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Phys.org / Scientists design molecules 'backward' to speed up discovery

Every medication in your cabinet, every material in your phone's battery, and virtually every compound that makes modern life work started as a molecular guess, with scientists hypothesizing that a particular arrangement ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Chemistry
Medical Xpress / Unexpected vitamin B1 connection emerges in genetic study of gut motility

Bowel habits aren't exactly dinner-table talk. But they reflect how quickly the gut moves things along, and when that goes wrong, people can experience constipation, diarrhea, or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Yet the biological ...

Jan 20, 2026 in Genetics
Phys.org / 2.6-million-year-old Paranthropus fossil expands early hominin range

In a paper published in Nature, a team led by University of Chicago paleoanthropologist Professor Zeresenay Alemseged reports the discovery of the first Paranthropus specimen from the Afar region of Ethiopia, 1,000 km north ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / A shark's energy reserves are linked to how far it travels, suggests new study

For years, researchers have tagged sharks in the world's oceans to learn where they go, how they migrate and where they feed. While these tags have given us a wealth of data about their lives, many questions still remain. ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Tech Xplore / 'Dissolution barocaloric' cooling opens new path to zero-carbon refrigeration

A research team led by Prof. Li Bing from the Institute of Metal Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with collaborators, has overcome a longstanding bottleneck in refrigeration technology. Their findings, ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Engineering
Phys.org / New method creates acinar cells involved in formation of pancreatic cancer

Organoids are three-dimensional miniature models of organs, grown in a dish. They have become a valuable tool for studying human development, organ regeneration, function, and disease progression. Organoids derived from patient ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Medical Xpress / Manipulating blood CO₂ levels may help clear toxic proteins from the brain

Abnormal clumps of proteins like α-synuclein, amyloid beta and tau are associated with neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, but a waste removal mechanism called the glymphatic pathway can ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Neuroscience
Phys.org / US forests store record carbon as natural and human factors combine

U.S. forests have stored more carbon in the past two decades than at any time in the last century, an increase attributable to a mix of natural factors and human activity, finds a new study.

Jan 21, 2026 in Earth
Medical Xpress / Super-enhancers in cancer cells trigger DNA breaks and error-prone repair cycles

A new study shows that cancer damages its own DNA by pushing key genes to work too hard. Researchers found that the most powerful genetic "on switches" in cancer cells, called super-enhancers, drive unusually intense gene ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Oncology & Cancer
Medical Xpress / People with 'binge-watching addiction' are more likely to be lonely, study finds

While many people binge-watch their favorite shows, binge-watching addiction is associated with loneliness, according to a study published in PLOS One by Xiaofan Yue and Xin Cui from Huangshan University in China.

Jan 21, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / Physicists uncover hidden magnetic order in the mysterious pseudogap phase

Physicists have uncovered a link between magnetism and a mysterious phase of matter called the pseudogap, which appears in certain quantum materials just above the temperature at which they become superconducting. The findings ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Solar flares triggered by cascading magnetic avalanches, new observations reveal

Just as avalanches on snowy mountains start with the movement of a small quantity of snow, the ESA-led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has discovered that a solar flare is triggered by initially weak disturbances that quickly become ...

Jan 21, 2026 in Astronomy & Space