Phys.org news

Phys.org / Nanoparticles with AI-crafted sensors open paths to at-home cancer screening

Detecting cancer in the earliest stages could dramatically reduce cancer deaths because cancers are usually easier to treat when caught early. To help achieve that goal, MIT and Microsoft researchers are using artificial ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / 'Platypus' objects in the early universe look like stars but behave like galaxies

Scientists at the University of Missouri have identified a small group of unusual objects in the early universe. Using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), Haojing Yan and his team at Mizzou's College of Arts and Science ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Study overturns long-held model of how plants coordinate immune responses

Plants mobilize their immune defenses far earlier than scientists have believed for decades—and through a previously overlooked early signaling mechanism—according to a new study published in Nature Plants.

Jan 6, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Cracking sleep's evolutionary code: Neuron protection traced back to jellyfish and sea anemones

A new study from Bar-Ilan University shows that one of sleep's core functions originated hundreds of millions of years ago in jellyfish and sea anemones, among the earliest creatures with nervous systems. By tracing this ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Twitter data reveals partisan divide in understanding why pollen season's getting worse

Two things are clear from a University of Michigan analysis of nearly 200,000 Twitter posts between 2012 and 2022. One, people are really good at identifying peak pollen season: The largest volume of tweets about pollen often ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Mass spec innovation uses 'bin' sorting to detect overlooked molecules

Weight says a lot. In the kitchen, it could mean cooking with too little or too much of an ingredient. For scientists, a molecule's weight can help determine its makeup. This, in turn, can shed light on whether a potential ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / New tools turn grain crops into living biosensors

A collaborative team of researchers from the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the University of Florida, Gainesville and University of Iowa have developed tools that allow grasses—including major grain crops like corn—to ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Programmable microparticles morph and self-propel under electrical fields

Researchers at CU Boulder have created tiny, microorganism-inspired particles that can change their shape and self-propel, much like living things, in response to electrical fields.

Jan 6, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Superheated sediments in a submarine pressure cooker—an unexpected source of deep-sea hydrogen

The mid-ocean ridge runs through the oceans like a suture. Where Earth's plates move apart, new oceanic crust is continuously formed. This is often accompanied by magmatism and hydrothermal activity. Seawater seeps into the ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / 'Stomata in-Sight' system allows scientists to watch plants 'breathe' in real-time

For centuries, scientists have known that plants "breathe" through microscopic pores on their leaves called stomata. These tiny valves are the gatekeepers that balance the intake of carbon dioxide into the leaf for photosynthesis ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / From pint to plate, scientists brew up a new way to grow meat

Yeast left over from brewing beer can be transformed into edible "scaffolds" for cultivated meat—sometimes known as lab-grown meat—which could offer a more sustainable, cost-effective alternative to current methods, according ...

Jan 6, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Young galaxies grow up fast: Research reveals unexpected chemical maturity

Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies were fervently producing new stars.

Jan 6, 2026 in Astronomy & Space