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. The first rumblings of the sun's next 11-year solar cycle have been detected in sound waves inside our home star—even though it is only halfway through its current one. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-early-riser-sun-solar-halfway.html Astronomy Thu, 18 Jul 2024 19:00:01 EDT news640524293 Ants are famous for their regimented and complex social behaviors. In the tropics, they are also famous for forming mutualisms with plants. Certain species of trees have conspicuous hollow swellings that house ants, often feeding the ants with specialized ant food. In return, the ants are pugnacious bodyguards, swarming out to aggressively defend the plant against enemies. Scientists have observed these mutualisms for centuries, but an enduring question is how these intriguing interactions evolved in the first place. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-ants-trees-evolutionary-dj-vu.html Evolution Ecology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:21:04 EDT news640542061 A scoping review conducted by the Canadian Curriculum Theory Project sheds light on the pervasive presence of racism in the general curricula and a significant gap in antiracist initiatives within Canadian science education programs. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-tackling-racism-teacher-science-curricula.html Education Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:12:03 EDT news640541521 Three potential Critical Angel Shark Areas (CASAs) have been identified in the Eastern Mediterranean, specifically in Türkiye's Fethiye Bay and Antalya Bay, which are part of the Turkish Riviera, and the Çanakkale or Dardanelles Strait, in the northwestern part of the country. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-potential-areas-critically-endangered-sharks.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:11:04 EDT news640541462 Scientists have developed an AI-based method that helps gather data more efficiently in the search for new materials, allowing researchers to navigate complex design challenges with greater precision and speed. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-ai-approach-materials-discovery-stage.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:06:04 EDT news640541161 When it comes to heating up the planet, not all greenhouse gases are created equal. They vary widely in their global warming potential (GWP), a measure of how much infrared thermal radiation a greenhouse gas would absorb over a given time frame once it enters the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-china-based-emissions-potent-climate.html Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 17:03:03 EDT news640540981 China's economy, long an engine of world growth, has been sputtering lately. During the second quarter of 2024, it grew at an annual rate of 4.7%—down from an average 7% a year during the past decade. For the next two years, the International Monetary Fund forecasts more of the same. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-china-property-rights-wrong.html Economics & Business Political science Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:58:04 EDT news640540682 What's happened to the summer? I've been asked this question a lot over the past few weeks. Just like May, June was changeable, wet and lacking in sunshine. But it wasn't too cold. According to MeteoSwiss, the average daily temperature in June was still 0.4 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the current reference period from 1991 to 2020. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-dont-underestimate-summer-temperatures-swiss.html Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:54:04 EDT news640540442 People's moral values could limit their uptake of lab-grown meat, a study suggests. People who say living a natural life is morally important to them are more likely to reject lab-grown meat—also known as cultured or cultivated meat—than those who do not, research shows. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-morals-key-consumer-views-lab.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:51:03 EDT news640540261 Investigators at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, will use observations from a recently-launched sounding rocket mission to provide a clearer image of how and why the sun's corona grows so much hotter than the visible surface of Earth's parent star. The MaGIXS-2 mission—short for the second flight of the Marshall Grazing Incidence X-ray Spectrometer—launched from White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico on Tuesday, July 16. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-nasa-rocket-sun-regions.html Astronomy Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:50:03 EDT news640540201 People find it hard to resist negative messages. A recent University of Michigan study reveals that recipients are more likely to engage with emails containing negative sentiment sent by the Environmental Defense Fund, a U.S. based nonprofit organization. Specifically, emails with a negative tone were more frequently opened, and recipients were more likely to click on links within these emails, compared to those with a positive tone. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-negative-sentiment-environmental-advocacy-emails.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:46:02 EDT news640539961 Johns Hopkins engineers have created a new optical tool that could improve cancer imaging. Their approach, called SPECTRA, uses tiny nanoprobes that light up when they attach to aggressive cancer cells, helping clinicians distinguish between localized cancers and those that are metastatic and have the potential to spread throughout the body. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-technique-cancer-metastasis-origami-nanoprobes.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:31:04 EDT news640539062 A team of University of Virginia researchers has released the first-ever database of hurricane evacuation orders in the United States. By examining what has worked (and hasn't) in the face of oncoming hurricanes, leaders and government officials can increase community resilience, create better policy, and ultimately, reduce loss of life. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-qa-creators-hurricane-evacuation-database.html Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:26:04 EDT news640538761 A study led by Baylor University biologist Sarah Kienle, Ph.D., and published in the journal Polar Biology has unveiled the first paired observations of sexual behavior and vocalizations in wild leopard seals. Kienle and her team's third published study on the mysterious leopard seal represents a major advance in understanding the behavior of one of the most difficult apex predators to study on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-team-courtship-leopard-coast-south.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:20:03 EDT news640538401 More than 40 metric tons of bee-harming neonicotinoid insecticides, known as neonics, have been estimated to be flowing through Asia's longest river every year, according to a new study published by researchers in Scotland and China. