https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A small team of bio-scientists from the University of Rostock's Institute for Biosciences and Nuremberg Zoo's Behavioral Ecology and Conservation Lab, both in Germany, has found evidence that bottlenose dolphins can sense electric fields. In their study, reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology, the group tested the ability of two captive bottlenose dolphins to sense a small electric field. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-bottlenose-dolphins-electric-fields.html Plants & Animals Sun, 03 Dec 2023 08:20:01 EST news620648234 This week in our wrap up, we lull you into a false sense of security with adorable lion cubs then ambush you with terrifying pulsars. We do this not out of a sense of malice but to prepare your mind for the possibility of a giant cosmic void. Also, Japan has launched a new fusion research facility. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-saturday-citations-adorable-kittens-violent.html Other Sat, 02 Dec 2023 09:00:02 EST news620652209 Two teams of bio-researchers have developed similar processes for demonstrating how photolyase isolates use light to repair damaged DNA. In their papers, both published in the journal Science, the two groups outline their stop-motion-animation-type process to capture the action in detail. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-methods-photolyase-isolates-dna.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:55:38 EST news620643336 Interactions between intense laser pulses and plasma mirrors have been the focus of several recent physics studies due to the interesting effects they produce. Experiments have revealed that these interactions can generate a non-linear physical process known as high-order harmonics, characterized by the emission of extreme ultraviolet radiation (XUV) and brief flashes of laser light (i.e., attosecond pulses). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-anomalous-relativistic-emission-intense-interaction.html Optics & Photonics Plasma Physics Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:00:01 EST news620560616 Over the past decades, environmental scientists and engineers have been trying to devise effective solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. This has led to the creation of various energy models, frameworks that can be used to investigate emission mitigation scenarios in the hope of meeting the goals outlined by the Paris Agreement. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fingerprints-energy-exploring-emission-mitigation.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:50:01 EST news620560643 Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia, and elsewhere have investigated a batch of 36 high latitude supernova remnants. Results of the observations campaign, published Nov. 20 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the properties of these remnants. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-astronomers-supernova-remnants-meerkat.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:10:02 EST news620560719 Hafnia ferroelectrics are based on their technical promise and remarkable behaviors, where the peculiarities stem from an active extrinsic mechanism that contributes to their properties from a growing number of new intrinsic features. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-theoretical-approach-ferroelectricity-hafnia-related-materials.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:00:01 EST news620560660 A trio of experimental physicists and applied mathematicians at New York University has found evidence that Egypt's Great Sphinx of Giza may have originated as a natural formation. For their study, published in the journal Physical Review Fluids, Samuel Boury, Scott Weady and Leif Ristroph, looked into natural erosion processes and tested the idea that the Sphinx got its start naturally via strong winds. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nature-great-sphinx-giza.html General Physics Soft Matter Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:00:01 EST news620560710 Economics and physics are distinct fields of study, yet some researchers have been bridging the two together to tackle complex economics problems in innovative ways. This resulted in the establishment of an interdisciplinary research field, known as econophysics, which specializes in solving problems rooted in economics using physics theories and experimental methods. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-validation-lillo-mike-farmer-large.html Mathematics Economics & Business Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:56:53 EST news620560608 A team of evolutionary biologists and limnologists affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S. has described the synchronous bioluminescent signals they observed being produced by a type of marine ostracod (Crustacea; Luxorina). In their paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes their study of the synchronized mating behavior of the tiny creatures. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-sea-firefly-ostracods-synchrony-bioluminescent.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:10:01 EST news620478027 A team of microbiologists at McGill University's Redpath Museum, working with a colleague at Tattoo Lounge MTL, has investigated changes to the skin microbiome when a person has an ear pierced and a metal object inserted into the puncture. In their study, reported in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group collected skin swabs from volunteers before and after their piercings. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-skin-biome-ear-piercing.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:10:01 EST news620478379 An international team of astronomers has inspected a low-mass X-ray binary system known as GX 339-4. Results of the study, reported in a paper published Nov. 21 on the pre-print server arXiv, shed more light on the high-frequency bump observed in the power density spectrum of GX 339−4 and provide more insights into the properties of this system. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-high-frequency-x-ray-binary-gx-.html Astronomy Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:26:42 EST news620475999 A team of zoologists and wildlife managers at the Endangered Wildlife Trust, in South Africa, working with a colleague from Stellenbosch University, another with South Africa's Department of Agriculture, and a third from the University of Pretoria, has found DNA evidence of a golden mole thought to be extinct. In their study, published in the journal Biodiversity and Conservation, the group used two techniques to find evidence of the mole. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-evidence-golden-mole-species-thought.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 29 Nov 2023 10:25:04 EST news620475902 A pair of environmental and life scientists, one with the University of Newcastle, in Australia, the other the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research, has found that one species of mosquito native to Australia targets only the noses of frogs for feeding. In their paper published in the journal Ethology, John Gould and Jose Valdez describe their three-year study of frogs and Mimomyia elegans, a species of mosquito native to Australia. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-australian-mosquito-species-frogs-noses.