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. Mysterious craters that first appeared in the Siberian permafrost a decade ago were caused by climate change-driven pressure changes that explosively released methane frozen underground, a new study reports. The research offers a fresh take on the origins of the craters first sighted on Russia's Yamal Peninsula in 2014. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-explanation-siberia-permafrost-craters.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:03:58 EDT news646589030 Most Americans can expect wetter winters in the future due to global warming, according to a new study led by a University of Illinois Chicago scientist. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-climate-wetter-winters.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:03:49 EDT news646589025 Christian de Caestecker, a Ph.D. student in the lab of Ian Macara, Louise B. McGavock Professor and chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, has proposed and validated a mechanism that addresses a decades-old mystery surrounding epithelial cells. de Caestecker's research, published in Nature Cell Biology, sheds light on the process by which epithelial cells, polarized cells that face the outside world, sort and deliver the specialized proteins they need at each cell's top (outermost) surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-decades-protein-mystery.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 17:01:02 EDT news646588861 Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants' capacity to reproduce, according to an article published in the American Journal of Botany describing a study of this mechanism in Chamaecrista latistipula, a legume belonging to the Fabaceae family, which includes beans and peas. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-presence-bacteria-soil-pollinators.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:22:04 EDT news646586522 Solar wind is a never-ending stream of charged particles coming from the sun. Rather than a constant breeze, this wind is rather gusty. As solar wind particles travel through space, they interact with the sun's variable magnetic field, creating chaotic and fluctuating motion known as turbulence. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-turbulent-solar-sun-corona.html Astronomy Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:05:12 EDT news646585508 Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with the Georgia Institute of Technology, have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the stability of amine-functionalized porous solid materials, a crucial component in direct air capture (DAC) carbon-capture technologies. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-lifetime-key-carbon-capture-materials.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:50:03 EDT news646584602 Combining two techniques, analytical chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have become the first to detect fluorine and different isotopes of uranium in a single particle at the same time. Because fluorine is essential for converting uranium into a form suitable for enrichment, spotting both elements together may help inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, determine the intended use of a nuclear material. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-simultaneous-uranium-isotopes-fluorine-advances.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:46:04 EDT news646584361 Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized formations on the ocean floor that are rich in minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Their concentration of rare, economically important minerals has made the nodules the focus of controversial deep-sea mining enterprises. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-unexpected-role-magnetic-microbes-deep.html Earth Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:28:03 EDT news646583282 In a surprise finding, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the blowtorch-like jet from a supermassive black hole at the core of a huge galaxy seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. The stars, called novae, are not caught inside the jet, but are apparently in a dangerous neighborhood nearby. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-hubble-black-hole-stellar-eruptions.html Astronomy Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:47:20 EDT news646580833 Transport proteins are responsible for the ongoing movement of substrates into and out of a biological cell. However, it is difficult to determine which substrates a specific protein can transport. Bioinformaticians at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have developed a model—called SPOT—that can predict this with a high degree of accuracy using artificial intelligence (AI). https://phys.org/news/2024-09-ai-substrate-movement-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:46:10 EDT news646580759 Many cellular functions in the human body are controlled by biological droplets called liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) droplets. These droplets, made of soft biological materials, exist inside living cells but are not enclosed by membranes like most cell structures. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-method-synthetic-dna-droplet.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:00:10 EDT news646578001 An interdisciplinary team of researchers led by the University of Massachusetts Amherst have published work in the journal Science calling into question the conclusions of a widely reported study—published in Science in 2023—finding the social platform's algorithms successfully filtered out untrustworthy news surrounding the 2020 election and were not major drivers of misinformation. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-team-debunks-facebook-news-algorithm.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news646565823 The structural complexity of coral reefs creates a vibrant underwater city populated by a diverse assortment of characters. Ironically, this same complexity can impede coral recovery after disturbances. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-dead-coral-skeletons-hinder-reef.html Ecology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 13:11:05 EDT news646575061 Spontaneous injuries like the loss of a limb or damage to the spinal cord are impossible for humans to repair. Yet, some animals have an extraordinary capacity to regenerate after injury, a response that requires a precise sequence of cellular events. Now, new research from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research has unveiled a critical timing factor—specifically how long cells actively respond to injury—involved in regulating regeneration. