New information on the routines of competition-level agility dogs in Finland

A dataset comprising nearly 750 Finnish agility dogs collected by researchers at the University of Helsinki reveals that there are differences in training and competing between different dog skill categories and sizes. Most of the dogs practiced agility once or twice a week. Typi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study finds reporting entanglements of leatherback turtles is critical for survival

New research suggests that leatherback turtles entangled in fishing gear have a better chance of survival if the incident is reported quickly, giving trained responders the opportunity to fully disentangle the animals. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Researchers discover what happens on the bright side of the moon

Researchers from HSE University have developed a mathematical model that explains the levitation of charged dust particles over the sunlit lunar surface for almost any latitude. For the first time, the model takes into account the Earth's magnetotail—a particular area around our … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Study: Dogs may show grieving behavior after death of canine companion

Behavioral and emotional changes exhibited by dogs after the death of another dog in the same household could be indicative of grief, according to a survey of 426 Italian dog-owners published in Scientific Reports. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New stem cell population provides a new way to study the awakening of the human genome

Researchers from the Babraham Institute have today published their latest work in the journal Cell Stem Cell describing a new subset of human embryonic stem cells that closely resemble the cells present at the genomic 'wake up call' of the 8-cell embryo stage in humans. This new … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Ridgecrest shows how earthquakes damage Earth's crust

In July 2019, a series of earthquakes including two major shocks of magnitude 6.4 and 7.1 a day apart struck near Ridgecrest, CA, between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. For local residents, it was a violent interruption to the Fourth of July holiday. For seismologists, it was a rare … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New software speeds up process of directed evolution to produce proteins

The building blocks of life-saving therapeutics could be developed in days instead of years thanks to new software that simulates evolution. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Data study uncovers inequities in US citizenship process

It took filing a federal lawsuit for Professor Emily Ryo to complete a new empirical study on the naturalization, or citizenship, process. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

The secret of mycorrhizal fungi

Fungi, specifically those that are "mycorrhizal," are natural allies of the forest because they improve tree nutrient acquisition. But which of the mycorrhizal feeding strategies yields the greatest tree diversity in a forest: strategy A (ectomycorrhiza) or strategy B (arbuscular … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Climate change solutions inspired by nature

A promising strategy to strengthen climate resilience is through NBSs (nature-based solutions). Inspired by nature, NBSs tackle challenges caused by climate change while also providing environmental, social and economic benefits through the protection, sustainable management and … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Inorganic borophene liquid crystals may provide a superior new material for optoelectronic devices

Liquid crystals derived from borophene have risen in popularity, owing to their applicability in optoelectronic and photonic devices. However, their development requires a very narrow temperature range, which hinders their large-scale application. Now, Tokyo Tech researchers inve … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Ancient DNA helps reveal the social changes in Africa 50,000 years ago that shaped the human story

Every person alive on the planet today is descended from people who lived as hunter-gatherers in Africa. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Q & A: Women need to be leaders in internet governance

Learning how to code changed Baratang Miya's life. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

A new dimension in stem cell signaling

Divide, differentiate or die? Making decisions at the right time and place is what defines a cell's behavior and is particularly critical for stem cells of an developing organisms. Decision making relies on how information is processed by networks of signaling proteins. The teams … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Shape memory in hierarchical networks allow manipulation of morphing materials with micro scale resolutions

Researchers from Tel Aviv University have discovered, for the first time, a series of physical properties existing in polymer microfiber networks, among them "shape memory." These discoveries open the doors to a range of technological and biological applications, from tissue engi … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

How ads with dogs and cats affect consumer behavior

Researchers from University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of South Carolina, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how pet-related experiences affect people's consumption-related decisions. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New empirical study corrects previously published estimates of harvested European forest area

In July 2020 Nature published some surprising results showing an abrupt increase in harvested forest area in Europe, especially in the Nordic countries. A new study provides empirical insights into where the Nature study went wrong. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

The chemistry behind your LCD flat-screen devices: How a scientist changed the world

In a laboratory at the University of Hull 50 years ago, a new chemical compound was created that would impact the world as much as any drug, fuel or material. The man responsible for this society-changing invention was George Gray—his new liquid crystal molecules (now known as 5C … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Shaping the catalysts of the future

From the pharmaceutical industry to pesticides and construction materials, man-made materials are indispensable in many areas of our lives. Their production requires long and time-consuming chemical transformations. A new, more environmentally friendly method from chemists of Dia … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Genomic regulatory map of the zebrafish

Zebrafish and humans look very different on the outside. Yet about 70 percent of their genes are similar to human genes—including many that can trigger diseases. That makes the animal a popular model organism. Many observations of biological processes such as embryonic developmen … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Drones used to identify pregnant dolphins

Researchers have found a way to remotely determine if protected female bottlenose dolphins are expecting a calf using aerial photos taken from drones. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

After-school program promoting youth empowerment, Black culture helped reduce violence

An after-school program specifically designed to address racial and economic disparities affecting Black youth and empowering them to be a positive change in their community has long-term effects on behavior, according to a new University of Michigan study. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Creating 2D nanosheets where the molecules in the layers are held together only by weak non-covalent bonds

An international team of researchers has found a way to create 2D nanosheets in which the molecules in the layers are bound only by weak, non-covalent bonds. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their process and possible uses for it. Claudia Backes … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Understanding the role of university-based accelerators in start-up ecosystems

A new study in the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business looks at how university-based accelerators contribute to the development and growth of start-up companies and to the viability of a start-up ecosystem. The research adds to the burgeoning literature o … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Facial asymmetry in mountain gorillas likely tied to inbreeding

A large international team of researchers has found a possible connection between facial asymmetry in mountain gorillas and inbreeding. In their paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes comparing the facial features of gorilla groups to learn abo … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Environmental DNA analysis to manage fecal contamination

"Who's peeing in the water?" Unlikely as it may seem, there is a great deal of science behind this question. Determining the source of fecal contamination—an important public health issue—requires years of research. Doctoral student Rose Ragot and Professor Richard Villemur of th … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Revealing new states in 2D materials

Atomically thin two-dimensional (2D) materials can provide highly interesting excitonic properties, which render them an attractive platform to explore polaritonic physics. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

NASA develops technology to dissect the lower atmosphere

The part of the atmosphere closest to the planet is the hardest to measure from space due to the volume of gases above it. Studying Earth's planetary boundary layer, or PBL, will enable scientists to better understand the interaction between Earth's surface and weather and how th … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Researchers establish advanced high-resolution microscopy system to visualize bone remodeling

Osteoblasts act in a group to make bone over the course of several months. However, how osteoblasts cooperate with each other in vivo is still unknown. Now, researchers at Osaka University established an advanced high-resolution microscopy system to visualize extracellular vesicl … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Swiss rivers on track to overheat by the end of the century

According to an EPFL study, if we take immediate measures to reduce CO2 emissions, we could limit the rise in the temperature of Swiss rivers to 1 degree Celsius between now and 2090 without drastically affecting their discharge. Inaction, on the other hand, would threaten ecosys … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Mosquitoes might be attracted to certain colors

There's no question that finding yourself covered in mosquito bites quickly takes the shine off a pleasant summer evening. But mosquitoes are more than a nuisance. They're also the deadliest creatures on Earth, owing to the diseases they spread. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

What bird beaks say about tropical biodiversity

Areas of the globe where fruit-eating birds have wider beaks also have larger palm fruits, a new study shows. This sounds banal, but it provides new insights into tropical biodiversity and clues for solving species conservation, forest restoration and animal reintroduction challe … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Comparing machine learning models for earthquake detection

Machine learning is transforming data-heavy fields across the sciences, and seismology is no exception. Several machine learning methods have emerged for earthquake detection, phase identification, and phase picking. However, choosing which method to use is still a challenge beca … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Global cropland could be almost halved by increasing agricultural productivity

With rising global demand for agricultural commodities for use as food, feed, and bioenergy, pressure on land is increasing. At the same time, land is an important resource for tackling the principal challenges of the 21st century—the loss of biodiversity and global climate chang … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Simulating outer space in a beamline provides insight into ice formation in extreme environments

Extreme conditions—severe pressure, intense temperatures, and high levels of radiation— exist all over the earth and beyond. Scientists are using the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) to investigate how water and other molecules behave in these … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New guidelines to improve practice when babies are separated from parents at birth

Draft guidelines to help improve practice when the state acts to safeguard a baby at birth have been created by researchers at Oxford (the Rees Centre) and Lancaster Universities—and are being tested across England and Wales. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

What medieval skeletons tell us about modern day pandemics

A young woman walks Trondheim's streets 800 years ago, carrying a secret in her body. It's 150 years before the plague—the Black Death—but this young women is sick with a disease that no one thought was found in Europe at all during medieval times. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Body measurements for all 11,000 bird species released in open-access database

A new database called AVONET contains measurements of more than 90,000 individual birds, allowing researchers to test theories and aid conservation. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Tail hair technology uses real-time DNA sequencing to determine age of cattle

A way to determine the age of cattle by analyzing their tail hair has been described as a "game changer" for Australia's lucrative northern cattle industry. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Visualization of the origin of magnetic forces by atomic resolution electron microscopy

The joint development team of Professor Shibata (the University of Tokyo), JEOL Ltd. and Monash University succeeded in directly observing an atomic magnetic field, the origin of magnets (magnetic force), for the first time in the world. The observation was conducted using the ne … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Sea vegetables are the future of farming

Seaweed salad has never appealed to me. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Physical activity among office workers in Japan

Sufficient physical activity is vital to staying healthy. But for office workers whose job means spending most of the day at their desks, staying active is difficult. Researchers in Japan shed light on how office workers can keep active throughout the working day. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Releasing a virus against rabbits is effective, but can make them immune if let loose at the wrong time

Rabbits are an enormous problem for Australian ecosystems—they're a major threat to 322 species of plants and animals already at risk of extinction. This is more than double the number of species threatened by cats and foxes. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Is Marscrete the answer to building on Mars?

How can we build on Mars? A casual chat with a geologist led a University of Canterbury (UC) engineering academic and his team to spend years researching how to build on Mars. It all started with Associate Professor Allan Scott and Geology Professor Chris Oze (Occidental College) … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Fight or flight? How birds are helping to reveal the mysteries of evolution

New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst uncovers the negative link between flightworthiness and fight-worthiness in birds. Evolutionary pressure demanded that birds could either fly or arm themselves—but not both. Furthermore, the new research suggests that deve … | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

New study shows that Earth's coldest forests are shifting northward with climate change

New research from Northern Arizona University shows rising temperatures are causing Earth's coldest forests to shift northward, raising concerns about biodiversity, an increased risk of wildfires and mounting impacts of climate change on northern communities. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Reforesting Kenya has never been so sustainable

Kenya is pioneering a newly developed 100% solar energy-driven drying system for forest pine tree seeds in its bid to tackle the country's decades-long deforestation crisis. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago

Dog kennel hit by meteorite sells at auction

A Christie's auction of rare meteorites Wednesday sold a rock from space that narrowly missed a German Shepherd when it smashed into his kennel in Costa Rica. | Continue reading


@phys.org | 2 years ago