https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Humanity may be no better prepared for the impacts of climate change today than in the 1970s. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-nature-climate.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:50:01 EDT news646572706 Deep-learning models are being used in many fields, from health care diagnostics to financial forecasting. However, these models are so computationally intensive that they require the use of powerful cloud-based servers. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-protocol-leverages-quantum-mechanics-shield.html General Physics Quantum Physics Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:32:58 EDT news646565567 As a physicist and data scientist with a keen interest in gender inequality, Fariba Karimi was amazed to discover that the gender gap in physics has remained almost unchanged since 1900. As the citation and coauthorship networks in physics expand, women still make up a small proportion—and the gaps between male and female are getting larger in terms of absolute numbers. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-gender-gap-physics-stable-century.html Social Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 09:43:04 EDT news646562582 At a tranquil nature reserve in South Michigan, an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her collaborators connected olden wild bee sample collections and modern technology to better decode the ecological traits and habits of pollinators, critical links to environmental stability. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-vintage-museum-modern-intersect-century.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 25 Sep 2024 16:53:04 EDT news646501982 Artificial intelligence (AI) is the buzz phrase of 2024. Though far from that cultural spotlight, scientists from agricultural, biological and technological backgrounds are also turning to AI as they collaborate to find ways for these algorithms and models to analyze datasets to better understand and predict a world impacted by climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-network-potential-crop-yield.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 24 Sep 2024 14:58:04 EDT news646408682 The internet can be a toxic place. Disinformation, hate speech and trolling are not just abundant—they are encouraged by the economy of clicks which governs many online platforms. There are no good clicks, no bad clicks, only clicks. By that metric, mutual hostility is great, because it results in lots of clicks. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-internet-toxic-online-oases-mutual.html Social Sciences Tue, 24 Sep 2024 11:10:01 EDT news646394341 Deadly Storm Boris has flooded large areas of central Europe and the UK, destroying homes and displacing thousands of people. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-blame-climate.html Environment Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:58:59 EDT news646394334 The beliefs we hold develop from a complex dance between our internal and external lives. Our personal-level cognition and our relationships with others work in concert to shape our views of the world and influence how likely we are to update those views when we encounter new information. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-theory-interplay-personal-social-beliefs.html Social Sciences Thu, 19 Sep 2024 17:12:04 EDT news645984722 This morning, my six-year-old came into our bedroom and started reading a story from a book. She followed each word on the page, slowly forming full sentences. Sometimes she stumbled and asked for help with some "funny words," but by the end of the book, she had told us a story about a bear in the snow. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-silent-conversations.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:20:04 EDT news645718801 A research team has proposed a novel approach to accurately describe electron transfer mediated nonadiabatic dynamics of molecules at metal surfaces. Their works were published in Physical Review Letters. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-strategy-simulating-nonadiabatic-dynamics-molecules.html Condensed Matter Mon, 16 Sep 2024 10:57:17 EDT news645703031 Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have managed to enhance the framework of Brownian reservoir computing by recording and transferring hand gestures to the system that then used skyrmions to detect these individual gestures. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-energy-magnetic.html General Physics Condensed Matter Mon, 16 Sep 2024 10:57:08 EDT news645703024 Aging infrastructure, short-term thinking, and ambitions that far outstrip its funding are just a few of the problems threatening the future of America's vaunted civil space agency, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-aging-overworked-underfunded-nasa-dire.html Space Exploration Fri, 13 Sep 2024 08:10:04 EDT news645433217 How can computer models help design microbial communities? A research team comprising members from Aachen, Düsseldorf and East Lansing/U.S. examined the development perspectives of so-called synthetic biology. In an article published in the journal Synthetic Biology, they explain why computer-aided biology has an important role to play. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-highlights-role-biology-microbial-community.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:07:04 EDT news645372421 Two researchers at the University of Warsaw developed a quantum-inspired super-resolving spectrometer for short pulses of light. The device designed in the Quantum Optical Devices Lab at the Centre for Quantum Optical Technologies, Centre of New Technologies and Faculty of Physics UW offers over a two-fold improvement in resolution compared to standard approaches. In the future, it can be miniaturized on a photonic chip and applied in optical and quantum networks as well as in spectroscopic studies of matter. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-latent-photons-enables-super-precise.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Thu, 12 Sep 2024 12:39:03 EDT news645363541 Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, are developing a promising method to support the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in horses. Awareness of the prevalence of IBD in both humans and animals has increased in recent decades, and the need for effective and affordable diagnostic methods has become increasingly urgent. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-horse-welfare-intestinal-disease-screening.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Tue, 10 Sep 2024 15:08:03 EDT news645199681 In an article published in the International Journal of Engineering Systems Modelling and Simulation researchers demonstrate how a trained algorithm can identify the trumpeting calls of elephants, distinguishing them from human and other animal sounds in the environment. