Phys.org news

Phys.org / New lipid nanoparticle design improves precision of mRNA vaccine delivery

Penn Engineers have redesigned a key component of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), the delivery vehicles behind mRNA vaccines, to steer the particles toward lymph nodes while reducing off-target delivery to the liver. The advance ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / A tiny protein tweak, finally traceable: How light-based tagging targets pyroglutamate

Amino acids are like Lego blocks—they can be linked together to form complex structures called proteins. Unlike Legos, however, there are only 20 different types of amino acids available to build a protein. Proteins depend ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Special forces study points to emotional intelligence training as a way to boost performance under stress

Emotional Intelligence (EI) training can improve employee well-being and prevent burn-out in high-stress environments, University of Queensland research has found. Dr. Jemma King from UQ's School of Psychology said EI training ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Snow flies produce bursts of heat and proteins to avoid freezing, new study finds

In a new study, Northwestern University scientists explored how snow flies—small, wingless insects that crawl across snow to find mates and lay eggs—survive in freezing cold temperatures. They discovered this snow-dwelling ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Preparing for the next pandemic: Scientists discover a new class of influenza antivirals

Researchers from Leiden University, University of York, University of Barcelona/IQTCUB/ICREA and The Francis Crick Institute report a new class of experimental compounds that powerfully block influenza viruses. The findings ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / New NMR method allows the observation of chalcogen bonds

Toward the right side of the periodic table below oxygen, are the chalcogens, or "ore-forming" elements. The chalcogens that occur naturally, including sulfur, selenium and tellurium, are all somehow involved in biological ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / A complicated future for a methane-cleansing molecule

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is second only to carbon dioxide in driving up global temperatures. But it doesn't linger in the atmosphere for long thanks to molecules called hydroxyl radicals, which are known ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / The truth of timekeeping lies within: Key developments in understanding circadian rhythms

Almost all living things have an internal 24-hour clock that remains accurate regardless of temperature or other environmental changes. This clock is a highly sophisticated yet simple timekeeping mechanism that is critically ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Magnetic microbots steer quantum sensors inside living cells

Cells are squishy and soft. Tiny nanometer-sized particles such as quantum sensors cannot move freely inside them due to viscous drag, which makes sensing challenging. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / A much more sensitive fentanyl detection strip, thanks to physics

Following the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, lateral flow assays (LFAs)—the category of test strips in which the presence or lack of a pink line indicates whether a specific molecule, like a drug or a virus, has been ...

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Fish gill-inspired panels reveal path to efficient thermal mixing

A fascination with fish gills has led researchers at Cornell to develop a bio-inspired approach to mixing heat and molecules in fluids—findings that could inform future biomedical devices, heat exchangers and soft robotics.

Mar 24, 2026
Phys.org / Shift in key cosmic inflation measurement could be a statistical artifact

For the last few decades, researchers have been studying what the universe looked like in its first seconds. It is generally accepted that the universe expanded exponentially in the first fraction of a second after the Big ...

Mar 23, 2026