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93 articles from PhysOrg

Researchers uncover insights into the evolution of color patterns in frogs and toads

A team of researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) has discovered new insights into the evolution of color patterns in frogs and toads—collectively known as anurans. Animal color patterns can help them camouflage with their surroundings and avoid detection from preys or predators. Many anurans have a light stripe along their back, which, when observed from above, creates the optical illusion that...

Development of an easy-to-synthesize self-healing gel composed of entangled ultrahigh molecular weight polymers

A research team consisting of the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Hokkaido University and Yamaguchi University has developed a method for easily synthesizing a self-healing polymer gel made of ultrahigh molecular weight (UHMW) polymers (polymers with a molecular weight greater than 106 g/mol) and non-volatile ionic liquids. This recyclable and self-healable polymer gel is...

How to fight misinformation in the post-truth era

An article published in the Journal of Social Epistemology entitled "Institutions of Epistemic Vigilance: The Case of the Newspaper Press" authored by Central European University researchers Akos Szegofi and Christophe Heintz describe how we can and should fight against misinformation: through collective action. The fight can only be won through updating existing institutions of epistemic...

Made by women: Why women buy from women and men buy from women and men

Researchers from Technical University of Munich and Copenhagen Business School published a new paper in the Journal of Consumer Psychology that provides fresh insights into how individual purchase decisions are influenced by the gender of the person producing the goods. The research has implications for online platforms marketing handmade products and policymakers seeking to promote socially...

Remote-controlled microscopes bring complex biology education to students worldwide

In many communities around the world, students' ability and enthusiasm to pursue STEM fields in their high school and college careers is limited by a lack of resources that prevent them from accessing complex, project-based curriculum like their peers. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these existing educational inequalities, requiring new solutions to democratize access to this field.

NASA's Perseverance Rover investigates intriguing Martian bedrock

NASA's Perseverance Mars rover has begun exploring an area the science team calls "Yori Pass" near the base of Jezero Crater's ancient river delta. They've been eager to explore the region for several months after spotting a rock similar to one Perseverance collected samples from in July.

Stress protection and drought recovery in cool-season turfgrass

Drought stress can interrupt the metabolic and physiological processes of plants, including nitrogen and amino acid metabolism. Researchers in the Department of Plant Biology at Rutgers University took a closer look at the role of amino acids and nitrogen on cool-season turfgrass regrowth or recovery from drought stress.

Legacy of a molecular dynamics trailblazer: Computer simulations meet biochemistry

Life is motion. And so, to understand how living organisms function, one must understand the movement and reorganization of the atoms and molecules that compose them. The approach called "molecular dynamics simulation" enables scientists to use computer programs to simulate the dynamic motion of all the atoms in a molecular system as a function of time.

A grid of quantum islands could reveal secrets for powerful technologies

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have created grids of tiny clumps of atoms known as quantum dots and studied what happens when electrons dive into these archipelagos of atomic islands. Measuring the behavior of electrons in these relatively simple setups promises deep insights into how electrons behave in complex real-world materials and could help...

Webb draws back curtain on universe's early galaxies

A few days after officially starting science operations, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope propelled astronomers into a realm of early galaxies, previously hidden beyond the grasp of all other telescopes. Webb is now unveiling a very rich Universe where the first forming galaxies look remarkably different from the mature galaxies seen around us today.

A new experiment pushes the boundaries of our understanding of topological quantum matter

New research conducted by Princeton University physicists is delving with high resolution into the complex and fascinating world of topological quantum matter—a branch of physics that studies the inherent quantum properties of materials that can be deformed but not intrinsically changed. By repeating an experiment first conducted by researchers at Kyoto University, the Princeton team has...

Refining the analysis of MRI contrast agents

You can keep your best guesses. Engineers at Rice University's George R. Brown School of Engineering are starting to understand exactly what goes on when doctors pump contrast agents into your body for an MRI scan.

New monounsaturated soybean oil works well in pig diets

Adding a fat source to the traditional corn-soy swine diet is common practice, but the type of fat can make a difference both for growing pigs and carcass quality. Polyunsaturated fats, the primary type in distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), can reduce fat quality and complicate processing of pork bellies and bacon.

Imaging human cells: New method enables clear, precise look inside

It's why Jaws swam out of sight for more than an hour, and it hints at the glamor of giftwrap. In movie theaters, living rooms, and even labs, the thrill of the unseen can be counted on to keep us guessing. But when it comes to the hidden chemical world of cells, scientists need no longer wonder.

Researchers solve the problem of functionalizing pyridine in the meta-position

In chemicals used in agriculture, as well as in pharmaceuticals and a variety of materials, pyridines are often found as so-called functional units that decisively determine the chemical properties of substances. Pyridines belong to the group of ring-shaped carbon-hydrogen (C-H) compounds ("heterocycles"), and they contain a nitrogen atom (N). For chemists, the direct functionalization of the...