Phys.org news

Phys.org / Aging rewires RNA production, favoring short genes over long neuronal ones

A new Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has explored the impacts of aging on essential cellular processes, findings that could shape the development of future anti-aging ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum optics may turn this rare visual phenomenon into an eye test

Modern life depends on quantum physics. It makes technologies such as GPS navigation, MRI scanners and computer chips possible. Now, the same science may also lead to a new way to test the health of our eyes. A University ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Medieval Islamic societies considered lovesickness a distinct mental illness, research shows

Lovesickness was taken seriously as a distinct mental illness by physicians in the medieval Islamic world, new research shows. Islamic scholars considered lovesickness, which they called ʿishq, to be different from melancholy—unlike ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Observing oscillations, flares and tornados on the sun

For six and a half days in July 2024, the balloon-borne solar observatory Sunrise III kept its gaze fixed on the sun. The stratospheric flight, which stretched from the northernmost tip of Sweden to Canada's Northwest Territories, ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Heat waves push tropical forests past photosynthesis limits across 57 million hectares

As heat waves continue one after another, we are feeling their effects on our own bodies: It becomes harder for us to function normally. Trees also have their limits when temperatures are too high. Above a certain critical ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Transparent nanosheets could shrink phone cameras while preserving high-resolution color images

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan have developed gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) nanosheets that may enhance camera resolution in compact devices, including smartphones and medical endoscopes.

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / The ghost in Orion's shell: Hydrogen maps show repeated stellar feedback sculpted around Orion Nebula

An international team led by Juan Diego Soler at the University of Vienna used two of the world's most powerful radio telescopes to uncover previously hidden structures within the Orion Nebula. The project produced the sharpest ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Newborn stars preserve organic-rich gas within ancient supernova debris

For the first time, astronomers have discovered stellar cocoons rich in complex organic molecules within a supernova remnant. A research team from Niigata University, Gifu University, RIKEN and Kyoto University in Japan used ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Krill buildup could slow fin whale filter-feeding unless baleen stays 15% clear

Usually there's safety in numbers, but it doesn't always work that way. Fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) filter-feed on immense shoals of krill, engulfing colossal mouthfuls of water containing up to 144 kg of the crustaceans. ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Young giant gas planet Beta Pic B refuses to reveal its origin

The young planetary system of the 23-million-year-old star Beta Pictoris (short: Beta Pic) is regarded as an iconic circumstellar dust disk, which hosts at least three giant gas planets. Discovered in 2008 by direct imaging, ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Fast charging can cause irreversible lithium migration in solid-state batteries

Solid-state batteries are often viewed as a promising path toward safer and more powerful energy storage. However, one key question has remained difficult to answer: How does lithium actually move inside the solid materials ...

Jul 9, 2026
Phys.org / Fish DNA and 10,000 crystals rewrite Colorado River's Grand Canyon origin story

For more than 150 years, scientists have debated when and how the Colorado River first carved its way through the Grand Canyon. Now, a new study led by researchers at the University of New Mexico offers evidence that the ...

Jul 9, 2026