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59 articles from PhysOrg

US formally removes Colorado River fish's endangered status

The humpback chub, a rare fish found only in the Colorado River basin, has been brought back from the brink of extinction after decades of protection, though work must continue to ensure its survival, federal authorities said Monday in reclassifying the species from endangered to threatened status.

Powerful new technique allows scientists to study how proteins change shape inside cells

Understanding how proteins bend, twist, and shape-shift as they go about their work in cells is enormously important for understanding normal biology and diseases. But a deep understanding of protein dynamics has generally been elusive due to the lack of good imaging methods of proteins at work. Now, for the first time, scientists at the UNC School of Medicine have invented a method that could...

Breakthrough proof clears path for quantum AI

Convolutional neural networks running on quantum computers have generated significant buzz for their potential to analyze quantum data better than classical computers can. While a fundamental solvability problem known as "barren plateaus" has limited the application of these neural networks for large data sets, new research overcomes that Achilles heel with a rigorous proof that guarantees...

Hear sounds captured from Mars by NASA's Perseverance rover

Thanks to two microphones aboard NASA's Perseverance rover, the mission has recorded nearly five hours of Martian wind gusts, rover wheels crunching over gravel, and motors whirring as the spacecraft moves its arm. These sounds allow scientists and engineers to experience the Red Planet in new ways—and everyone is invited to listen in.

Famed gorilla dies at 35 in Congo park

A veteran gorilla descended from a celebrated forebear immortalised on a banknote has been found dead near a national park in the Demoratic Republic of Congo, the protected reserve announced on Monday.

Titan's river maps may advise Dragonfly's sedimental journey

With future space exploration in mind, a Cornell-led team of astronomers has published the final maps of Titan's liquid methane rivers and tributaries—as seen by NASA's late Cassini mission—so that may help provide context for Dragonfly's upcoming 2030s expedition.

Valuable peatlands at risk of disappearing

Peatlands are valuable ecosystems that store water and large quantities of carbon and that support high biodiversity. However, 20 percent of the European raised bog habitat is currently under threat from climate change and dewatering.

A beacon molecule that prevents vision, behavioral problems in mice

Nestled deep in the middle of the vertebrate brain is a multi-sensory integration and movement control center called the superior colliculus. In rodents, this brain region integrates multi-sensory inputs—visual cues, sounds, touch information, and smells—and delivers output signals to a variety of motor control centers in the brain, coordinating the animal's movements in response to its...

Researchers observe translation symmetry breaking in twisted bilayer graphene

Magic-angle twisted bilayer graphene is a material made of two sheets of graphene placed on top of each other, with one sheet twisted at precisely 1.05 degrees with respect to the other. This material has been found to be a very promising platform for studying different phases of matter, as it combines metallic, superconducting, magnetic and insulating phases in a single crystal.

New discovery can improve industrial yeast strains

Baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is used industrially to produce a great variety of biochemicals. These biochemicals can be produced from waste material from the agricultural or forest industry (second-generation biomass). During the mechanical and enzymatic degradation of biomass acetic acid is released. Acetic acid inhibits the growth and the biochemical production rate of yeast. Now,...

Fleshy fruits are more common in tropics: Phylogenic analysis

Fruits can be dichotomously classified as fleshy or dry. Although many factors have been proposed to explain the pattern that the fleshy-fruited species occur with deceasing latitude and altitude, the relative importance of these factors has not yet been resolved. 

A virus that disrupts the sex routines of roundworms

Viruses influence the sex life of the roundworm C. elegans. Male roundworms of this non-parasitic nematode species are less sexually attracted to females infected with the Orsay virus. The virus also eventually leads to more male offspring and therefore an increase in mating behavior. This has been shown in doctoral research by microbiologist Lisa van Sluijs, lecturer at the Laboratory of...

Successful beam pipe installation at LHCb

The LHC experiments are nearing the completion of maintenance and upgrade works carried out in the framework of the second long shutdown of CERN's accelerator complex. Of all the experiments, LHCb is undergoing the most significant metamorphosis during these two years, namely the installation of a faster Vertex Locator (VELO), a new scintillating-fiber particle-tracking detector (SciFi), and...

New active agent against parasites

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have identified a chemical compound that may be suitable as an active agent against several different unicellular parasites. Among these are the pathogens that cause malaria and toxoplasmosis. The point of attack for this promising substance is the protein tubulin: It helps cells divide and therefore is essential for the multiplication of the...