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79 articles from PhysOrg

Study finds environmentally-friendly' tableware harms marine animals

A new Tel Aviv University study compares the effects of two types of disposable dishes on the marine environment—regular plastic disposable dishes and more expensive bioplastic disposable dishes certified by various international organizations—and determines that the bioplastic dishes had a similar effect on marine animals as regular plastic dishes. Moreover, the study finds that bioplastic...

Identifying communities at risk for impacts of extreme heat

An analysis of ways to measure a community's vulnerability to climate change suggests that California's current method may leave some at-risk communities behind in efforts to reduce health impacts of extreme heat. Lynée Turek-Hankins of Stanford University (now currently at the University of Miami) and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 4, 2020.

DNA in seawater can reveal fish diversity in the deep ocean

A new study demonstrates the effectiveness of a novel method for using DNA in seawater samples to determine which fish species are present in a given part of the deep sea. A team of scientists from eDNAtec Inc. and colleagues from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Memorial University present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on November 4.

Early big-game hunters of the Americas were female, researchers suggest

For centuries, historians and scientists mostly agreed that when early human groups sought food, men hunted and women gathered. However, a 9,000-year-old female hunter burial in the Andes Mountains of South America reveals a different story, according to new research conducted at the University of California, Davis.

Nanomotors controlled with laser light

Researchers from the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo (UTokyo-IIS) have designed novel linear nanomotors that can be moved in controlled directions using light. This work opens the way for new microfluidics, including lab-on-a-chip systems with optically actuated pumps and valves.

Commentary: The Golden State treescape wasn't made to last

Earthquakes and fires compete as metaphors for contemporary California. While we await the Big One, fire keeps winning the competition. The year 2020, like 2018 before, is the worst on record—until the next worst fire year. When will the burning end? That's the wrong question. Better to ask: How can Californians learn to live with the absence of an ending?

FAST helps reveal the origin of fast radio bursts

Researchers from Beijing Normal University, Peking University and National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC) found that there is weak correlation between fast radio bursts (FRBs) and soft gamma-ray repeater J1935+2145 (SGRs). The study was published in Nature on Nov. 4.

Better monitoring for open-cast mines

When it comes to safety in open-cast mining, soil stability is one of the most critical factors. Settlement of the ground or slipping of slopes poses a great risk to buildings and people. Now Mahdi Motagh from the German Research Centre for Geosciences GFZ, in cooperation with Chinese scientists, has evaluated data from the Sentinel 1 mission of the European Union's Copernicus program and thus...

Ripples in the pond of magnetic field reconnection

The majority of the visible matter in the Universe consists of charged particles or plasmas which may develop magnetic field reconnection (MR) at the places where the magnetic field direction exhibits abrupt change. Through the MR the magnetic field energy may effectively be transferred into the kinetic and thermal energies of plasmas, resulting in many explosive plasma phenomena occurring on the...

Luminescent wood could light up homes of the future

The right indoor lighting can help set the mood, from a soft romantic glow to bright, stimulating colors. But some materials used for lighting, such as plastics, are not eco-friendly. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Nano have developed a bio-based, luminescent, water-resistant wood film that could someday be used as cover panels for lamps, displays and laser devices.

New multicomponent reaction frontiers

The synthesis of complex molecules such as drugs, requires a process that sometimes involves several phases that increase its cost and restrict access to the product. Now, a team at the University of Barcelona has designed a new methodological approach that combines multicomponent reactions with domino type processes—continuous transformations on a single compound—to ease the synthesis of high...