Phys.org news

Phys.org / Asteroid impact site reveals possible traces of early life

A discovery by a South Korean research team suggests that impact-generated lakes may have fostered early oxygen-producing life. A team of South Korean scientists has uncovered new evidence that could help explain how Earth's ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Sri Lanka teeth reveal rising plant diets thousands of years before agriculture

A new study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution examining human populations in Sri Lankan tropical rainforests shows that people's consumption of plants began increasing thousands of years before the introduction of ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / The complete evolution of spin glass from order to chaos

How come our universe is full of disorder, when all elementary particles appear to follow strictly ordered laws of physics? And are there organizing principles behind disorder and apparent chaos?

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / AI tool fuses five satellite datasets to help track harmful algal blooms

NASA scientists have developed an artificial intelligence tool to take on a longstanding challenge in ocean waters. In a study recently published in the Earth and Space Science journal, researchers reported the tool was able ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Glowing fungi expose final enzyme that could make bioluminescent tools more efficient

Like fireflies and many deep-sea creatures, certain fungi can naturally emit light through bioluminescence pathways in which specialized enzymes convert chemical energy into visible light. Medical researchers have used fungal ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Space storms light up Japan's sky with red auroras climbing far higher than expected

On a special night, if you are lucky, you might catch a faint red glow quietly lighting up Japan's sky, stretching low along the horizon and easy to miss if you are not looking carefully. Subtle and diffuse, it probably appears ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Could future Mars settlers print their own tools?

If humans one day settle Mars, they will need tools and parts to build structures on the planet. Carrying heavy, bulky supplies 34 million miles from Earth would be impractical. A better plan, says Zane Mebruer, a recent ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / When Mendel's rules don't apply: Mouse study reveals hidden epigenetic inheritance

Scientists have long known that the DNA code in genes is not the only way to pass genetic traits from parents to offspring. "Epigenetic" marks—chemical modifications to DNA that don't change the DNA code itself—can also be ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Paper calls for biologists to rethink how they analyze the impact of climate

A new paper calls for ecologists and evolutionary biologists to consider how organisms experience climate rather than how weather stations record it when doing climate–biology research. The paper, "Matching climate to biological ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Cities change storms, but the impacts depend on the storm itself

Cities don't just change the landscape, they change the weather. According to a new study analyzing tens of thousands of rain events in Texas, whether urban areas make rain worse, lighter or simply different depends strongly ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Better helium reporting to improve fission and fusion materials modeling

Standardizing calculations of the helium byproducts generated in advanced fission and fusion energy system materials can increase reactor safety and longevity, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering ...

May 20, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists solve 50-year mystery of plant immunity by unlocking debneyol's blueprint

In a silent war that has raged for millions of years, plants have evolved a sophisticated chemical arsenal to fight back against invading pathogens. Now, a team of researchers from Peking University and Tsinghua University ...

May 20, 2026