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. Understanding product life cycles plays an important role in the innovation arms race, helping to define firm growth and market competition. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-product-firms-economy.html Economics & Business Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:13:03 EST news628967582 According to a commonly held assumption, women CEOs are more risk-averse than their male counterparts. Some studies have even demonstrated that women in top leadership roles are less likely than men to engage in acquisitions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-women-ceos-averse-men-necessarily.html Economics & Business Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:05:04 EST news628967101 New research in PLOS ONE uncovers an important discovery in the study of marine mammal health by being the first study to detect Otariid gammaherpesvirus 1 (OtGHV1) in free-ranging South American pinnipeds, as well as a novel herpesvirus Otariid gammaherpesvirus 8 (OtGHV8) in South American sea lions (Otaria byronia) in the Southern Hemisphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-reveals-herpesvirus-south-american-pinnipeds.html Plants & Animals Veterinary medicine Wed, 06 Mar 2024 17:01:03 EST news628966862 A ring of icy rocks orbiting our sun just beyond Neptune may give us a glimpse of how Neptune—and other objects in the outskirts of our solar system—were formed. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-james-webb-space-telescope.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:57:04 EST news628966621 The polysaccharide β-1,2-glucan consists of repeating units of glucose linked together by β-1,2-glycosidic bonds. Cyclic β-1,2-glucans (CβGs) occur in different bacterial species and have a role in bacterial infections and symbiotic relationships. CβG biosynthesis is catalyzed by cyclic β-1,2-glucan synthase (CGS), an enzyme that catalyzes the cyclization (closed ring formation) of linear β-1,2-glucan (LβG). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-uncovering-cyclization-mechanism-cyclic-glucan.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:46:00 EST news628965958 How someone feels about their personal appearance or attractiveness can significantly affect their level of life satisfaction, according to a new study out of York University, which looked at a broad range of factors and their contribution to happiness. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-key-drivers-life-satisfaction-happiness.html Social Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:45:57 EST news628965954 Sixty-eight Nobel science laureates urged Argentina's self-professed "anarcho-capitalist" President Javier Milei Wednesday to restore budgets for science and technology that have been cut under his drive to slash public spending. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nobel-laureates-milei-canceling-scientific.html Other Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:40:01 EST news628965426 Elon Musk's SpaceX on Wednesday announced it was eyeing March 14 as the earliest date for the next test launch of its giant Starship rocket, with which it hopes to one day colonize Mars. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-spacex-eyes-starship.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:38:05 EST news628965479 Nanoscale transistors are in demand for efficient digital circuits, and biasing of each device is critical. These stringent biasing conditions can be relaxed by obtaining precise values of the threshold voltages of the transistor. This leads to more tolerant logic states to the electrical noise. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-depletion-modes-nanoscale-field-effect.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:34:51 EST news628965288 It's not hard to find out what NASA's Hubble and James Webb space telescopes have observed in the past. Barely a week goes by without news of a cosmic discovery made possible using images, spectra, and other data captured by NASA's prolific astronomical observatories. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-hubble-webb-nasa-tool.html Astronomy Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:34:16 EST news628965253 A study on the photocatalytic nonoxidative coupling of methane to ethylene over carbon-doped ZnO/Au catalysts was published by Prof. Wei Xiao (College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University) and Dr. Yuhao Peng (College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-photocatalytic-nonoxidative-coupling-methane-ethylene.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:33:02 EST news628965181 Soils in northern freshwater wetlands, called peatlands, are cold, water-saturated, and acidic. These conditions slow microbes' decomposition of organic matter into greenhouse gases. This process stores carbon in the soil. Researchers use the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment to warm air and soil in a northern Minnesota bog to simulate the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-peatland-soil-warmer-climate-elevated.html Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:32:29 EST news628965147 While ecologically important, small mushrooms on monocots (grasses and sedges) are rarely studied and a lack of information about their habitat and DNA sequences creates difficulties in determining their presence or absence in ecological studies and their genetic relationships to other mushroom taxa. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-genus-fungi-grasses.html Ecology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:20:03 EST news628964402 The determination of animal growth rate and body size is an interesting scientific issue, and understanding the molecular mechanisms involved can guide agricultural production for genetic breeding. However, differences in the genetic background across species have led to slow progress in related research. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-comparison-diploid-triploid-hybrid-fish.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:17:03 EST news628964221 Deep sea and sediments bring iron to Antarctic waters. The iron that fertilizes the waters around Antarctica mostly comes from the deep, upwelling waters and the sediments around the continent. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-deep-sea-sediments-iron-antarctic.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:15:03 EST news628964102 People's feelings about how morally divided a society is in the lead-up to an election can cause them to have extreme reactions if the result doesn't go their way, like the 6 January 2021 attacks on the US Capitol, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) has shown. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-people-perceptions-fuel-political-unrest.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:06:03 EST news628963561 One of the greatest problems in modern physics is to reconcile the enormous difference between the energy carried by random fluctuations in the vacuum of space, and the dark energy driving the universe's expansion. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-elucidate-dark-energy.html General Physics Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:02:03 EST news628963321 The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a hybrid nano-microscope capable of simultaneously measuring various nano-material properties. This nano-microscope is essential for researching the properties of nano-composite materials and is also suitable for commercialization. It is expected to promote the development of industries for related materials and equipment. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-nano-microscope-enables-simultaneous-composite.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:57:03 EST news628963021 Surface coatings have long been essential in various industries, offering protection and functionality. In recent years, liquid-infused surfaces (LIS) have emerged as a groundbreaking technology, revolutionizing how we approach surface coatings. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-multi-component-liquid-infused-surfaces.html Materials Science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:40:04 EST news628962002 Australia's national science agency, CSIRO, has released a new report on the country's material use, highlighting opportunities to transition to a more circular and sustainable economy. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-reveals-australia-material-circular.html Economics & Business Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:39:03 EST news628961941 Land–atmosphere interactions play a crucial role in shaping Earth's climate system, profoundly influencing weather patterns, climate variables, and ecological processes. Despite being located at similar latitudes, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Yangtze River region (YRR) represent two distinct climate zones, garnering significant attention in this field. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-net-high-elevation-tibetan-plateau.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:36:02 EST news628961761 Deploying paramedics, social workers, and others to non-criminal emergency calls could significantly boost a police department's ability to respond to criminal emergencies while reducing negative interactions with the community, according to new University of Maryland research. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-civilian-safety.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:34:03 EST news628961642 The Orion spacecraft that traveled around the moon and back during 2022's Artemis I mission completed a different round trip when it recently returned to Ohio for testing. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-earth-nasa-orion-capsule-crewed.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:30:02 EST news628961402 Getting climate models to mimic real-time observations when it comes to warming is critical—small discrepancies can lead to misunderstandings about the rate of global warming as the climate changes. A new study from North Carolina State University and Duke University finds that when modeling warming trends in the Pacific Ocean, there is still a missing piece to the modeling puzzle: the effect of wind on ocean currents in the equatorial Pacific. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-equator-key-accurate-future-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:27:03 EST news628961221 As the dust settles on another Super Tuesday, Americans are watching with bated breath to see how closely the final tallies align with the latest polls. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-opinion-polls.html Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:19:05 EST news628960741 A new paper by Stanford economist Matteo Maggiori offers policymakers a framework for understanding how economic power is used to achieve geopolitical goals. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-qa-geoeconomics-turbulent-world.html Economics & Business Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 15:00:01 EST news628959132 Black male elementary school students matched to Black teachers are less likely to be identified for special education services, according to new research. The relationship is strongest for economically disadvantaged students. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-black-boys-special-teachers.html Education Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:58:03 EST news628959482 Birds migrating from north to south are a given, but migrating from the southwest to the southeast is a little rarer. A burrowing owl is overwintering on a Tennessee River peninsula near New Johnsonville, Tennessee, marking the first sighting of the species in the state, and a Mississippi State wildlife ecologist is researching the fascinating oddity. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-texas-tennessee-burrowing-owl-odd.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:54:42 EST news628959247 A new study finds that prosecutors in North Carolina believe "drug-induced homicide" (DIH) laws are effective at both reducing drug overdoses in a community and curtailing the distribution of illicit drugs. These beliefs are worth noting because there is no evidence to support them, while there is evidence that DIH prosecutions make people in affected communities less likely to call 911—and may actually increase the number of overdoses in a community. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-drug-homicide-prosecutions-north-carolina.html Social Sciences Political science Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:54:03 EST news628959242 Using some of the largest telescopes in the world, including the Subaru Telescope, a team of astronomers discovered three new natural satellites orbiting the outermost planets in our solar system—one around Uranus and two around Neptune. One of the new moons, initially detected by the Subaru Telescope, is the faintest moon ever discovered by ground-based telescopes. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-subaru-telescope-faintest-moon-icy.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:52:58 EST news628959176