finds that on this human-dominated planet, many more species o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Roadmap for finding new functional porous materials

The discovery of new structures holds tremendous promise for accessing advanced functional materials in energy and environmental applications. Although cage-based porous materials, metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs), are attracting attention as an emerging functional platform for num … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Hawaiian corals show surprising resilience to warming oceans

A long-term study of Hawaiian coral species provides a surprisingly optimistic view of how they might survive warmer and more acidic oceans resulting from climate change. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Cutting HFCs to cool the Earth

To have a better chance of holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we need to accelerate the phase-down of HFC refrigerants under the Montreal Protocol. This could also reduce pollution and improve energy access. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Converting plastic waste into porous carbon for capturing carbon dioxide

Besides climate change, which is mostly the result of our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, plastic pollution stands as one of the most critical environmental concerns of this decade. The sheer quantity of discarded and misplaced plastic is dealing irreparable damage to Earth's eco … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Exploring ancient tuberculosis transmission chains

Tuberculosis (TB) is the second most common cause of death worldwide by an infectious pathogen (after Covid-19), but many aspects of its long history with humans remain controversial. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and A … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

One step closer to artificial rhino eggs

To prevent the extinction of the northern white rhino, the international consortium BioRescue is attempting to create artificial egg cells from stem cells. A team led by MDC's Sebastian Diecke and Micha Drukker of Leiden University has now revealed in Scientific Reports that they … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study proposes to involve high school students in mapping natural disaster hazards and impact prevention

Several natural disasters have afflicted various parts of Brazil since 2022 began, from deadly flooding and mudslides due to abnormally heavy rain in the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, to severe drought in Rio Grande do Sul state. However, only 6.1% … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Distress can linger after disasters like floods. A mix of personality, family and community gives us clues

The Queensland and New South Wales floods are a powerful reminder that health crises and natural disasters can arrive without warning and wreak havoc on the lives of those affected. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

The challenge of humor in the workplace for women

The workplace can be a serious place, and humor can be a valuable tool to lighten the mood. But using humor appropriately to lighten the moment can be tricky, especially for women. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Living in more polluted areas increases risk for poor mental wellbeing

People in the UK who live in more polluted areas, such as near busy roads, are at a higher risk of poor mental wellbeing, new research led by the University of St Andrews has found. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Heat stress for cattle may cost billions by century's end

Looming climate change may be economically hard for low-income cattle farmers in poor countries due to increasing heat stress on the animals. Globally, by the end of this century those producers may face financial loss between $15 and $40 billion annually. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Whether people prepare for natural disasters depends on how the message is sent

Coastal areas are at the frontline of natural hazards—a fact now thrown into sharp relief as flooding devastates parts of southeastern Australia. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

The new, improved Dragonfly telescope is a galactic gas detector

The Dragonfly telescope is undergoing a metamorphosis. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Social marketers catch cheating on online surveys, casting doubt on compensated internet research

A warning from researchers at the University of South Florida: Scam artists are taking advantage of online surveys that pay for participation—a method of market research that has become more common practice since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

A first step towards quantum algorithms: Minimizing the guesswork of a quantum ensemble

Given the rapid pace at which technology is developing, it comes as no surprise that quantum technologies will become commonplace within decades. A big part of ushering in this new age of quantum computing requires a new understanding of both classical and quantum information and … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

EPA restores California's authority to set its own auto pollution rules

California is back in the driver's seat as it steers the nation toward a future of cleaner cars and light trucks. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Why unions matter for nursing

In recent years, organized labor participation has risen in the United States, with workers collectively negotiating for better wages and equitable working conditions. Nurses are organizing at a particularly high rate; according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 20% belong … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

A new approach to predict stable species in liquids can guide the design of optimal solution performance

A team of researchers led by Nav Nidhi Rajput, Ph.D., at Stony Brook University, have found a way to computationally predict stable molecular species in liquid solutions. The new method, detailed in a paper in Nature Computational Science, introduces a fully automated high-throug … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Diversion programs reduce criminal justice system footprint in Philadelphia

When a person with no criminal history is charged with a non-violent, misdemeanor offense, the prosecutor has several choices, including getting the case dismissed or pursuing a conviction. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

'I just go to school with no food': Why Australia must tackle child poverty to improve educational outcomes

About one in six children in Australia live in poverty. These children generally have poorer educational outcomes than more advantaged children. Our recently published research shows students who live in poverty also experience more social exclusion at school than their more adva … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New FRII radio galaxy detected by astronomers

Astronomers report the detection of a new Fanaroff-Riley Class II (FRII) radio galaxy using various telescopes.The newly found galaxy turns out to be a peculiar gamma-ray emitting source. The discovery was detailed in a paper published March 2 on the arXiv pre-print repository. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

How new bird species arise

Much of a centuries-old debate over where and how new bird species form has now been resolved. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have provided evidence that birds in mountainous areas—where the vast majority of the planet's species live—have left lowland habitats for hi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Improving nano-particle passage through the body

A new approach to send 'friendly' nano-particles into a patient's blood stream has shown promising results by modifying the surface of these potential drug, vaccine or cancer treatment delivery objects to encourage the best result. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago