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36 articles from PhysOrg

A new way to fine-tune exotic materials: Thin, stretch and clamp

One way to change the properties of a material is to stretch it just a wee bit, so its atoms are farther apart but the bonds between them don't break. This extra distance affects the behavior of electrons, which determine whether the material is an insulator or a conductor of electricity, for instance.

3-D reconstructions of individual nanoparticles

What do you see in the picture above? Merely a precisely-drawn three-dimensional picture of nanoparticles? Far more than that, nanotechnologists will say, due to a new study published in the journal Science. Whether a material catalyzes chemical reactions or impedes any molecular response is all about how its atoms are arranged. The ultimate goal of nanotechnology is centered around the ability to...

The face of a mouse reveals its emotions: study

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology are the first to describe emotional facial expressions for mice. Similar to humans, mouse facial expressions change when it tastes something sweet or bitter, or when it becomes anxious. With this new possibility of measuring the emotions of mice, neurobiologists can investigate the basic mechanisms of how emotions are generated and processed...

Using chemistry to unlock the difference between cold- and hot-brew coffee

Cold brew may be the hottest trend in coffee-making, but not a lot is known about how this process alters the drink's chemical characteristics. Scientists now report that the content of potentially health-promoting antioxidants in coffee brewed without heat can significantly differ from a cup of joe prepared with the same beans in the traditional way, particularly for dark roasts.

Whooping cranes form larger flocks as wetlands are lost—and it may put them at risk

Over the past few decades, the critically endangered whooping crane (Grus Americana) has experienced considerable recovery. However, in a report appearing April 2 in the journal Heliyon, researchers found that habitat loss and within-species attraction have led whooping cranes to gather in unusually large groups during migration. While larger groups are a positive sign of species recovery, the...

Six million-year-old bird skeleton points to arid past of Tibetan plateau

Researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences have found a new species of sandgrouse in six to nine million-year-old rocks in Gansu Province in western China. The newly discovered species points to dry, arid habitats near the edge of the Tibetan Plateau as it rose to its current extreme altitude.

Decrypting cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies have been treated as a financial terra incognita—they have enjoyed growing interest but also raised concerns due to their virtuality. The use of statistical methods utilizing correlation matrices to analyze the hundred most-traded virtual currencies shows that the cryptocurrency market in the last two years is less and less different from the mature global currency market...

Gender bias in commenting poses barriers to women scholars

Women academics are less likely than men to comment on published research, limiting scholarly debate, a new study co-authored by York University sociologist Professor Cary Wu, shows. According to the study, women are also relatively less likely to comment on their male counterparts, published research.

Extracellular forces help epithelial cells stick together

Different surfaces and organs of the body are covered by epithelial tissue, which is composed of cells tightly connected to each other. The cells can be attached through junctions that are in direct contact with the cytoskeletal network inside the cells.

The Arctic may influence Eurasian extreme weather events in just two to three weeks

Previous research studies have revealed how rising temperatures and melting ice in the Arctic may impact the rest of Earth's climate over seasons, years and even longer. Now, two researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, are making the argument that the effects may actually be felt in a matter of weeks, but more robust, observational-based analysis is needed to fully understand how...

Repair instead of renew: Damaged powerhouses of cells have their own 'workshop mode'

If the energy supply of a cell is disturbed by damage, it can protect itself from functional losses and repair itself in a kind of workshop mode. That is the result of a new study conducted by Professor Dr. Aleksandra Trifunovic and Dr. Karolina Szcepanowska as a leading scientist in her team, at the CECAD Cluster of Excellence in Aging Research at the University of Cologne. The findings have been...

New supramolecular copolymers driven by self-sorting of molecules

Researchers in Japan have succeeded in creating a new type of helicoidal supramolecular polymer. The process and mechanism of the generation of its structure were observed using atomic force microscopy (AFM); the helicoidal structure grew spontaneously after two different monomers were mixed. The findings of the study, which was published in Nature Communications on April 1st, 2020 may lead to the...

Does relativity lie at the source of quantum exoticism?

Since its beginnings, quantum mechanics hasn't ceased to amaze us with its peculiarity, so difficult to understand. Why does one particle seem to pass through two slits simultaneously? Why, instead of specific predictions, can we only talk about evolution of probabilities? According to theorists from universities in Warsaw and Oxford, the most important features of the quantum world may result...

Representation of driving behavior as a statistical model

A joint research team from Toyohashi University of Technology, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Toyota Transportation Research Institute, and Daido University has established a method to represent driving behaviors and their changes that differ among drivers in a single statistical model, taking into account the effect of various external factors such as road structure. This...

Fossil trove sheds light on ancient antipodean ecology

The oldest known animals and plants preserved in amber from Southern Gondwana are reported in Scientific Reports this week. Gondwana, the supercontinent made up of South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Antarctica and Australia, broke away from the Pangea supercontinent around 200 million years ago. The findings further our understanding of ecology in Australia and New Zealand during the Late...

Genetic self-activation maintains plant stem cells

Branching allows plants to occupy space in three dimensions, an innovation considered essential for their adaption. Stem cells are key to this process because they promote the establishment of new growth axes. But where do these stem cells come from?