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 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 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 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 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 A multitude of new genomic sequence data fills major gaps in the fruit fly tree of life, Bernard Kim from Stanford University, US, and colleagues report in the open-access journal PLOS Biology, publishing July 18. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-hundreds-genome-sequences-gaps-fruit.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 14:00:01 EDT news640510081 Oil drops from underwater oil spills can break into tinier droplets at the surface that remain suspended in the water, according to research from the University of Illinois Chicago. That means cleanups after disasters like the Deepwater Horizon spill may be removing less oil from the environment than was thought. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-underwater-oil-pollution-cleanups.html Soft Matter Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:19:03 EDT news640527542 Dartmouth researchers are using computational mathematics and machine learning to develop models that better predict sea ice thickness in regions of the Arctic. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-mathematicians-team-geophysicists-sea-ice.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 13:10:07 EDT news640527001 Differences between the bright and dark patches in lunar swirls goes beyond the albedo variations; it includes differences in the structure of the lunar soils and the grains within those soils. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-ground-conditions-impact-lunar-swirls.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:52:19 EDT news640525937 Creating fertilizers from organic waste can help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and promote sustainable production. One way of doing this is through hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL), which converts biomass into biocrude oil through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-explore-wastewater-fertilizer-fungal-treatment.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:52:17 EDT news640525934 Jupiter's Great Red Spot—the biggest windstorm in the solar system—is shrinking, and a new study may help explain why. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-explanation-jupiter-great-red.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:52:10 EDT news640525925 Brown University biologists who set out to better understand the effects of climate change on plant species in tropical mountain regions found that even small variations in temperature and moisture can have massive impacts, threatening not only plants that live there, but also the ecosystems they support. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-tropical-species-threatened-climate-widely.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:41:04 EDT news640525261 Okinawa's mangrove forests are home to many animal species, from crabs to kingfishers; they host a diverse ecosystem teeming with life. Among the quirkier residents living there is "Minami-Tobihaze"—the barred mudskipper. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-anatomical-mudskipper-reveals.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:37:04 EDT news640525021 A new kind of detector for dark matter has the potential to make a direct detection of the enigmatic material, according to an analysis by RIKEN physicists. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-ground-dark.html Astronomy Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:26:13 EDT news640524371 New research from Rice University scientists is shedding light on how viruses ensure their survival by precisely timing the release of new viruses. The discovery offers a new theoretical framework for understanding these dynamic biological phenomena. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-precise-viral-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:25:01 EDT news640524298 Households caught and consumed a far more diverse array of fish than they sold at market, which has important implications for how loss of biodiversity might affect people's nutrition, especially for those with lower incomes. A Cornell study is one of the first to examine the relationship between diet and biodiversity in a wild food system. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fish-biodiversity-benefit-nutrition-income.html Ecology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:24:49 EDT news640524286 While researching a cluster of stars in the immediate vicinity of the supermassive black hole SgrA* (Sagittarius A*) at the center of our galaxy, an international team of researchers led by PD Dr. Florian Peißker has found signs of another, intermediate-mass black hole. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-intermediate-mass-black-hole-discovery.html Astronomy Thu, 18 Jul 2024 12:18:03 EDT news640523881 Effective pain relief without the debilitating side effects of traditional opioids is closer to becoming a reality thanks to a study by an all-RIKEN team into the structure and dynamics of a drug-bound opioid receptor. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-dynamic-view-opioid-receptor-refine.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:20:03 EDT news640520401 Facially expressive monkeys are more socially successful and lead better connected social groups, according to research by Nottingham Trent University which shows the benefits of facial communication in primates, including humans. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-facially-primates-leaders.html Plants & Animals Evolution Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:04:03 EDT news640519441 Developing a new drug can take years of research and cost millions of dollars. Still, more than 90% of drug candidates fail in clinical trials, with even more that never make it to the clinical stage. Many drugs fail because they simply aren't safe. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-de-drug-discovery-ai.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:02:04 EDT news640519321 A new tool that can be used to predict the emergence of unusually large and unpredictable waves at sea—known as rogue waves—up to five minutes into the future is presented in a study published in Scientific Reports. The authors suggest that the tool could be used to issue advance warnings to ships and offshore platforms to enable those working on them to seek shelter, perform emergency shutdowns, or maneuver to minimize the impacts of approaching rogue waves. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-tool-rogue-minutes-advance.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 18 Jul 2024 11:00:01 EDT news640509841