Phys.org news

Phys.org / Rearranged polymer chains create degradable materials with potential for stronger, tougher packaging

What if the key to making stronger, more sustainable plastics isn't changing their ingredients, but rearranging their molecules? Virginia Tech researchers have put that idea to the test, creating degradable polymers with ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / ALMA watches a massive binary assemble in real time

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have captured one of the most detailed three-dimensional views yet of a massive binary star system while it is still being born. By tracking the motions ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Sea ice creates hidden highways for young Antarctic krill

New research shows that larval Antarctic krill could be carried far from their birthplace by drifting sea ice, linking distant ecosystems in ways conventional models may miss.

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Marine heat waves boost coastal CO₂ uptake by 11%, analysis finds

Marine heat waves are a consequence of climate change and are increasingly altering marine and coastal regions worldwide. An international study led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon now shows that many coastal seas absorb ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Heat waves inhibit antibiotic resistance in soils, but at a price

Extreme heat waves disrupt life in soil. Soil bacteria that produce and resist antibiotics switch into survival mode, temporarily reducing the number of resistance genes. At the same time, heat and drought are causing significant ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / AI model decodes cell signaling fingerprints across diverse cell types

As an embryo develops from a small cluster of stem cells, those once "blank slate" cells begin to take on more specialized roles like brain, liver or muscle cells and organize themselves into three-dimensional structures ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Melting Svalbard glaciers may flush ancient methane from rocks beneath the ice

Meltwater rivers flowing from Svalbard glaciers are carrying ancient methane from rocks beneath the ice into the open air, new research published in Nature Communications shows.

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Worm's radical transformation shows metamorphosis can change the functions of cells

A squishy worm that starts its life as something of a floating head in the Pacific Ocean is changing what scientists know about metamorphosis at the cellular level.

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Super-resolution imaging reveals that cohesin prevents local mixing of compact, active genome domains

The human genome is about two meters (6.6 feet) long, yet it is folded inside a cell nucleus only about 10 micrometers in diameter. To fit into this tiny space, DNA is wrapped around histone proteins to form nucleosomes, ...

Sep 8, 2026
Phys.org / Stripped-down LSD reveals structural features linked to hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects

University of California, Davis, researchers have stripped down LSD to the base features responsible for its hallucinogenic and therapeutic effects.

Sep 7, 2026
Phys.org / What happens when you flush? Study reveals how toilet aerosols reach the breathing zone

Researchers from Flinders University have found that flushing toilets can release aerosols and bioaerosols into the surrounding air, with some studies detecting particles at heights corresponding to adults' breathing zones.

Sep 7, 2026
Phys.org / Entangled particles revive a 35-year-old test of the Standard Model

Physicists at the BESIII Collaboration have breathed new life into a decades-old test of one of the Standard Model's most important ideas, using a technique that had gone almost untouched by experimenters for 35 years.

Sep 7, 2026