Phys.org news
Phys.org / Faster lower-cost PFAS testing could reshape how US drinking water is monitored
A new investigation from the University of Kansas improves detection of PFAS, a family of so-called "forever chemicals" in drinking water supplies. The method, which can measure trace pollution levels of PFAS in water more ...
Phys.org / Bees can swim and use visual cues to survive water crashes
When a bee crashes into water, it may still be able to swim to safety. New research from Michigan State University confirms that honeybees can propel themselves across the water's surface, and their movement is purposeful ...
Phys.org / Embryonic tissues can behave like fluids or solids to reshape cell fate signals
Embryonic development is one of the most dynamic biological processes in nature. Cells and tissues organize and reorganize themselves following incredibly precise patterns, while remaining flexible and robust. Scientists ...
Phys.org / Proteins can be selectively controlled with radio waves
In a significant advance in biological quantum sensing, a research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has discovered and tested a new mechanism of action in which proteins can be controlled with radio waves. ...
Phys.org / Environmental engineers reshape understanding of airborne pollution particles
From sizzling bacon in the kitchen to wildfire smoke in the sky, cooking and pollution release microscopic particles that affect humans' health, the air they breathe, and even weather and climate. New research from Virginia ...
Phys.org / Antarctic 'sky rivers' deliver up to 90% of snowfall, 3D algorithm suggests
Atmospheric rivers act like "rivers in the sky," shuttling intense bands of warm, heavy moisture from lower to higher latitudes. When an atmospheric river encounters cold air or mountainous terrain, the moisture it carries ...
Phys.org / Rare meteorite provides evidence of giant early planet
Four-and-a-half billion years ago, a massive world—possibly as big as the moon or even Mars—orbited our sun before crashing into another celestial body and shattering into rubble. Now, in a paper published in the journal ...
Phys.org / Amazon rainforest emits new stress-defense molecules during El Niño drought
The Amazon rainforest responded to the most severe drought ever recorded in the basin with an unexpected defense mechanism. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, found that during and after ...
Phys.org / Single cell transforms into cannibalistic 'supergiant,' swallowing its clones whole
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) have discovered a microscopic organism that can transform into a cannibalistic "supergiant" that drastically changes size, shape, and behavior, and abandons filter-feeding ...
Phys.org / Kamo'oalewa asteroid's lunar origin challenged ahead of Tianwen-2 arrival
China's Tianwen-2 sample-return mission is well on its way to its target, an asteroid called Kamo'oalewa. The spacecraft left Earth in May 2025 and should return in late 2027 with samples of a space rock that scientists had ...
Phys.org / First human SMUG1 atomic snapshots reveal how cells repair DNA
Researchers have captured the first atomic structures of human SMUG1, an enzyme that helps cells repair damaged DNA. The findings provide new insight into how cells recognize and remove harmful DNA bases, and may support ...
Phys.org / Plate tectonics shaped the Cradle of Civilization by merging two ancient rivers, study suggests
The Euphrates River is the longest river in Western Asia and runs through the eastern side of the Fertile Crescent. Flowing over 1,700 miles from Turkey through Syria and Iraq, the river played a crucial role in sustaining ...
