http://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. When you've got to go, but you're out there in space, zipped up in a spacesuit, with no toilet in sight and a crew of other astronauts around, what do you do? http://phys.org/news/2016-11-nasa-space-poop-geniuses.html Space Exploration Wed, 23 Nov 2016 17:10:52 EST news399143447 An ailing humpback whale that became grounded on a sandbar off New York has been euthanized. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-ailing-humpback-whale-stuck-york.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:51:19 EST news399138675 We all know that when it rains, plants grow. When it doesn't, they don't. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-discovery-plant-disease-mechanism.html Biotechnology Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:45:50 EST news399138341 A recent article published in IEEE Intelligent Systems highlights the requirements the IoT will place on search engines and brings together the latest research being carried out in this field. 'On Searching the Internet of Things: Requirements and Challenges' has been written by leading researchers working in the field of next generation communications at the University of Surrey's Institute of Communication Systems (home of the 5G Innovation Centre) and Ohio Center of Excellence in Knowledge Enabled Computing (Kno.e.sis) at Wright State University (USA). http://phys.org/news/2016-11-internet-demand-step-change-solutions.html Computer Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:45:00 EST news399138265 Transgender individuals in the workplace can sometimes feel stigmatized, either through the actions and attitudes of their coworkers, or through their own fears of being treated as an "other." This can have a negative effect on their attitudes about their jobs. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-greater-job-satisfaction-transgender-employees.html Social Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:43:41 EST news399138213 The origins of life on Earth are still shrouded in mystery. One compelling possibility is that comets delivered the building blocks for life eons ago. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-comets-kick-start-life-earth.html Other Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:42:51 EST news399138163 In science, sometimes the best discoveries come when you're exploring something else entirely. That's the case with recent findings from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), where a research team has come up with a way to build safe, nontoxic gold wires onto flexible, thin plastic film. Their demonstration potentially clears the path for a host of wearable electronic devices that monitor our health. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-wearable-electronic-devices-nist-plastic.html Materials Science Wed, 23 Nov 2016 15:41:44 EST news399138040 Every year, trade winds over the Sahara Desert sweep up huge plumes of mineral dust, transporting hundreds of teragrams—enough to fill 10 million dump trucks—across North Africa and over the Atlantic Ocean. This dust can be blown for thousands of kilometers and settle in places as far away as Florida and the Bahamas. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-scientists-huge-reduction-african-plume.html Earth Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 14:00:06 EST news399127751 The claws of coconut crabs have the strongest pinching force of any crustacean, according to a study published November 23, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Shin-ichiro Oka from Okinawa Churashima Foundation, Japan, and colleagues. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-coconut-crab-claws-strongest-crustacean.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Nov 2016 14:00:03 EST news399128401 Egyptian archeologists have discovered a Pharaonic village and cemetery once used by officials tasked with building royal tombs. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-egyptian-archaeologists-uncover-pharaonic-village.html Archaeology & Fossils Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:21:26 EST news399129682 "Mood ring materials" could play an important role in minimizing and mitigating damage to the nation's failing infrastructure. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-mood-materialsa-infrastructure.html Nanomaterials Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:20:06 EST news399129594 Two pandas conceived naturally and born at Vienna zoo, Fu Feng and Fu Ban, were officially baptised on Wednesday, 100 days after their birth. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-panda-twins-baptised-vienna-zoo.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:03:32 EST news399128608 Soil isn't one size fits all. It may look the same under your feet - but under a microscope, that's a different story. A plant's roots, tiny bugs - these things can tell one soil from another quite easily. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-equation-soil-success.html Environment Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:02:39 EST news399128551 A groundbreaking study of the virosphere of the most populous animals - those without backbones such as insects, spiders and worms and that live around our houses - has uncovered 1445 viruses, revealing people have only scratched the surface of the world of viruses - but it is likely that only a few cause disease. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-invertebrates-viruses-families.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:00:04 EST news399127484 Graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon in sheets just one atom in thick, has been the subject of widespread research, in large part because of its unique combination of strength, electrical conductivity, and chemical stability. But despite many years of study, some of graphene's fundamental properties are still not well-understood, including the way it behaves when something slides along its surface. