All News

Phys.org / Study challenges long-held theory that language is built on grammar trees

Every time we speak, we're improvising. "Humans possess a remarkable ability to talk about almost anything, sometimes putting words together into never-before-spoken or -written sentences," said Morten H. Christiansen, the ...

Jan 22, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Bird retinas function without oxygen—solving a centuries-old biological mystery

Neural tissue normally dies quickly without oxygen. Yet bird retinas—among the most energy-demanding tissues in the animal kingdom—function permanently without it. This may be relevant in future treatment of stroke patients.

Jan 21, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists discover a hidden RNA 'aging clock' in human sperm

Increasing paternal age has been linked to elevated health risks for the next generation, including higher risks of obesity and stillbirth. But what drives this increased risk remains unknown.

Jan 20, 2026 in Biology
Medical Xpress / Predicting microbubble distribution for blood-brain barrier opening

A clinical study shows that preoperative dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help predict how microbubbles will distribute in the human brain. This is a key step toward optimizing ...

Jan 23, 2026 in Neuroscience
Phys.org / Ecosystem productivity shapes how soil microbes store or release carbon, challenging old assumptions

Soils store more carbon than the atmosphere and vegetation combined, with soil microorganisms playing the main role. As a result, the global soil carbon cycle—by which carbon enters, moves through, and leaves soils worldwide—exerts ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Why some messages are more convincing than others

What kinds of marketing messages are effective—and what makes people believe certain political slogans more than others? New research from the University of California San Diego Rady School of Management explores how people ...

Jan 24, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Deadly to amphibians, a fungal strain emerged in Brazil and spread around the world

The chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), or Bd for short, is considered one of the causes of the worldwide decline in amphibian populations. In recent years, researchers have identified different genetic strains ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Biology
Medical Xpress / Human heart regrows muscle cells after heart attack, researchers discover

Pioneering research by experts at the University of Sydney, the Baird Institute and the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney has shown that heart muscle cells regrow after a heart attack, opening up the possibility of new ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Medical research
Phys.org / New code connects microscopic insights to the macroscopic world

In inertial confinement fusion, a capsule of fuel begins at temperatures near zero and pressures close to vacuum. When lasers compress that fuel to trigger fusion, the material heats up to millions of degrees and reaches ...

Jan 22, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / 5,500-year-old skeleton yields oldest evidence yet of syphilis-related bacteria

Scientists have recovered a genome of Treponema pallidum—the bacterium whose subspecies today are responsible for four treponemal diseases, including syphilis—from 5,500-year-old human remains in Sabana de Bogotá, Colombia. ...

Jan 22, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / A new optical centrifuge is helping physicists probe the mysteries of superfluids

Physicists have used a new optical centrifuge to control the rotation of molecules suspended in liquid helium nano-droplets, bringing them a step closer to demystifying the behavior of exotic, frictionless superfluids.

Jan 22, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Calm seas can drive coral bleaching, research reveals

New research by Monash University and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century analyzed close to three decades of weather data during the coral bleaching season and identified the prevalence of "doldrum ...

Jan 19, 2026 in Earth