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80 articles from PhysOrg

NASA satellites show how clouds respond to Arctic sea ice change

Clouds are one of the biggest wildcards in predictions of how much and how fast the Arctic will continue to warm in the future. Depending on the time of the year and the changing environment in which they form and exist, clouds can both act to warm and cool the surface below them.

Telescope in Chile captures a doomed galaxy falling into the heart of the Fornax Cluster

The Fornax Cluster—which, as the name suggests, lies primarily in the constellation Fornax (the Furnace)—is a relatively nearby galaxy cluster, only about 60 million light-years from Earth. This means that it looms large in the night sky, stretching across an area more than 100 times larger than the full moon. With over 600 member galaxies, the Fornax Cluster is the second "richest" (most...

Dual action: RNA binding protein also binds DNA and acts as a damage sensor across the genome

Cancer is a devastating disease and is the second leading cause of death in the U.S. One of the hallmarks of cancer is genomic instability, or the tendency to accumulate mutations and damage to the DNA that leads to genome alterations during cell division. DNA mutations can arise from exposure to ultraviolet or X-ray radiation or from certain chemicals known as carcinogens; however, our cells have...

Ancient DNA analysis sheds light on a dark event in medieval Spain

An international team of researchers led by the University of Huddersfield's Archaeogenetics Research Group, including geneticists, archeological scientists, and archeologists, has published the genome sequence of a unique individual from Islamic medieval Spain—al-Andalus—the results of which have shed light on a brutal event that took place in medieval Spain.

Laser treatment shows potential for reducing industrial chemical processing for vehicles

Long-lasting protection from corrosion is essential for materials used for vehicles and aircraft to ensure structural integrity amid extreme operating conditions. Two chemical pre-treatment processes are widely used in industrial settings to prepare for coating adhesion and protect aluminum alloy surfaces against corrosion. While highly regulated, both processes use large quantities of hazardous...

Times we didn't act like ourselves can be helpful in the long run, study finds

When we reflect on our past behavior and decisions, we can normally identify both occasions where we have been true to ourselves, i.e. acted authentically, as well as times when we have done things in a way that doesn't align with who we believe we are. However, how do these recollections translate onto the story of who we are that we tell ourselves every day?

Team proposes microprinting a fiber-tip polymer clamped-beam probe for high-sensitivity nanoforce measurements

The control and measurement of asserted forces on small objects are frequently seen in micromanipulation, material science, and biological and medical applications. Researchers in China have proposed for the first time the microprinting of a novel fiber-tip-polymer clamped-beam probe micro-force sensor for the examination of biological samples. This approach opens new avenues towards the...

Common-path off-axis digital holography: Towards high stable optical instrument manufacturing

High stable common-path digital holographic interferometers can be widely applied in long-term time-lapsing interferometric measurements, three-dimensional imaging, and quantitative phase imaging. Scientists in China reviewed the common-path off-axis digital holography and categorized the common-path models into lateral shearing, point diffraction and other types, and summarized the progress of...

More support needed for pollination services in agriculture

The global decline of pollinators threatens the reproductive success of 90 per cent of all wild plants globally and the yield of 85 per cent of the world's most important crops. Pollinators—mainly bees and other insects—contribute to 35 per cent of the world's food production. The service provided by pollinators is particularly important for securing food produced by the more than two billion...

Grabbing magic tin by the tail

Atomic nuclei have only two ingredients, protons and neutrons, but the relative number of these ingredients makes a radical difference in their properties. Certain configurations of protons and neutrons, with "magic numbers" of protons or neutrons arranged into filled shells within the nucleus, are more strongly bound than others. The rare nuclei with complete proton and neutron shells, which are...

The defensive arsenal of plant roots

Plants adapt to their nutritional needs by modifying the permeability of their roots through the production or degradation of a cork-like layer called suberin. By studying the regulation of this protective layer in Arabidopsis thaliana, an international team, led by scientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), Switzerland, has discovered four molecular factors responsible for the genetic...

A 15-user quantum secure direct communication network

Quantum secure direct communication (QSDC) based on entanglement can directly transmit confidential information. Scientist in China explored a QSDC network based on time-energy entanglement and sum-frequency generation. The results show that when any two users are performing QSDC over 40 kilometers of optical fiber, and the rate of information transmission can be maintained at 1Kbp/s. Our result...

Cloud-spotting on a distant exoplanet

An international team of astronomers has not only detected clouds on the distant exoplanet WASP-127b, but also measured their altitude with unprecedented precision. A presentation by Dr. Romain Allart at the Europlanet Science Congress (EPSC) 2021 shows how, by combining data from a space- and a ground-based telescope, the team has been able to reveal the upper structure of the planet's...