Phys.org news

Phys.org / Crosstalk inside cells helps pathogens evade drugs, study finds

Biologists have uncovered a new mode of communication inside cells that helps bacterial pathogens learn how to evade drugs. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, describe how these mechanisms drive ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Collective intelligence: How to incentivize problem solving in groups

When a crowd gets something right, like guessing how many beans are in a jar, forecasting an election, or solving a difficult scientific problem, it's tempting to credit the sharpest individual in the room. But new research ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Refractive-index microscope measures a sample's optical properties with pinpoint accuracy

By combining two fundamentally different microscopy techniques, researchers can now measure the optical properties of a sample with pinpoint accuracy. The original goal was to investigate biological samples on a molecular ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Self-powered composite material detects its own cracks

A new multifunctional composite made of carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (CFRP) and piezoelectric materials can use vibrations to self-detect tiny cracks. This material could be used in the aerospace, automotive, and construction ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / One single protein, one big decision: How brown algae know when to reproduce

Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Biology have discovered a remarkably streamlined strategy for developmental control in brown algae. They have shown that a single ARGONAUTE (AGO) protein orchestrates the transition ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Biodegradable bark–plastic composite lets engineers predict product lifetime from tensile tests

Old trees are learning new tricks with the advent of composite materials. A "green composite" made from biodegradable polymers and the waste bark of the Yakushima Jisugi tree was developed by a research team at Tohoku University. ...

Jan 29, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Superfluids are supposed to flow indefinitely. Physicists just watched one stop moving

Ordinary matter, when cooled, transitions from a gas into a liquid. Cool it further still, and it freezes into a solid. Quantum matter, however, can behave very differently. In the early 20th century, researchers discovered ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / The infant universe's 'primordial soup' was actually soupy, study finds

In its first moments, the infant universe was a trillion-degree-hot soup of quarks and gluons. These elementary particles zinged around at light speed, creating a "quark-gluon plasma" that lasted for only a few millionths ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Saltwater crocodiles traveled thousands of miles across the Indian Ocean, genetic study suggests

Accounts from early expeditions to the Seychelles more than 250 years ago described crocodiles as common along the coasts of the archipelago. But after the first settlers established a permanent presence in 1770, the Seychelles ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Deforestation is drying out the Amazon rainforest faster than previously thought

Deforestation is having a more devastating effect on the Amazon rainforest than earlier data suggested. While cutting down large swaths of trees destroys vital habitats, it also harms the region's ability to generate its ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / The first direct observation of a liquid charge density wave

Charge density waves (CDWs) are ordered, crystal-like patterns in the arrangement of electrons that spontaneously form inside some solid materials. These patterns can change how electricity flows through materials, in some ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Warming may increase mangrove methane emissions—but these forests remain powerful carbon sinks

Mangrove forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, particularly within the marine carbon system. Growing along tropical and subtropical coastlines, these salt-tolerant trees are among nature's most efficient ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Earth