Phys.org news

Phys.org / DNA damage just got more complicated: A long-missed weak spot emerges when light and oxygen strike

In everyday life, our genetic material is constantly under attack from many factors. Environmental influences such as light, along with internal processes like inflammation, can generate oxidative stress that damages DNA ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Divergent moral values could make groups more accepting of norm-breaking behavior

Individuals in a morally diverse community tend to believe that the community's norms are looser. In turn, norm violations are more accepted, and there is a reduced willingness to police transgressions, according to research ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists discover how the Twelve Apostles were formed—and their real age

Scientists at the University of Melbourne have uncovered for the first time how Australia's iconic Twelve Apostles were formed, finding tectonic plate movements over millions of years lifted and tilted the giant structures ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Common soil fungus could cut pesticide use while helping tomatoes grow stronger

Trichoderma species—a common fungus found in soils—have varying abilities to promote tomato plant growth and differentially affect the abundance of certain soil bacteria, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State.

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Study shows a widely used antifungal drug works only when its target enzyme is active

Serious fungal infections are on the rise, and many hospital-acquired cases are becoming harder to treat as fungi become resistant to available medications. One of the most widely used therapies, caspofungin, combats Candida ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / We think norms spread by imitation, but one deceptively simple rule tells a more human story

A paper appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers a strikingly simple answer to a longstanding question: How do people learn and settle on shared social conventions, from everyday habits to workplace ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / 3I/ATLAS contains 30 times more semi-heavy water than comets in our solar system

New observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS include the first measurement of the abundance of deuterated water relative to ordinary water in an interstellar object. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Archaeological digs in Amazon provide clues about Indigenous inhabitants before colonization

Paving roads in the Amazon rainforest has long brought deforestation that threatens the people who live there. The same roadwork, however, has also allowed archaeologists to get glimpses of the region's past long before Europeans ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / What if humans could regrow tissue? New study moves science closer

For centuries, the inability to regrow lost body parts has been considered a defining limitation of humans and other mammals. While animals like salamanders can regenerate entire limbs, humans are left with scar tissue. But ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Honeybees pass their math test, upending an animal intelligence debate

We've run the numbers and the verdict is in: Honeybees do have the ability to process numerical information. New research led by Monash University has now addressed recent international debate over whether bees are truly ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Milky Way's 'little cousins' may hold clues about infant universe

Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies—tiny satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way—have long been seen as cosmic fossils. Now, a new study published today in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society uses an unprecedented ...

Apr 23, 2026
Phys.org / Riding the quantum wave: Quasiparticles reveal a magneto-optical transport phenomenon

Excitons are being explored in materials science and information technology as a means of storing light. These luminous quasiparticles move through individual layers of quantum materials and can absorb and emit light with ...

Apr 23, 2026