All News

Phys.org / Electrochemical signals can reshape bacterial protein patterns, boosting electron transfer

Sometimes, transporting electrons from one cell to another is a team effort. In electroactive bacteria, that team is a group of proteins that shepherds electrons forward, passing them along like a relay baton, so they can ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists isolate climatic fingerprints of wildfires and volcanic eruptions

Volcanoes and wildfires can inject millions of tons of gases and aerosol particles into the air, affecting temperatures on a global scale. But picking out the specific impact of individual events against a background of many ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Earth
Tech Xplore / AI energy use: New tools show which model consumes the most power, and why

AI users and developers can now measure the amount of electricity various AI models consume to complete tasks with an open-source software and online leaderboard developed at the University of Michigan. Companies can download ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Software
Tech Xplore / Mixing generative AI with physics to create personal items that work in the real world

Ever had an idea for something that looked cool, but wouldn't work well in practice? When it comes to designing things like decor and personal accessories, generative artificial intelligence (genAI) models can relate. They ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Engineering
Phys.org / Phosphoric acid dimers reveal nature's proton highway

Whether in our bodies or in fuel cells, phosphoric acid plays an important role in many chemical processes because it is exceptionally good at transporting charges. Researchers from the Department of Molecular Physics at ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Peatland lakes in Congo Basin release carbon that is thousands of years old

Researchers at ETH Zurich have now discovered for the first time that large blackwater lakes in the extensive peatlands of the central Congo Basin are releasing ancient carbon. To date, climate researchers had assumed that ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Earth
Tech Xplore / Engineers discover new physics principle to break sound absorption barriers in ventilated spaces

In everyday life, designing spaces that both let air flow and absorb sound can be a tricky balancing act. Usually, materials that allow air to pass through—like vents—also let sound escape, making it hard to reduce noise ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Engineering
Phys.org / How cells manage nitric oxide: Research uncovers dynamic 'gate' that tames powerful signaling molecule

Cornell researchers have uncovered a built-in molecular "gate" that controls the production of the molecule nitric oxide, a crucial signaling molecule throughout biology that in humans helps regulate blood pressure, brain ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Between flood and drought: The metric that could better explain what happens to water in the age of climate change

A key question in any discussion about climate is "How much rain fell?" But perhaps there is an even more important one. Like any household budget, the global water economy is based on "income," that is, water entering the ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Earth
Dialog / Bringing quantum ideas to the messy world of disordered proteins

Imagine trying to design a key for a lock that is constantly changing its shape. That is the exact challenge we face in modern drug discovery when dealing with intrinsically disordered proteins.

Feb 23, 2026 in Biology
Tech Xplore / A heatshield for 'never-wet' surfaces: Engineers repel even near-boiling water with low-cost, scalable coating

Superhydrophobic surfaces—those famously "never-wet" materials that make water bead up and roll away—have a stubborn weakness: hot water. Once temperatures climb above roughly 40 degrees Celsius, many superhydrophobic ...

Feb 23, 2026 in Engineering
Phys.org / Sunray-like ripples emerge on a frozen reaction front

Researchers in Belgium have unveiled a striking chemical reaction in which ripples along a frozen reaction front resemble the rays of a shining star. Publishing their results in Physical Review Letters, Anne De Wit and colleagues ...

Feb 22, 2026 in Physics