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-flexible-graphene-surfaces-uncharted-territory.html Nanomaterials Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:00:03 EST news399127436 Reporting this week (Wednesday Nov. 23) in the journal Nature an international team led by British Antarctic Survey (BAS) explains that present-day thinning and retreat of Pine Island Glacier, one of the largest and fastest shrinking glaciers of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, is part of a climate trend that was already underway as early as the 1940s. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-reveals-west-antarctica-largest-glacier.html Earth Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 13:00:01 EST news399127648 If you're looking to save a few bucks at the mall while holiday shopping, charge up the smartphone and bring these apps with you. The four apps, which I've been using all year, can help find you coupons, compare prices or price match. All are available for Apple and Android devices and are free to download: http://phys.org/news/2016-11-holiday-money-saving-apps.html Software Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:40:39 EST news399127230 Satellites are keeping track of late-season Tropical Storm Otto as it threatens Central America. NASA-NOAA's Suomi NPP satellite captured an image of Otto as it was briefly strengthening into a hurricane. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-nasa-tropical-storm-otto-landfall.html Earth Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:37:25 EST news399127035 A naturally occurring predatory bacterium is able to work with the immune system to clear multi-drug resistant Shigella infections in zebrafish, according to a study published today in Current Biology. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-harnessing-power-predatory-bacteria-antibiotic.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:36:31 EST news399126984 People have a remarkable ability to remember and recall events from the past, even when those events didn't hold any particular importance at the time they occurred. Now, researchers reporting in the journal Current Biology on November 23 have evidence that dogs have that kind of "episodic memory" too. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-dog.html Plants & Animals Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:30:19 EST news399126605 Piezoelectric sensors measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain or force and are used in a vast array of devices important to everyday life. However, these sensors often can be limited by the "white noise" they detect that can give engineers and health care workers false readings. Now, a University of Missouri College of Engineering research team has developed methods to enhance piezoelectric sensing capabilities. Enhanced sensors could be used to improve aviation, detect structural damage in buildings and bridges, and boost the capabilities of health monitors. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-aviation-biosensors-result-sensor-technology.html Engineering Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:24:13 EST news399126245 A team of researchers led by Jiajun Cao, a PhD candidate in the College of Computer and Information Science (CCIS) at Northeastern University, recently completed what appears to be the largest known instance of transparent checkpointing. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-largest-transparent-checkpointing.html Computer Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 12:22:52 EST news399126162 For years, the conflicting goals of protecting the environment and some of the New Jersey shore's priciest real estate from storms have bedeviled a body of water known as Wreck Pond. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-pond-creation-fish.html Ecology Wed, 23 Nov 2016 11:30:01 EST news399121919 In the age of WikiLeaks, Russian hacks and increased government surveillance, many computer users are feeling increasingly worried about how best to protect their personal information—even if they aren't guarding state secrets. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-laptopeven-asleep.html Security Wed, 23 Nov 2016 11:11:35 EST news399121881 The government wants smartphone makers to lock out most apps when the phone is being used by someone driving a car. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-govt-makers-apps-drivers.html Software Wed, 23 Nov 2016 11:01:11 EST news399121267 Sri Lanka unveiled tougher laws Wednesday, including a ban on using young elephants for logging and other physical work, as part of a crackdown on cruelty to domesticated wild animals. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-sri-lanka-young-elephants.html Ecology Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:59:58 EST news399121195 Almost nine out of 10 European city dwellers breathe air that is harmful to their health, though the continent's air quality is slowly improving, the European Environment Agency (EEA) said Wednesday. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-europe-air-pollution-early-deaths.html Environment Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:59:48 EST news399121184 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory are being credited with creating the first intermetallic double salt with platinum. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-scientists-intermetallic-salt-platinum.html Materials Science Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:58:18 EST news399121084 A study co-led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) has found that people with genes for high educational achievement tend to marry, and have children with, people with similar DNA. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-dna-partners.html Social Sciences Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:54:07 EST news399120840 When you are in the supermarket contemplating which vegetables to buy, nitrogen is hardly the first thing on your mind. However, the products on the shelves contribute to the total nitrogen cycle in different ways. For instance, consider the leek. This slender bulbous plant has a superficial root system and requires a significant amount of nitrogen. The fact that it is harvested late in the season makes it difficult to grow catch crops. This makes leeks major environmental culprits - irrespective of whether they are grown organically or conventionally. http://phys.org/news/2016-11-crops.html Environment Wed, 23 Nov 2016 10:50:16 EST news399120611