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-uncover-critical-component-killifish.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:35:40 EDT news646572928 A rescue effort can take many forms—a life raft, a firehose, an airlift. For animals whose populations are in decline from inbreeding, genetics itself can be a lifesaver. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-genetic-rare-red-foxes-uncovers.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:12:07 EDT news646571521 New University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka research has uncovered the unlikely location of one of the earliest securely dated sites of sweet potato (kūmara) cultivation in Polynesia. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-unexpected-discovery-early-sweet-potato.html Archaeology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:06:14 EDT news646571170 In a new study, a team of researchers suggests that 4 billion years ago, plate tectonics likely looked closer to what we experience today than previously thought. The team published its findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-billion-years-plate-tectonics-closer.html Earth Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:53:03 EDT news646570381 Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are studying how nanoplastics affect aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. Their findings are surprising, and the researchers are the first to show that some species are being wiped out, while others—such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms—are completely unaffected. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic.html Ecology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:45:03 EDT news646569901 Researchers from Umeå University, Sweden, and Cornell University, U.S., have discovered a widespread mechanism in bacteria that enhances the bacteria's defense against environmental threats. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-unveils-mechanism-bacterial-cell-walls.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:42:03 EDT news646569721 A team of astrophysicists from several institutions in Italy, working with a colleague in the U.S., has found that aliphatic hydrocarbons observed on Ceres' surface have short lifetimes, suggesting they likely appeared there within the last 10 million years. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-aliphatic-hydrocarbons-ceres-surface-short.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:30:01 EDT news646566741 Scientists have found that different populations of a plant species, which is closely related to many crops of worldwide importance, use very different strategies to adapt to environmental changes, which gives experts new options to engineer crops to better survive climate change and tackle future food security. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-species-methods-extreme-environments.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:29:04 EDT news646568941 From Velcro to solar cells, many technological innovations have been inspired by nature. In medical diagnostics, researchers also draw inspiration from biological principles. A research team from the University of Freiburg and the INM—Leibniz Institute for New Materials in Saarbrücken has developed testing methods in which simple LEDs could replace complex mechanical pumps. These OptoAssays not only mimic the behavior of biological cells but also use their genetic programming. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-bioassays-diseases-easily-effectively.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:04:40 EDT news646567477 Sea robins are ocean fish particularly suited to their bottom-dwelling lifestyle. Six leg-like appendages make them so adept at scurrying, digging, and finding prey that other fish tend to hang out with them and pilfer their spoils. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-sea-robins-leg-fins-seafloor.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646559161 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin and the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna have discovered a potential "pause button" in the earliest stages of human development. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-scientists-button-human.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646565830 The number of days per year that are simultaneously extremely hot, dry, and have a high fire risk have as much as tripled since 1970 in some parts of South America. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-drought-south-america.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:00:01 EDT news646567141 Squinting into the treetops won't reveal the tiny organisms up there. But these creatures leave clues, in the form of DNA, on the leaves and branches. Now, researchers report in Environmental Science & Technology that they have developed a way to collect this genetic material: a drone with a specialized fabric probe. The team flew the drone above the rainforest and, based on DNA collected by the probe, identified the invertebrates in the canopy. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-rainforest-treetops-dna-drone-insights.html Ecology Biotechnology Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:37:22 EDT news646565838 A toothpaste-based transistor is the latest innovation from the research team at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Milan, which pushes the boundaries of edible electronics. This innovative nano-device is expected to become a key component of future smart pills, designed to monitor health conditions from within the body and then safely dissolve after completing their function. The research findings have been published in the journal Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-edible-toothpaste-based-transistor.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:36:46 EDT news646565801 More than 600 cellphone towers were inoperable. Close to 900,000 Florida Power and Light customers were left without electricity. Flooding in portions of Coconut Grove and Matheson Hammock Park reached 6 feet. And agricultural damages totaled $245 million. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-south-florida-mosquito-populations-hurricane.html Environment Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:33:11 EDT news646565579 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 A team of chemical biologists at the University of Washington, working with colleagues at Oxford Nanopore Technologies, has developed a protein sequencing process that involves pulling proteins through nanopores in a lipid membrane. Their paper is published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-biologists-sequence-proteins-nanopores.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 26 Sep 2024 10:32:26 EDT news646565540