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278,927 articles from PhysOrg

Mating is the kiss of death for certain female worms

The presence of male sperm and seminal fluid causes female worms to shrivel and die after giving birth, Princeton University researchers reported this week in the journal Science. The demise of the female appears to benefit the male worm by removing her from the mating pool for other males.

Microsoft executive charged with insider trading

US authorities Thursday charged a Microsoft executive and his friend and business partner with insider trading, saying they used confidential information on the tech giant's investment in bookseller Barnes & Noble.

US mobile ad spending to soar, says eMarketer

Research firm eMarketer expects spending on mobile advertisements to hit nearly $9.6 billion in the U.S. this year, up from $4.4 billion in 2012 and from less than $1.6 billion in 2011 as Facebook and Google barrel ahead.

A mathematical perspective of seasonal variations in Lyme disease transmission

Lyme disease is a common tick-borne illness caused by a bacterium, which is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. The transmission dynamics of Lyme disease is dependent on a variety of factors, including the length of the tick's life cycle, availability of hosts, climatic conditions and seasonal influences, which are important to understand for control strategies.

Corn pest decline may save farmers money

Populations of European corn borer (ECB), a major corn crop pest , have declined significantly in the eastern United States, according to Penn State researchers. The decline suggests that the use of genetically modified, ECB-resistant corn hybrids—an expensive, yet effective, solution that has been widely adopted by farmers—may now be unnecessary in some areas.

Data are lost to science at 'astonishing rate'

New evidence reported in the journal Current Biology on December 19 confirms long-held fears about the fate of scientific data. Careful evaluation of more than 500 randomly selected studies found that the original data behind those published papers have been lost to science at a rapid rate.

DNA clamp to grab cancer before it develops

As part of an international research project, a team of researchers has developed a DNA clamp that can detect mutations at the DNA level with greater efficiency than methods currently in use. Their work could facilitate rapid screening of those diseases that have a genetic basis, such as cancer, and provide new tools for more advanced nanotechnology. The results of this research is published this...

Electron's shapeliness throws a curve at supersymmetry

A small band of particle-seeking scientists at Yale and Harvard has established a new benchmark for the electron's almost perfect roundness, raising doubts about certain theories that predict what lies beyond physics' reigning model of fundamental forces and particles, the Standard Model.

Gene transfer gone wild reveals driving force behind mitochondrial sex

Pioneering research led by Indiana University has identified genes from a number of plant species, including the entire mitochondrial genomes from three green algae and one moss, in the mitochondrial genome of Amborella trichopoda. The South Pacific shrub is considered to be the sole survivor – the "last man standing" – of one of the two oldest lineages of flowering plants, while the other...

Integrated approaches to customize fungal cell factories

The natural ability of certain fungi to break down complex substances makes them very valuable microorganisms to use as cell factories in industrial processes. Advances in metabolic engineering and systems biology are helping to customize and optimize these fungi to produce specific bioproducts, as described in a Review article in Industrial Biotechnology.

Opposing phenomena possible key to high-efficiency electricity delivery

The coexistence of two opposing phenomena might be the secret to understanding the enduring mystery in physics of how materials heralded as the future of powering our homes and communities actually work, according to Princeton University-led research. Such insight could help spur the further development of high-efficiency electric-power delivery.

Salty surprise: Ordinary table salt turns into 'forbidden' forms

High-pressure experiments with ordinary table salt have produced new chemical compounds that should not exist according to the textbook rules of chemistry. The study at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III and at other research centres could pave the way to a more universal understanding of chemistry and to novel applications, as the international research team, led by Prof. Artem Oganov of Stony Brook...