Phys.org news

Phys.org / 2024 total eclipse subtly shifted animal calling across three Ohio prairies, study finds

No natural phenomenon provides a rarer chance to study the secrets of the animal world than a total solar eclipse. This was recently demonstrated by researchers investigating how a total solar eclipse might affect the soundscape ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Well-behaved dogs generally have lower cortisol and higher serotonin, study finds

Dogs who scored well on the Wesen test, which is used to analyze a dog's temperament, tended to have lower levels of cortisol, often called the "stress hormone," and higher levels of serotonin, often called the "happiness ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Platinum nanostructure sensor can differentiate mirror-image volatile scent compounds

Terpenes are volatile organic compounds that are responsible for, among other things, the typical scents of plants, resins or citrus fruits. These compounds occur naturally in the environment and influence chemical processes ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / How lipid nanoparticles carrying vaccines release their cargo

A study from FAU has shown that lipid nanoparticles restructure their membrane significantly after being absorbed into a cell and ending up in an acidic environment. Vaccines and other medicines are often packed in little ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Analysis reveals interhemispheric thermal imbalance as key to Asian-Australian monsoon variability

The Asian-Australian monsoon system (A-AuMS) is the world's most typical cross-equatorial coupled monsoon system. On a seasonal timescale, the summer monsoon in one hemisphere is usually linked to the winter monsoon in the ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / From single queens to mega-colonies: How ant societies are shaped by the environment

A single queen in the tropics; large colonies in deserts; workers with uniform morphology in temperate regions; ant social structures vary according to environmental conditions. This is shown, for the first time at a global ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / DIVE multi-agent workflow streamlines hydrogen storage materials discovery

Developing new materials can involve a dizzying amount of trial and error for different configurations and elements. Artificial intelligence (AI) has seen a surge of popularity in energy materials research for its potential ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Orange, camphor-smelling solid could be a key to the next generation grid-storage batteries

An orange solid with a camphor-like odor has helped aqueous zinc-iodide batteries move a large step closer to supplying safe and economic grid and household energy storage.

Feb 4, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / From sea to space: Turning the tide on microplastic pollution with satellite technology

What do microplastics, water color, and satellites have in common? Dr. Karl Kaiser, professor of marine and coastal environmental science in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Friendly bacteria can unlock hidden metabolic pathways in plant cell cultures

Plants are a rich and renewable source of compounds used in medicines, food ingredients, and cosmetics. Since growing an entire plant just to extract a few specific compounds is rather inefficient, scientists are turning ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Hard to recycle packaging? This glue could let plastics peel apart on cue

Newcastle University engineers are at the forefront of adhesive technology that promises to change how we recycle. They have developed a reversible glue that sticks things together like any other glue but can debond on demand. ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Cracking the rules of gene regulation with experimental elegance and AI

Gene regulation is far more predictable than previously believed, scientists conclude after developing the deep learning model PARM. This might bring an end to a scientific mystery: how genes know when to switch on or off.

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology