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Phys.org / Two origins of life: Free-living cells may have emerged twice as bacteria and archaea diverged

How and where did the first forms of life arise? These are the main questions driving research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). In a new publication in Science Advances, ...

Aug 5, 2026
Phys.org / First measurement of antineutrinos from spent nuclear fuel confirms emissions persist after reactor shutdown

Even when the lights go out and nuclear reactors are turned off, the story inside the reactor core still has a great deal to tell. Radioactive, long-lived fission products continue to decay for months or even years, producing ...

Aug 4, 2026
Phys.org / Mega-study analyzes the impact of gratitude interventions

Are some interventions designed to induce gratitude more effectively than others? In which countries and cultures do they work best to improve mood, strengthen bonds between people and promote social reciprocity? A study ...

Aug 8, 2026
Medical Xpress / Birth order may influence your disease risk later in life, study finds

Whether you are first-born or second-born may be associated with your risk of developing certain diseases, according to a new study published in Nature Health.

Aug 5, 2026
Phys.org / Songbirds may have developed sharper senses to de-husk seeds

Songbirds, birds belonging to the Passeriformes order, are best known for their ability to produce complex musical sounds. Yet some songbird species also have another remarkable skill: They can easily remove the tough layer ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / Dodo birds more clever than we thought

The Mauritian dodo—a global symbol of human-caused extinction and one of the world's largest pigeons—may not have deserved its reputation as a silly simpleton and may have been the only member of its group to live in the ...

Aug 8, 2026
Phys.org / Butterfly ranges shift worldwide amid climate change, with most species expanding their reach

A global analysis of range-shift records for 1,758 butterfly species—10% of known butterfly species—found that 80% had expanded their range and that 79% of all recorded range shifts were linked to climate change and extreme ...

Aug 8, 2026
Phys.org / Nocturnal 'coffee frog' discovered in Costa Rica

A tiny greenish, nocturnal frog that thrives in coffee plantations has been discovered in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, where it also faces risks from agrochemicals used in farming.

Aug 8, 2026
Phys.org / Gut cells may measure hunger by how watery their insides become

Researchers led by Sa Kan Yoo at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan have discovered that the natural turnover of gut cells in fruit flies depends on how much food the flies get, rather than on ...

Aug 8, 2026
Phys.org / Over half of people are unaware of the environmental effects of sunscreen

This summer, millions of people across the country have been digging out sunscreen to protect themselves from a record-breaking series of heat waves.

Aug 9, 2026
Phys.org / Runaway supermassive black hole RBH-1 offers new way to reconstruct ancient merger

Black holes are fascinating regions in space where gravity is so strong that nothing, even light, can escape them. The largest known black holes, called supermassive black holes, contain millions to billions of times the ...

Aug 5, 2026
Medical Xpress / How the brain's electrical signatures shift as tinnitus becomes chronic

Ears are built to listen to sounds from the world around us, but for some people, the sound comes from within. Tinnitus causes people to hear ringing or other noises in one or both ears or in their heads, even when there ...

Aug 4, 2026