Phys.org news

Phys.org / Antibiotics trigger bacterial teamwork, boosting survival through shared proteins

When bacteria are under antibiotic attack, it is not "every man for himself." Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues from collaborating institutions have discovered that bacterial populations work as a team ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Defect detection automated in diamond, other advanced semiconductors

Materials scientists at Rice University have developed a new workflow methodology for measuring microscopic defects in diamond and other advanced semiconductor materials. By making it easier to spot flaws that can undermine ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Students' climate model of deadly July 4 Texas flooding suggests sea surface temperatures actually reduced rainfall

Last fall, the 12 students in the Jackson School of Geosciences' GEO 347G "Climate System Modeling" class set out to understand something that hit close to home: What were the climatological factors that made the July 4, ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / New electrocatalyst helps turn polluted water into fertilizer and polymers

A new electrochemical system simultaneously converts plant-derived materials and nitrate pollutants into valuable industrial chemicals. Developed by Tohoku University researchers, the system provides a more sustainable way ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Organic carbon detected in Bright Angel rock formation on Mars

In September 2025, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover had discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin. A new paper, published in Science Advances, unambiguously ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Binary black hole signal probes event horizon region for first time

If, in space, no one can hear you scream, it seems that you can actually hear the sound of a crash when two black holes collide. Using the loudest gravitational wave ever heard, two Australian scientists and colleagues have ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum squeezing sidesteps the limits on mechanical transducers

From detecting the ripples of colliding black holes to imaging individual chemical bonds, mechanical transducers have repeatedly transformed our understanding of the universe. So far, however, the sensitivity of these devices ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient proteins hint at all-female Homo naledi burial site in Rising Star cave system

Scientists have extracted and analyzed the first-ever ancient proteins from the fossils of Homo naledi, revealing a potential all-female burial site. The study, published in the journal Cell, raises the possibility that South ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / ALMA spots a nine-member stellar family in the act of formation

Massive stars much bigger than our sun always come in pairs or groups, not alone. But astronomers don't fully understand how these groupings form. In a new study, astronomers using ALMA have serendipitously discovered a young ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Interlayer self-doping could unlock room-temperature multiferroics in atom-thin materials

Multiferroics are materials that exhibit more than one prominent "ferroic" property, such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity. One of their most advantageous features is that they allow engineers to control their magnetic ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Oldest example of preserved tube feet reveals clues about the lives of 452-million-year-old sea lilies

Echinoderms, such as starfish, sea urchins and sea lilies, use small, flexible, tubular projections called "tube feet" for locomotion, feeding, respiration and sensory perception. Crinoids, a subgroup of echinoderms, are ...

Jun 24, 2026
Phys.org / Why female guppies prefer rare males and how this might shape evolution

When it comes to choosing a partner, some species prefer males that stand out from the crowd. Evolutionary biologists call the resulting process negative frequency-dependent selection. It means that a male has a huge mating ...

Jun 24, 2026