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85 articles from PhysOrg

Researcher describes how extraterrestrial civilizations could colonize the galaxy even if they don't have starships

Astronomers have searched for extraterrestrial civilizations in planetary systems for sixty years, to no avail. In the paper published by International Journal of Astrobiology, Cambridge University Press, and titled "Migrating extraterrestrial civilizations and interstellar colonization: Implications for SETI and SETA," Irina K. Romanovskaya proposes that the search for extraterrestrial...

New non-radioactive, neutral reagent reveals viruses in clear detail

Seeing is believing—or, for scientists, the beginning of understanding. Researchers can visualize atomically small details with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) by beaming electrons through the sample and capturing their interactions to form an image. But such tiny specimens can evade the electrons, so they need to be specially treated with heavy metals to ensure interactions. To see...

Gun violence: Experts discuss causes, trends, solutions

The recent string of mass shootings has once again captured the attention of the American public. The tragic shootings in an elementary school in Texas, a grocery store in New York, a church in California and locally in the streets of downtown Sacramento have many people wondering what can be done to prevent such tragedies.

How to tie-dye cotton with acorns and rust

Tie-dyeing is a fun activity that can spice up clothes with colorful patterns. Although kits are available in stores, nature provides dyes that can be extracted from items found in one's yard—for example, acorns and rust. In ACS's Journal of Chemical Education, researchers present a "green" process for tie-dyeing cotton with renewable resources and wastes that undergraduate students can easily...

Developing wet circuits for biology research

You don't have to be an engineer to know that water and electronics don't mix. But if you want to use a sensing circuit to study small-scale features in a community of cells, the electronics must find a way to accommodate the cell's aqueous environment. The circuit also cannot affect the cells in a way that invalidates the data.

Discovery offers starting point for better gene-editing tools

CRISPR has ushered in the era of genomic medicine. A line of powerful tools has been developed from the popular CRISPR-Cas9 to cure genetic diseases. However, there is a last-mile problem—these tools need to be effectively delivered into every cell of the patient, and most Cas9s are too big to be fitted into popular genome therapy vectors, such as the adenovirus-associated virus (AAV).

Why haven't we discovered co-orbital exoplanets? Tides may offer a possible answer

In our solar system, there are several thousand examples of co-orbital objects: bodies that share the same orbit around the sun or a planet. The Trojan asteroids are such an example. We have not yet observed any similar co-orbitals in extrasolar systems, despite discovering more than 5,000 exoplanets. In a new study published in Icarus by Anthony Dobrovolskis, SETI Institute, and Jack Lissauer,...

Finding coherence in quantum chaos

A theoretical breakthrough in understanding quantum chaos could open new paths into researching quantum information and quantum computing, many-body physics, black holes, and the still-elusive quantum to classical transition.

New type of extremely reactive substance discovered in the atmosphere

For the first time, an entirely new class of super-reactive chemical compounds has been discovered under atmospheric conditions. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, in close collaboration with international colleagues, have documented the formation of so-called trioxides—an extremely oxidizing chemical compound that likely affects both human health and our global climate.

More reptile species may be at risk of extinction than previously thought

The iconic Red List of Threatened Species, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), identifies species at risk of extinction. A study in PLOS Biology publishing May 26 by Gabriel Henrique de Oliveira Caetano at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel, and colleagues presents a novel machine learning tool for assessing extinction risk, and then uses this tool to...

The 'fuel of evolution' is more abundant than previously thought in wild animals

Darwinian evolution is the process by which natural selection promotes genetic changes in traits that favor survival and reproduction of individuals. How fast evolution happens depends crucially on the abundance of its "fuel": how much genetic difference there is in the ability to survive and reproduce. New research by an international research team with participation of the Leibniz Institute for...

People must be 'heart' of climate action, researchers say

Tackling the climate crisis can only be achieved by "placing people at the heart of climate action," researchers say. The research team, led by the University of Exeter, warn against relying solely on breakthroughs in climate science and technology. Instead, they say social science can help engage people and societies, and ensure a green transition that is both effective and promotes other goals...

Fishing for a new source of proteoglycans, an important health food ingredient

Aggrecan, a major component of proteoglycan (PG) having chondroitin sulfate (CS) in cartilaginous tissues, has become increasingly popular as an ingredient in health food. In fact, proteoglycans from salmon nasal cartilage demonstrate biological properties such as antiaging, inhibition of angiogenesis, and attenuation of inflammatory responses. Commercially available chondroitin sulfate...