Phys.org news

Phys.org / Teaching machines to design molecular switches

In biology, many RNA molecules act as sophisticated microscopic machines. Among them, riboswitches function as tiny biological sensors, changing their 3D shape upon binding to a specific metabolite. This shape-change acts ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / CRISPR-based biosensors enable real-time ocean health monitoring

Oceanic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by global warming, which causes coral bleaching, species migration and, through the loss of habitats and biodiversity, food web disruptions on major scales. Also, pollutants ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Controlling magnetism to unlock better hydrogen storage alloys

Hydrogen is expected to play a central role in future clean energy systems, but storing it efficiently and safely remains one of the biggest challenges to its widespread adoption. Solid-state hydrogen storage, in which hydrogen ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / LimbLab: A tool to visualize embryonic development in 3D

Studying the shape of tissues and organs is critical to understanding how they are formed. Embryonic development happens in three dimensions, but many studies are limited by the use of two-dimensional approaches and images ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Simulations and experiments meet: Machine learning predicts gold nanocluster structures

Researchers at University of Jyväskylä (Finland) advance understanding of gold nanocluster behavior at elevated temperatures using machine learning-based simulations. This information is crucial in the design of nanomaterials ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / New DNA tagging workflow boosts gene delivery to the nucleus over tenfold

Gene therapy holds the promise of preventing and curing disease by manipulating gene expression within a patient's cells. However, to be effective, the new gene must make it into a cell's nucleus. The inability to consistently, ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Glimpsing the quantum vacuum: Particle spin correlations offer insight into how visible matter emerges from 'nothing'

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered experimental evidence that particles of matter emerging from energetic subatomic smashups retain a key feature of virtual particles ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Why snakes can go months between meals: A genetic explanation

Snakes may well be one of nature's greatest predators, capable of eating whole deer or even crocodiles, but just as impressive is that they can go months, or even a whole year, without a single meal. And now an international ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Terahertz microscope reveals the motion of superconducting electrons

You can tell a lot about a material based on the type of light shining at it: Optical light illuminates a material's surface, while X-rays reveal its internal structures and infrared captures a material's radiating heat. ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Astronomers trace a runaway star to a former companion's supernova

Astronomers have strengthened long-standing predictions that massive runaway stars could have originated in binary pairs, and were dramatically ejected into space when their companion stars underwent supernova explosions. ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Poop as medicine? A Roman vial's chemistry backs up ancient medical texts

When some ancient Romans were feeling a little under the weather, they were treated with human feces. While this practice was mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman medical texts by figures such as Pliny the Elder, there was no ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / 'Red Potato' galaxy discovered by astronomers

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new massive and quiescent red galaxy, which they dubbed "Red Potato." The discovery was reported in a research paper published ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Astronomy & Space