Phys.org news

Phys.org / Scientists turn AI-generated proteins into smart molecular sensors

An international team led by researchers at QUT has used artificial intelligence to create tiny "smart" proteins that switch on only when they detect a chosen target. Published in Nature Biotechnology, the research opens ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Ancient charcoal sheds new light on how early humans fueled their lives

Nearly 800,000 years ago, early humans gathered along the shores of a lush lake in what is now northern Israel. Here, they returned again and again, hunting large animals, cooking fish over controlled fires, and organizing ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Drought takes a heavy toll on bumblebees

Drought significantly reduces the reproductive success of bumblebee colonies, according to a new study conducted by a research team at the University of Würzburg and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Dark volcanic ash has visibly reshaped Martian surface since 1976

Noticeable change on Mars often takes millions of years—but the European Space Agency's Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers synthesize photosynthetic molecule found in bacteria

Researchers from North Carolina State University have successfully synthesized bacteriochlorophyll a, which is a photosynthetic pigment found in bacteria that absorbs infrared light. The work represents the first chemical ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / One battered skull exposes a lost killer from dinosaur dawn and a vanished bloodline

"You want to stick your finger in a dinosaur brain?" asked Simba Srivastava. Surrounded by cabinets full of ancient bones in the paleobiology lab, the Virginia Tech undergraduate student held out a lumpy, pockmarked fossil.

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Back-to-basics approach can match or outperform AI in language analysis

A new study led by Dr. Andrea Nini at The University of Manchester has found that a grammar-based approach to language analysis can match or outperform advanced AI systems in identifying who wrote a text. The method, called ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Bolivian mummy rewrites scarlet fever's past, suggesting killer bacterium circulated centuries before colonization

Researchers have identified the genetic material of scarlet fever while examining a tooth from a naturally mummified skull housed at MUNARQ, the National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz. Using a method that reassembled previously ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum simulations reveal spin transport in 1D materials

Researchers from the Department of Energy's Quantum Science Center (QSC) headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating the first digital quantum simulations of ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Cut off from making fat, parasitic wasps lose pheromones, fail to form eggs and cannot reproduce

The Easter holidays are over and many people have once again experienced firsthand how easily sweets can be converted into fat. Parasitic wasps are also capable of converting sugar into fat—a capability that long was thought ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Ocean eddies are amplifying climate extremes in coastal seas, study finds

New research reveals a powerful yet overlooked driver of climate change: intensifying ocean eddies. These swirling currents—that break off from major currents—are redistributing heat and nutrients in the ocean and amplifying ...

Apr 15, 2026
Phys.org / Pill bugs don't just use the minerals they eat—they rebuild them inside their bodies

Placing small stones in a bug cage is beneficial when raising pill bugs, a type of woodlouse. Researchers at the University of Tsukuba have discovered that pill bugs do not directly incorporate ingested calcium carbonate ...

Apr 15, 2026