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-elephant-trumpeting-safety-villagers.html Ecology Biotechnology Mon, 09 Sep 2024 14:16:03 EDT news645110161 The time frame defining "protracted displacement" by the United Nations may need to be significantly shortened, according to a new study on internally displaced persons (IDPs) which suggests earlier support is needed for affected communities. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-internal-displacement-policy-broader-environment.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 06 Sep 2024 12:21:04 EDT news644844062 Researchers from LMU, the ORIGINS Excellence Cluster, the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), and the ORIGINS Data Science Lab (ODSL) have made an important breakthrough in the analysis of exoplanet atmospheres. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-exoplanets.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Fri, 06 Sep 2024 09:45:03 EDT news644834701 Dark matter is the invisible force holding the universe together—or so we think. It makes up about 85% of all matter and around 27% of the universe's contents, but since we can't see it directly, we have to study its gravitational effects on galaxies and other cosmic structures. Despite decades of research, the true nature of dark matter remains one of science's most elusive questions. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-distinguish-dark-cosmic-noise.html Astronomy Fri, 06 Sep 2024 05:00:01 EDT news644756344 Researchers at Auburn University, in collaboration with scientists from the University of Basel and ETH Zurich, have made an advance in the fight against cancer. The team, led by Dr. Rafael Bernardi, Associate Professor of Biophysics in the Department of Physics, has developed a novel approach integrating artificial intelligence (AI) with molecular dynamics simulations and network analysis to enhance the prediction of binding sites on the PD-L1 protein. This breakthrough promises to accelerate the development of personalized cancer treatments by identifying critical interaction points in cancer-related proteins. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-biophysics-approach-critical-interaction.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 05 Sep 2024 16:56:03 EDT news644774161 Group sleeping can impact when animals sleep, how long they sleep for, and how deeply they sleep. For example, groups of meerkats time their sleep according to "sleep traditions"; olive baboons sleep less when their group size increases; bumblebees suppress sleep in the presence of offspring; and co-sleeping mice can experience synchronized REM sleep. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-animals-social-interconnections-fully-understood.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 05 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news644745961 Tens of thousands of pupils in France are going through a slightly different return to school this autumn, deprived of their mobile phones. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-digital-france-school-mobile.html Education Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:27:37 EDT news644657245 The more centrally connected someone is within their social media network, the more likely that new words they use will become adopted into mainstream language, according to a new study published in PLOS Complex Systems by Louise Tarrade of École Normale Supérieure, France, and colleagues. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-words-social-media.html Social Sciences Tue, 03 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news644570881 Apple cultivation is widespread, but Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), caused by the fungus Colletotrichum fructicola, poses a major threat, especially in China. This disease damages leaves and fruits, reducing yield and quality. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-apple-unraveling-molecular-response-fungal.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 03 Sep 2024 12:18:03 EDT news644584681 A study by the Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT) is employing new methods in coral reef research. Under the leadership of fish ecologist Dr. Julian Lilkendey, an international research team utilized innovative AI technologies to analyze the movements of reef fish in the Red Sea with high precision. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-ai-peers-deep-high-resolution.html Ecology Biotechnology Thu, 29 Aug 2024 14:03:04 EDT news644158982 Bacterial cells can "remember" brief, temporary changes to their bodies and immediate surroundings, a new Northwestern University and University of Texas-Southwestern study has found. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-bacterial-cells-transmit-memories-offspring.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 28 Aug 2024 14:00:02 EDT news644052242 Over the past 17 years, Rwanda has cleared informal settlements to make way for modern urban construction. Kigali's ambitious city master plan is expected to be fully realized by 2050. But what about the people who are pushed out in the process, and their memories? Shakirah E. Hudani presents some of their stories in her new book Master Plans and Minor Acts: Repairing the City in Post-Genocide Rwanda. She answers questions about Kigali's emergence from conflict, and what could be. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-qa-rwanda-shiny-modern-cities.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:06:08 EDT news644061965 Male fruit flies will become oblivious to physical danger as they become more engaged in courtship and sex, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-male-fruit-flies-sex-safety.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:00:01 EDT news643994281 Simulating particles is a relatively simple task when those particles are spherical. In the real world, however, most particles are not perfect spheres, but take on irregular and varying shapes and sizes. Simulating these particles becomes a much more challenging and time-consuming task. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-machine-simulations-irregularly-particles.html General Physics Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:18:03 EDT news643907881 To introduce quantum networks into the marketplace, engineers must overcome the fragility of entangled states in a fiber cable and ensure the efficiency of signal delivery. Now, scientists at Qunnect Inc. in Brooklyn, New York, have taken a large step forward by operating just such a network under the streets of New York City. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-prototype-quantum-internet-york-city.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Physics Sat, 24 Aug 2024 07:00:01 EDT news643622014