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phys.org

Sunday, Mar 8

01

Large AI models can speed catalyst discovery by predicting performance before synthesis

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Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the way scientists discover and design new materials. In a specially invited review published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Tohoku University researchers highlight how large AI…

Saturday, Mar 7

00

Red dwarf stars might starve alien plants of the 'quality' light they need to breathe

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Red dwarfs make up the vast majority of stars in the galaxy. Such ubiquity means they host the majority of rocky exoplanets we've found so far—which in turn makes them interesting for astrobiological surveys. However, there's a…

23

Plant mitochondria actively pull oxygen from chloroplasts, researchers discover

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A new study from the University of Helsinki reveals how plant mitochondria draw molecular oxygen away from chloroplasts, an interaction not previously documented. The discovery sheds new light on how plants regulate oxygen inside their…

22

New report links ecology and phosphorus in English rivers

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The Environment Agency and the University of Stirling have published a new report on the links between phosphorus concentrations and ecology in English rivers. Phosphorus remains one of the most significant pollutants in England's rivers.…

DART images reveal asteroids can toss slow 'cosmic snowballs' between moons

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About 15% of asteroids near Earth have small moons orbiting them, making binary asteroid systems common in our cosmic neighborhood.

21

Can we grow life on Mars? Experiments show potential in simulated extraterrestrial soil

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Life's capacity to survive in simulated lunar and Martian soils has been explored in two papers published in Scientific Reports. Treating simulated lunar soil with both symbiotic fungi and worm-produced compost can significantly improve…

What's in your salad? Crops exposed to nanoplastics may boost heavy metal intake

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Leafy vegetables like lettuce are readily available in grocery stores and often seen as a healthy food choice. As researchers work to understand how emerging contaminants behave in plants, new research is shedding light on how lettuce…

20

'Superconducting dome' hints at high-temperature superconductivity in thin nickelate films

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Superconductivity is a quantum state of matter characterized by an electrical resistance of zero and the expulsion of magnetic fields at low temperatures below a critical point. Superconductors, materials in which this state occurs, have…

19

The coldest 'stars' in the galaxy might actually be alien megastructures

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Ever since physicist Freeman Dyson first proposed the concept in 1960, the "Dyson sphere" has been the holy grail of techno-signature hunters. A highly advanced civilization could build a "sphere" (or, in our more modern understanding, a …

Mixed-flower Australian honey packs a stronger anti-microbial punch

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Honeybees collecting nectar from a "buffet" of Australian native plants made honey with anti-microbial abilities that is more potent than "single origin" honey made from only one source of plant or flower, a University of Sydney-led study…

17

Scientists develop new model to accurately assess global salt marsh carbon sinks

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A research team from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed an innovative model to accurately assess the carbon sequestration capacity of global salt marshes, addressing a long-standing gap in blue…

V615 Vul shows rare hybrid nova signature after rapid two-day rise

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Italian astronomers have performed extensive spectroscopic monitoring of a recently discovered nova known as Vulpeculae 2024, also known as V615 Vul. Results of the new observations, presented in a paper published in the Astronomy &…

16

Saturday Citations: More bad news for US footballers; ancient Mayan water management; investigative LLMs

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What we learned this week: Left-handed people may have a psychological edge in competition. Humanoid robots can now do creepy parkour through the uncanny valley. And if you've ever cared for an elderly cat, a new study highlights a…

15

A new clue to how the body detects physical force

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Every time we feel a gentle tap on the skin, specialized nerve cells convert that physical force into an electrical signal the brain can interpret as touch. While scientists have long known that a protein called PIEZO2 acts as a key sensor…

Study reveals new technique to identify individual night-flying birds for the first time

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Millions of birds invisibly migrate through the night sky each autumn, most flying in near silence toward their wintering grounds. Now, scientists have developed a way to see and identify many of those birds for the first time.

NASA's DART test for planetary defense proved it can shift an asteroid's solar orbit

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Four years ago, NASA purposely smashed a spacecraft into a small asteroid to see if they could deflect it—a test to prove humanity could protect Earth from threatening space rocks.

Analysis of 1,000 Tinder profiles reveals nine standard pose types

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Choosing a Tinder profile picture may feel like a free, personal and creative act. But how true is that? A new study from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) shows that, far from being unique, most users follow one of a small number…

04

'Just-shoring' puts justice at the center of critical minerals policy

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A clean energy future hinges on minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements. But the race to secure them puts pressure on the places where they are mined. With some supply and processing concentrated in just a few…

02

New study reveals differences between 'Demon Slayer' bamboo muzzle and actual bamboo

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In storytelling, even small visual details can become unforgettable. In the globally popular anime "Demon Slayer," one such detail is the short bamboo muzzle worn by a central character. It looks simple and believable, just a piece of…

Friday, Mar 6

00

Overshoot reshapes climate strategies—but the path to net zero remains unchanged

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Temporary overshoot of global temperature targets—particularly the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement—is no longer just a modeling concept. New research, published in Nature Climate Change and led by the Euro-Mediterranean Center for…

23

Why being nice matters in a complex world

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Coan says practicing kindness, be it big or small, is a one-two punch for your health and for those around you. That includes "weak ties," the casual, micro-relationships people form. "People often deride small talk as shallow," he said. …

Salt may have pushed us further into Snowball Earth 700 million years ago

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Our planet plunged into one of the most dramatic climate states in its long history, approximately 720–635 million years ago. During a period geologists call Snowball Earth, ice sheets crept from the poles all the way to the tropics,…

22

Stars like our sun may maintain the same rotation pattern for life, contrary to 45 years of theoretical predictions

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Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have conducted the most detailed simulation of the interior of stars and disproved a theory scientists have believed for 45 years: that stars switch their rotation patterns as they age, with poles…

Study finds water oversight failures at California dairies

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A Stanford Law report reveals California's inadequate monitoring of dairies and feedlots, highlighting the need for stronger regulatory enforcement to protect groundwater quality and community health.

21

Largest known Mesozoic crocodyliform egg clutch discovered in Brazil

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In a study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, researchers Dr. Giovanna M. X. Paixão and her colleagues analyzed the fossilized remains of three Upper Cretaceous egg clutches. One of these clutches, totaling 47 eggs, is…

What's inside neutron stars? New model could sharpen gravitational-wave 'tide' clues

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Neutron stars harbor some of the most extreme environments in the universe: their densities soar to several times those of atomic nuclei, and they possess some of the strongest gravitational fields of any known objects, surpassed only by…

Villages: An underestimated habitat with potential for pollinators

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When it comes to research on habitats for pollinating insects, villages have so far received relatively little attention. The project Summende Dörfer (Buzzing Villages), based at the Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology…

Material previously thought to be quantum is actually a new, non-quantum state of matter

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Magnetic materials in a quantum spin liquid phase are of great interest in the pursuit of exotic state of matter and quantum computation. But in the quantum realm, things are not always what they seem. A study, published in Science…

Many scientists now use AI but fail to disclose it, study finds

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When scientists employ generative AI tools like ChatGPT to help with tasks such as editing and translation for their academic writing, many journals now ask them to disclose this assistance. The rules are intended to maintain transparency…

20

Water-window X-rays without a synchrotron: How graphite flakes could shrink bioimaging tools

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Researchers from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have found a new way to produce X-rays with wavelengths in what is called the "water window." This new method holds promise in making bioimaging X-ray machines…