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Phys.org / The oldest breath: A 300-million-year-old mummy reveals the origins of how amniotes breathe

Every breath you take is an ancient inheritance. The rise and fall of your chest, the intercostal muscles pulling your ribs outward, the rush of air into your lungs—this mechanism is so familiar it barely registers as remarkable. ...

Apr 8, 2026
Medical Xpress / Surprising finding in the eye may explain how we see in low light

A new Yale School of Medicine (YSM) study has uncovered surprising new details about how our eyes process what we see. When we look at something, our visual system breaks down different aspects of the scene—such as color, ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient Romans were obsessed with a plant said to be a contraception and an aphrodisiac. Then one day, it went extinct

Roman leader Julius Caesar is said to have kept a stock of it in the treasury. Ancient writer Pliny the Elder says Rome's Emperor Nero owned the last stalk of it. And some have suggested rampant extramarital sex in elite ...

Apr 8, 2026
Phys.org / Dragonflies share humans' red-light sensing trick, detecting wavelengths near 720 nm

Sometimes, different organisms can evolve the same ability independently, a process called parallel evolution. A new study from Osaka Metropolitan University (OMU) has found that dragonflies sense red light similarly to mammals, ...

Apr 9, 2026
Medical Xpress / Injectable peptides are the new anti‑aging trend. But what evidence do we have they're safe for humans?

Injectable peptides are the new anti-aging trend sweeping the beauty industry. These compounds are promoted on social media as tools for skin repair, collagen production and "cellular rejuvenation." They are widely available ...

Apr 11, 2026
Phys.org / Parasitic tapeworm—a risk to domestic dogs and humans—found in Washington coyotes

New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as a parasite ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / TESS spots the rise of a black hole X-ray binary system

Designed to hunt for new alien worlds, NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has serendipitously observed the rising outburst of a black hole X-ray binary known as AT 2019wey. The observations, which may help ...

Apr 5, 2026
Phys.org / Alignment during conversations is highly situation-dependent, study finds

When people are talking, they can start to unconsciously mirror each other, for instance, in the words they use, their sentence structures and even hand gestures. This tendency to mirror others can lead to smoother conversations, ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / DNA evidence reveals a Stone Age population collapse in France

By analyzing DNA of ancient skeletons at a Neolithic burial site near Paris, an international team of researchers has uncovered evidence of a dramatic population replacement 5,000 years ago. The findings indicate that the ...

Apr 8, 2026
Phys.org / AMOC collapse could turn Southern Ocean into carbon source, adding 0.2°C to global warming

A shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) could trigger a substantial release of stored ocean carbon into the atmosphere over hundreds of years, according to a new study that simulated such a collapse ...

Apr 8, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient Māori remains point to largely plant-based diets before colonization

New research led by the University of Otago—Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, in close partnership with mana whenua, is shedding new light on Māori diet and burial practices in Aotearoa New Zealand prior to European colonization. The ...

Apr 9, 2026
Phys.org / Liquid-like histone H1 'glues' nucleosomes, reshaping how DNA compacts

DNA inside the nucleus is not packed as a rigid regular fiber—linker histone H1 dynamically binds and loosely "glues" nucleosomes together, creating a dynamic, fluid organization that can still support essential genome functions.

Apr 9, 2026