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. Astronomers have made the first measurement of spin-orbit alignment for a distant 'super-Jupiter' planet, demonstrating a technique that could enable breakthroughs in the quest to understand how exoplanetary systems form and evolved. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-spin-orbit-alignment-planet-beta-pictoris.html Astronomy Mon, 29 Jun 2020 04:48:29 EDT news512624901 A deep-sea soft coral garden habitat has been discovered in Greenlandic waters by scientists from UCL, ZSL and Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, using an innovative and low-cost deep-sea video camera built and deployed by the team. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-soft-coral-garden-greenland-deep.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2020 03:30:09 EDT news512620185 Environmental destruction may make pandemics more likely and less manageable, new research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-ecosystem-degradation-pandemics.html Ecology Mon, 29 Jun 2020 03:22:23 EDT news512619739 Gold mining significantly limits the regrowth of Amazon forests, greatly reducing their ability to accumulate carbon, according to a new study. The researchers warn that the impacts of mining on tropical forests are long-lasting and that active land management and restoration will be necessary to recover tropical forests on previously mined lands. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-gold-restricts-amazon-rainforest-recovery.html Environment Mon, 29 Jun 2020 03:21:39 EDT news512619686 Reservoirs in the heart of an ancient Maya city were so polluted with mercury and algae that the water likely was undrinkable. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-ancient-maya-reservoirs-toxic-pollution.html Archaeology & Fossils Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:36:03 EDT news512411751 Workplace gender bias is being kept alive by people who think it's no longer an issue, new research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-gender-bias-alive-people-dead.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Fri, 26 Jun 2020 14:00:03 EDT news512374365 Thank goodness for the Earth's crust: It is, after all, that solid, outermost layer of our planet that supports everything above it. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-geochemists-mystery-earth-crust.html Earth Sciences Fri, 26 Jun 2020 14:00:02 EDT news512374183 In biology, phylogenetic trees represent the evolutionary history and diversification of species—the "family tree" of Life. Phylogenetic trees not only describe the evolution of a group of organisms but can also be constructed from the organisms within a particular environment or ecosystem, such as the human microbiome. In this way, they can describe how this ecosystem evolved and what its functional capabilities might be. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-pattern-analysis-phylogenetic-trees-reveal.html Evolution Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:58:13 EDT news512395089 Since the discovery of graphene, two-dimensional materials have been the focus of materials research. Among other things, they could be used to build tiny, high-performance transistors. Researchers at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne have now simulated and evaluated one hundred possible materials for this purpose and discovered 13 promising candidates. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-simulation-microscope-transistors-future.html Nanomaterials Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:36:04 EDT news512393761 Using state-of-the-art ocean robots and scientific sensors attached to seals, researchers in Marine Sciences at the University of Gothenburg have for the first time observed small and energetic ocean currents in the Southern Ocean. The currents are critical at controlling the amount of heat and carbon moving between the ocean and the atmosphere—information vital for understanding our global climate and how it may change in the future. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-unknown-currents-southern-ocean.html Earth Sciences Environment Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:35:56 EDT news512393754 In a system with self-replicating molecules, previously shown to have the capability to grow, divide and evolve, chemists from the University of Groningen have now discovered catalytic capabilities that result in a basic metabolism. Furthermore, they linked a light-sensitive dye to the molecules, which enabled them to use light energy to power growth. These findings, which bring artificial life one step closer, were published simultaneously in the journals Nature Chemistry and Nature Catalysis on 26 June. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-life-emulating-molecules-basic-metabolism.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:34:49 EDT news512393684 Adding an exotic particle known as a Xi hyperon to a helium nucleus with three nucleons could produce a nucleus that is temporarily stable, calculations by RIKEN nuclear physicists have predicted. This result will help experimentalists search for the nucleus and provide insights into both nuclear physics and the structure of neutron stars. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-nucleus-stable-strange-quarks.html General Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:34:36 EDT news512393674 Chemically engineered peptides, designed and developed by a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, could prove valuable in the battle against some of the most persistent human health challenges. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-peptides-potential-blocking-viruses-future.html Biochemistry Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:34:30 EDT news512393667 In a new study of axion motion, researchers propose a scenario known as "kinetic misalignment" that greatly strengthens the case for axion/dark matter equivalence. The novel concept answers key questions related to the origins of dark matter and provides new avenues for ongoing detection efforts. This work, published in Physical Review Letters, was conducted by researchers at the Institute for Advanced Study, University of Michigan, and UC Berkeley. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-case-axion-dark-gains-traction.html General Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:34:21 EDT news512393658 The transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources strongly depends on an availability of effective systems for energy conversion and storage. Considering hydrogen as a carrier molecule, proton exchange membrane electrolysis offers numerous advantages, like operation at high current densities, low gas crossover, compact system design etc. However, its wide implementation is hindered by slow kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER), enhancement of which requires the application of low-abundant and expensive Ir-based electrocatalysts. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-electrocatalyst-oxygen-evolution-reaction.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 12:25:49 EDT news512393144 Polarized light is a familiar phenomenon because the scattering or reflection of light results in one of its two components being preferentially absorbed. The majority of sunlight on Earth, for example, is preferentially polarized due to scattering in the atmosphere (this helps make polarized sunglasses effective). Electromagnetic radiation from astrophysical sources can also be polarized, typically because of scattering from elongated dust grains that are aligned with each other by the local magnetic fields. These fields are thought to play a major, perhaps even a dominant role in controlling the shapes and motions of interstellar gas clouds and are extremely difficult to measure directly. Observations of polarization by dust grains offer a unique way to probe the magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-inferring-temperature-circumstellar-disks-polarized.html Astronomy Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:05:46 EDT news512388344 A new study by UCLA professors offers a new way to understand how unfounded conspiracy theories emerge online. The research, which combines sophisticated artificial intelligence and a deep knowledge of how folklore is structured, explains how unrelated facts and false information can connect into a narrative framework that would quickly fall apart if some of those elements are taken out of the mix. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-conspiracy-theories-emergeand-storylines-fall.html Social Sciences Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:05:17 EDT news512388313 People in what is now Washington State were smoking Rhus glabra, a plant commonly known as smooth sumac, more than 1,400 years ago. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-non-tobacco-ancient-pipe.html Archaeology & Fossils Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:04:15 EDT news512388251 As the "king of beasts," majestic lions have been used as a symbol of courage, nobility and strength by rulers for over 6000 years. A lion became the symbol of a Norwegian king at least as early as 1280. It still stands proudly on Norway's Coat of Arms. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-pantera-leo-family-tree.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:03:17 EDT news512388192 The thin, slippery layer of cartilage between the bones in the knee is magical stuff: strong enough to withstand a person's weight, but soft and supple enough to cushion the joint against impact, over decades of repeat use. That combination of soft-yet-strong has been hard to reproduce in the lab. But now, Duke University researchers say they've created an experimental gel that's the first to match the strength and durability of the real thing. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-lab-cartilage-mimicking-gel-strong-knees.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 11:03:00 EDT news512388178 A trio of theoretical physicists at the Pennsylvania State University has calculated the upper limit for the possible quantization of time—they suggest 10−33 seconds as the upper limit for the period of a universal oscillator. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, Garrett Wendel, Luis Martínez and Martin Bojowald outline their theory and suggest a possible way to prove it. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-theorists-upper-limit-quantization.html General Physics Quantum Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:20:01 EDT news512385165 Using the large synchrotron radiation facility SPring-8 in Japan, a collaboration of researchers from Kumamoto University, the University of Tokyo, and others from Japan and France have precisely measured the density of liquid iron under conditions similar to those at Earth's outer core: 1,000,000 atm and 4,000 degrees C. Accurate density measurements of liquid iron under such extreme conditions is very important for understanding the chemical make-up of our planet's core. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-precise-liquid-iron-density-extreme.html Condensed Matter Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:10:40 EDT news512385030 A spacewalking astronaut added to the millions of pieces of junk orbiting the Earth on Friday, losing a small mirror on his sleeve as soon as he emerged from the International Space Station for battery work. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-spacewalking-astronaut-mirror-space-junk.html Space Exploration Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:58:26 EDT news512384302 Traditional lenses—like the ones found in eyeglasses—are bulky, heavy and only focus light across a limited number of wavelengths. A new, ultrathin metalens developed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, uses an array of tiny, connected waveguides that resembles a fishnet to focus light at wavelengths spanning from the visible to the infrared with record-breaking efficiencies. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-record-breaking-metalens-revolutionize-optical-technologies.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:54:51 EDT news512383983 Scientists have recently engineered a modular system based on the Rubik's cube to design and reconfigure microfluidic systems. Research teams had previously pursued the arrangement of microfluidic blocks in diverse conformations to suit varied experiments. In this work, Xiaochen Lai and a team of scientists at the Tianjin University in China were inspired by the popular Rubik's puzzle to build a three-dimensional (3-D) microfluidic system. The setup could be easily twisted and turned to change its function. They mimicked the design of the Rubik's cube with modular pieces containing microchannel layouts to achieve a tight, leak-proof seal relative to device arrangement. Lai et al. used a single device to perform fluid mixing and droplet-based microbial culture for a range of practical applications as microfluidic sensors, pumps and valves in resource-limited settings. The work is now published on Nature: Microsystems and Microengineering. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-rubik-microfluidic-cube.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:50:01 EDT news512383567 A team of researchers at Université de Bordeaux has developed a way to use mass spectrometry to isolate guanine-rich DNA ions. In their paper published in the journal Science, the researchers describe their method and how it might be used to expand the capabilities of mass spectrometry for structural analysis. Perdita Barran with the University of Manchester has published a Perspective piece outlining the history of the study of molecular chirality in crystals in the same issue, and also provides an overview of the work by the team in France. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-mass-spectrometry-isolate-guanine-rich-dna.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:40:27 EDT news512383217 Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne scientists have coupled a new material with light at the level of a single photon. The achievement opens up prospects for better controlling and understanding the properties of quantum-correlated systems, where theoretical calculations are difficult. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-material-light-matter-interactions.html Quantum Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:38:23 EDT news512383101 Modern physics knows a great deal about how the universe works, from the grand scale of galaxies down to the infinitesimally small size of quarks and gluons. Still, the answers to some major mysteries, such as the nature of dark matter and origin of gravity, have remained out of reach. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-cern-rare-events-massive-carriers.html General Physics Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:30:29 EDT news512382626 CRISPR-Cas9 has become one of the most convenient and effective biotechnology tools used to cut specific DNA sequences. Starting from Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9), a multitude of variants have been engineered and employed for experiments worldwide. Although all these systems are targeting and cleaving a specific DNA sequence, they also exhibit relatively high off-target activities with potentially harmful effects. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-crispr-cas9-dna-scissors.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:29:04 EDT news512382538 Among the most easily recognizable features of any nervous system is the synapse. While the question of how synapses evolved has been a longstanding mystery, it can now largely be solved. In a nutshell, it appears that the synapses between neurons evolved directly from the original cell-to-cell contacts, namely, the adherence junctions and other bonds that linked the primitive epithelial sheets of early multicellular organisms. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-evolution-synapse.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Jun 2020 09:10:01 EDT news512374495