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82 articles from PhysOrg

'Rough' words feature a trill sound in languages around the globe

In languages spoken around the world, words describing rough surfaces are highly likely to feature a "trilled /r/" sound—a linguistic pattern that stretches back over 6,000 years, a new study reveals. The international team of researchers from the University of Birmingham, Radboud University, and the University of British Columbia has published its findings in Scientific Reports.

Marine sponge cells in 3D could ramp up production of drug compounds

There are more than 9,000 species of marine sponges (Phylum Porifera) worldwide, which are a source of novel natural products. They contain promising chemical agents that may be useful in combatting cancer, COVID-19 and antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus bacteria. These chemicals interact with molecules that have been conserved throughout evolutionary history and are involved in human disease...

Is Vesuvius taking an extended siesta?

Located near Naples, Italy, Vesuvius last had a violent eruption in 1944, towards the end of the Second World War. It could be a few hundred years before another dangerous, explosive eruption occurs, finds a new study by volcano experts at ETH Zurich.

NASA solar sail mission to chase tiny asteroid after Artemis I launch

Launching with the Artemis I uncrewed test flight, NASA's shoebox-size Near-Earth Asteroid Scout will chase down what will become the smallest asteroid ever to be visited by a spacecraft. It will get there by unfurling a solar sail to harness solar radiation for propulsion, making this the agency's first deep space mission of its kind.

Researchers develop novel microscopic picoshell particles

Production of high-energy fats by microalgae may provide a sustainable, renewable energy source that can help tackle climate change. However, microalgae engineered to produce lipids rapidly usually grow slowly themselves, making it difficult to increase overall yields.

Research demonstrates a new technique for improving long-distance quantum key distribution in a real-world field

An experiment, performed by Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM) on 200 km of the Italian Quantum Backbone, in collaboration with Toshiba Europe, shows that coherent laser interferometry considerably improves the performances of quantum key distribution protocols in long-distance, real-world networks. The study has been published in Nature Communications.

Pristine groundwater seeps support native algae on Hawai'i's coasts

Native marine macroalgae, also known as limu, or as seaweed, thrive in environments created by natural groundwater seeps, specifically benefiting from the combined effects of enhanced nutrients despite lowered salinity levels, according to a review published recently by a team of University of Hawai'i at Mānoa researchers. Conversely, in areas where the seeping groundwater is tainted by excess...

Scientists confirm a highly eccentric black hole merger for the first time

For the first time, scientists believe they have detected a merger of two black holes with eccentric orbits. According to a paper published in Nature Astronomy by researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology's Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation and the University of Florida, this can help explain how some of the black hole mergers detected by LIGO Scientific Collaboration...

Landmark advancement in flow cytometry technology

Becton, Dickinson and Company, a global medical technology company, today announced that a study conducted in collaboration with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and published as the cover story of the January 21 issue of the journal Science profiles a new BD innovation in flow cytometry that adds fluorescence imaging and image-based decisioning to sort individual cells at...

Sidewinding young stellar jets spied by Gemini South

Young stellar jets are a common by-product of star formation and are thought to be caused by the interplay between the magnetic fields of rotating young stars and the disks of gas surrounding them. These interactions eject twin torrents of ionized gas in opposite directions, such as those pictured in two images captured by astronomers using the Gemini South telescope on Cerro Pachón on the edge...

Impossible material made possible inside a graphene sandwich

Atoms bind together by sharing electrons. The way this happens depends on the atom types but also on conditions such as temperature and pressure. In two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, atoms join along a plane to form structures just one atom thick, which leads to fascinating properties determined by quantum mechanics. Researchers at the University of Vienna in collaboration with the...

Peanut researchers create disease-resistant hybrids

Georgia farmers produce half the peanuts grown in the U.S. each year, using proven production practices to fight disease in the field. In fact, modern peanut varieties carry little genetic defenses against some of the more devastating diseases, so peanut farmers carefully consider when to plant, whether to irrigate and when to apply fungicide and insecticide to keep those diseases from infecting...