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34 articles from PhysOrg

Implanted memories teach birds a song

A father holds up his newborn, their faces only inches apart, and slowly repeats the syllables "da" and "dee." After months of hearing these sounds, the baby begins to babble and gradually "da da da" is refined to the word "Daddy."

How the influenza virus achieves efficient viral RNA replication

New insights on how subunits of the influenza virus polymerase co-evolve to ensure efficient viral RNA replication are provided by a study published October 3 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Nadia Naffakh of the Institut Pasteur, and colleagues. As the authors note, the findings could lead to novel strategies for antiviral drug development.

Researchers outline policy approaches to transform fire management

Wildfires are natural hazards that are becoming more intense and extensive with climate change. Scientists have previously described what major transformations should take place to contend with these fires, including the need to adapt to more fire on the landscape, change the way communities are designed, allow for more prescribed fire and thin fuels like brush and smaller trees.

Scientists discover interaction between good and bad fungi that drives forest biodiversity

Scientists have long understood that forest biodiversity is driven in part by something called rare-species advantage—that is, an individual tree has a better chance of survival if there are only a few other trees of the same species around. As a result, when the number of trees of any given species rises, survival rates among individual trees of that species drop. Scientists agree that...

Massive filaments fuel the growth of galaxies and supermassive black holes

An international group of scientists led by the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research has used observations from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile and the Suprime-Cam at the Subaru telescope to make detailed observations of the filaments of gas connecting galaxies in a large, distant proto-cluster in the early universe.

NASA's push to save the Mars InSight lander's heat probe

NASA's InSight lander, which is on a mission to explore the deep interior of Mars, positioned its robotic arm this past weekend to assist the spacecraft's self-hammering heat probe. Known as "the mole," the probe has been unable to dig more than about 14 inches (35 centimeters) since it began burying itself into the ground on Feb. 28, 2019.

How long does memory last? For shape memory alloys, the longer the better

Known to many as muscle wire or memory metal, shape memory alloys are materials that can be bent or deformed, and then return to their original shape when heat is applied. While people are most familiar with the material in "unbreakable" eye-glass frames, these alloys are also used as vibration dampers, actuators, and sensors in high technology applications like the aerospace and automotive...

US government research in 'crisis,' warns think tank

Interference in government research by US President Donald Trump's administration has reached a "crisis point" with almost weekly violations of previously respected safeguards, a report by a think tank said Thursday, warning that ignoring science has led to ineffective and costly policy.

Living a long chimpanzee life

We humans may consider a long-lived life to be anywhere from 60 to 100 years, depending on where we live. But what about chimpanzees, one of our closest living relatives?

Study finds managed forests in new hampshire rich in carbon

A Dartmouth-led study examining carbon stocks in an actively managed mixed wood forest in New Hampshire finds that places with more trees have more carbon stored in both the trees and the soil. The findings, published in Forest Ecology and Management, demonstrate the connection between above ground and below ground carbon, which has implications for forest management strategies.

Laser precision: NASA flights, satellite align over sea ice

The skies were clear, the winds were low, and the lasers aligned. In April, instruments aboard NASA's Operation IceBridge airborne campaign and the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite-2 succeeded in measuring the same Arctic sea ice at the same time, a tricky feat given the shifting sea ice. Scientists have now analyzed airborne and spaceborne height measurements, and found that the two...

NASA sees Post-tropical Cyclone Lorenzo affecting Ireland

NASA's Terra satellite passed over the eastern North Atlantic Ocean early on Oct. 3 and captured a visible image of Post-tropical Cyclone Lorenzo as it neared Ireland. Lorenzo's eastern side is already affecting Ireland, and both Ireland and the United Kingdom have posted warnings today.

This is how a 'fuzzy' universe may have looked

Dark matter was likely the starting ingredient for brewing up the very first galaxies in the universe. Shortly after the Big Bang, particles of dark matter would have clumped together in gravitational "halos," pulling surrounding gas into their cores, which over time cooled and condensed into the first galaxies.