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-metric-tons-bee-neonics-year.html Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:05:03 EDT news640537501 The negative impact of human activity on Earth doesn't just affect our planet's atmosphere—it goes much deeper, into its soils. For instance, excessive application of manure or sewage sludge can increase heavy metal concentrations in agricultural land where vital crops are grown. One of these heavy metals is zinc, a micronutrient necessary for plant and animal health. In excess, however, zinc can be extremely damaging to sensitive plant species. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-reveals-key-gene-metals-soil.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 16:04:59 EDT news640537495 Scientists were stunned on May 30 when a rock that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover drove over cracked open to reveal something never seen before on the Red Planet: yellow sulfur crystals. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-nasa-curiosity-rover-martian.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:53:14 EDT news640536789 Boeing is closer to understanding what went wrong with its astronaut capsule in orbit, now that testing is complete on a spare thruster here on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-boeing-closer-thruster-failures-astronaut.html Space Exploration Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:10:03 EDT news640534199 Biodiversity loss is one of the most alarming threads the planet faces. Degraded habitats, overexploited resources, climate crisis and invasive species are some of the factors that threaten the richness and variety of living species. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-sequence-genomes-animal-fungi-species.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:05:13 EDT news640533909 The "FruitWatch" initiative, a groundbreaking citizen science project, has significantly enhanced the accuracy of predicting flowering times for fruit trees across Great Britain. This improvement is vital for the agricultural sector, enabling better planning for pest management and pollinator support, which are crucial for maintaining optimal fruit yield and quality. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fruitflow-citizen-science-orchard-secrets.html Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:05:02 EDT news640533900 Sealing leaky windows, filling gaps in doors, and installing efficient insulation will not only decrease wasteful energy usage, it also may reduce rodent infestations, a new study recently published in Environmental Research Letters found. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-energy-efficiency-rodents-bay.html Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:04:35 EDT news640533870 Unlocking the genetic secrets of mulberry anthocyanin content, a study illuminates the regulatory mechanisms that dictate fruit color and nutritional quality. By assembling and analyzing the genomes of two distinct mulberry cultivars, researchers have pinpointed key genetic variations and the pivotal role of MaVHAG3 in anthocyanin accumulation, offering a biotechnological blueprint for enhancing fruit traits. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-genetic-reveals-key-mulberry-anthocyanin.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:02:26 EDT news640533744 Imagine a small fruit that tastes like a cross between a tomato and a pineapple, wrapped in its own natural paper lantern. That's the groundcherry (Physalis grisea)—a little-known relative of tomatoes that's been quietly growing in gardens and small farms across North America for centuries. Now, this humble fruit is getting a 21st-century upgrade thanks to some cutting-edge genetic research. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-groundcherry-genetic-garden-curiosity-agricultural.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:01:30 EDT news640533688 By harnessing the power of machine learning, researchers have constructed a framework for analyzing what factors most significantly contribute to a species' genetic diversity. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-ai-scrutinize-validate-theories-animal.html Evolution Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:01:27 EDT news640533683 A new study shows that a native potato species was brought to southern Utah by Indigenous people in the distant past, making it a candidate for the only culturally significant plant species to have been domesticated in the southwestern U.S. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-genetics-reveal-ancient-routes-corners.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 15:01:21 EDT news640533675 Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have evidence of oceans beneath their ice crusts. A NASA experiment suggests that if these oceans support life, signatures of that life in the form of organic molecules (e.g. amino acids, nucleic acids, etc.) could survive just under the surface ice despite the harsh radiation on these worlds. If robotic landers are sent to these moons to look for life signs, they would not have to dig very deep to find amino acids that have survived being altered or destroyed by radiation. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-signatures-life-survive-surfaces-moons.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:44:04 EDT news640532641 Transmembrane β-barrel pores (TMBs) are extensively used for single-molecule DNA and RNA sequencing. They enable the miniaturization of a wide array of sensing and sequencing applications into portable USB-size devices and point-of-care technologies. A team of Belgian and American researchers has now described a general approach to designing TMB pores from scratch with custom shapes and properties, opening up new opportunities for single-molecule analytics. Their results were published in Science. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-power-nanopores-approach-scales-opportunities.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:25:04 EDT news640531501 Montana State University researcher James Crawford recently published a collaborative paper with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory that marks a step forward in their quest for what he calls a "holy grail" of chemistry: converting the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into chemical building blocks that could be used to create myriad other materials. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-nano-scale-materials-mimic-enzymes.html Nanomaterials Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:19:04 EDT news640531142 Social media and online communities can play a crucial role for owners searching for their stolen pets, researchers have revealed, both in physically tracking them down and as a source of comfort after their loss. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-reveal-pivotal-role-online-communities.html Other Veterinary medicine Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:12:02 EDT news640530721 Nearly 20% of Australian men believe that feminism should be violently resisted, if necessary, new research from the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland has found. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-radical-anti-feminism-prevalent-violent.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:10:05 EDT news640530602