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 12:33:46 EST news620397223 A team of zoologists, environmental scientists, marine biologists and life scientists affiliated with several institutions in Ireland and the U.K. has found that despite international bans, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continue to be both widespread and pervasive in the environment, including the world's oceans. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-years-persistent-pollutants-threat-marine.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 28 Nov 2023 10:13:38 EST news620388816 An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new protocluster of massive quiescent galaxies at a redshift of approximately 4.0. This is the first detection of a protocluster of this type at such a high redshift. The finding was detailed in a paper published Nov. 20 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-protocluster-massive-quiescent-galaxies.html Astronomy Tue, 28 Nov 2023 09:36:37 EST news620386595 A combined team of materials scientists and engineers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Yale University, has shown via lab experiment, how water-filled channels crisscrossing multi-crystal ice can lead to fractures in materials such as cement and asphalt. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes the experiments they conducted with transparent objects, water and silicone, to show how liquid channels in ice can lead to fractures in porous materials. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-water-filled-channels-crisscrossing-multi-crystal-ice.html General Physics Soft Matter Mon, 27 Nov 2023 10:10:01 EST news620301543 Optothermal nanotweezers are an innovative optical design method that has revolutionized classical optical techniques to capture a broad range of nanoparticles. While the optothermal temperature field can be employed for in situ regulation of nanoparticles, challenges remain in identifying their potential for regulating bionanoparticles. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-crispr-powered-optothermal-nanotweezers.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:59:01 EST news620301538 By analyzing the images from the Ultraviolet Near Infrared Optical Northern Survey (UNIONS), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new compact satellite of the Milky Way, which received designation Ursa Major III/UNIONS 1. The newfound object turns out to be the least luminous known satellite of the Milky Way. The finding is reported in a paper published Nov. 16 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-astronomers-milky-faintest-satellite.html Astronomy Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:29:55 EST news620299792 Research led by Nathan Nakatsuka of the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Boston, has found evidence supporting migrations into California from Mexico and the presence of Mexican-related ancestry in Central and Southern California starting around 5,200 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-years-migrations-mexico-california-mystery.html Archaeology Social Sciences Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:29:25 EST news620299762 When a negatively charged electron and a positively charged hole in a pair remain bound together following excitation by light, they produce states known as excitons. These states can influence the optical properties of materials, in turn enabling their use for developing various technologies. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-formation-excitonic-mott-insulator-state.html Condensed Matter Quantum Physics Mon, 27 Nov 2023 09:10:01 EST news620039139 A small team of chemists from Nankai University, Nanjing Tech University and Shanxi University, all in China, working with a colleague from Universidad San Sebastián, in Chile, has, for the first time, created a fullerene-like molecule made entirely of metal atoms. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fullerene-like-molecule-metal-atoms.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Sun, 26 Nov 2023 11:50:01 EST news620037736 Carbon storage has been a key focus in recent years to draw down natural and anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide and help the fight against global warming, and particularly focuses on terrestrial forests and soils, as well as wetland mangroves and seagrasses. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-reservoir-carbon-storage-ocean-sediments.html Earth Sciences Environment Sun, 26 Nov 2023 09:00:01 EST news619696544 A team of chemists at McGill University, working with a colleague from Charité-Universitätsmedizin, in Germany, has uncovered part of the process used by mussels to bind to rocks and to quickly release from them when conditions warrant. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dynamic-bio-interface-mussel-tissue-byssus.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Sat, 25 Nov 2023 12:10:01 EST news620042877 Astronomers have discovered a new stellar system in the outskirts of the Milky Way as part of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS). The newfound system, named Sextans II, is most likely an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper published November 10 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-kids-sky-stellar-kilo-degree-survey.html Astronomy Sat, 25 Nov 2023 11:00:02 EST news619696596 A multi-institutional team of Earth scientists, meteorologists, geologists and volcanologists has developed a new theory to explain the nature of volcanic fountaining. In their project, reported in the journal Nature Communications, the group studied the 2021 eruption of the Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland, which produced what some have described as spectacular examples of volcanic fountaining. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-theory-nature-volcanic-fountaining.html Earth Sciences Sat, 25 Nov 2023 09:30:01 EST news619436321 In a new study, scientists report results from the PandaX-4T experiment, setting stringent limits on dark matter–nucleon interactions using low-energy data and the Migdal effect, ruling out significant parameter space for a thermal relic dark-matter model. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-underground-detectors-cosmic-secrets-exploring.html Astronomy Sat, 25 Nov 2023 09:30:01 EST news619696472 This week, we reported on new developments in lithium-ion batteries, and a real industrial pollution hat trick with stories on coal, lead and microplastics. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-saturday-citations-microplastics-coal-filthy.html Other Sat, 25 Nov 2023 07:30:01 EST news620055434 A team of psychologists and animal behaviorists from the University of Turin, the University of Oulu, and Zoomarine Italia, Torvaianica-Pomezia, has found evidence indicating that the unique assortment of black dots that decorate the mostly all-white fronts of African penguins may serve as a means for allowing the penguins to tell one another apart. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-black-dots-white-fronts-african.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:50:01 EST news620042976 Astronomers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and elsewhere report the discovery of 63 new giant radio galaxies as part of the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty cm survey (FIRST). The findings are detailed in a paper published Nov. 15 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-discovery-dozens-giant-radio-galaxies.html Astronomy Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:10:01 EST news620037631