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1,493 articles from PhysOrg

Chemists unlock the key to improving biofuel and biomaterial production

As the world searches for and demands more sustainable sources of energy and materials, plant biomass may provide the solution by serving as a renewable resource for biomaterials and biofuel production. However, until now, the complex physical and chemical interactions in plant biomass have been a challenge in post-harvest processing.

What the rise of oxygen on early Earth tells us about life on other planets

When did the Earth reach oxygen levels sufficient to support animal life? Researchers from McGill University have discovered that a rise in oxygen levels occurred in step with the evolution and expansion of complex, eukaryotic ecosystems. Their findings represent the strongest evidence to date that extremely low oxygen levels exerted an important limitation on evolution for billions of years.

A new method for mapping gene expression deep in the body could one day be used to track stem cells or cancer therapy

Even fans of black-and-white film can't deny that color brought new life to photography and motion pictures. And when it comes to learning what happens inside the body, there's no substitute for color. Were it possible, for example, to map out real-time gene expression in our body's cells using contrasting colors, scientists would gain a glimpse of vital biological processes that are currently...

Harnessing a natural geochemical reaction to combat antibiotic resistance

Antibiotics have allowed for the widespread control of bacterial infections, which had been the leading cause of death historically. However, the overuse of traditional antibiotics in humans and animals has resulted in the emergence of stronger, more potent bacterial strains that are no longer treatable with conventional antibiotics.

Protein machinery of respiration becomes visible

Oxygen and sugar are the basis of life for animals, plants, fungi and many bacteria. The metabolic process called respiration makes it possible to convert food into energy for the cells. Biochemist Prof. Dr. Carola Hunte and her team from the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS at the University of Freiburg have now visualized for the first time with unparalleled precision how an assembly of protein...

Understanding who commits which crimes

Why do some young men turn to crime, while others don't? An international study shows that preferences such as risk tolerance, impatience and altruism as well as self-control can predict who will commit crime. Risk-tolerant, impatient young men are more likely to commit property crime, while people with low self-control tend to commit violent, drug and sexual offenses.

Study uncovers first evidence of long-term directionality in origination of human mutation, challenging neo-Darwinism

A new study by a team of researchers from Israel and Ghana has brought the first evidence of nonrandom mutation in human genes, challenging a core assumption at the heart of evolutionary theory by showing a long-term directional mutational response to environmental pressure. Using a novel method, researchers led by Professor Adi Livnat from the University of Haifa showed that the rate of...

Midwestern beef production works just as well off pasture

Beef producers in the upper Midwest know grazing land is in short supply. With more acres being developed or converted to cropland, producers who want to expand their cow-calf operations are looking for alternatives to traditional pasture management.

Ancient trees deemed vital to forest survival

New research suggests that ancient trees possess far more than an awe-inspiring presence and a suite of ecological services to forests—they also sustain the entire population of trees' ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

2D material in three dimensions

The carbon material graphene has no well-defined thickness; it merely consists of one single layer of atoms. It is therefore often referred to as a "two-dimensional material." Trying to make a three-dimensional structure out of it may sound contradictory at first, but it is an important goal: if the properties of the graphene layer are to be exploited best, then as much active surface area as...

Forest management increases climate benefits provided by boreal forests

The carbon stock in managed boreal forest landscapes is increasing, while it is relatively unchanged in less intensively utilized forests where carbon losses due to forest fires have instead been significant during 1990-2017, according to a new report by the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA).