Phys.org news

Phys.org / How bacteria circumvent plants' immune system

How are bacterial pathogens able to effectively overcome plants' defense mechanisms? Researchers working with Professor Şuayb Üstün at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, have found a surprising answer to this question: The ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Rare ribosome tweak in E. coli reveals possible antibiotic target

Storing genetic material as DNA or RNA is all well and good for life on Earth, but it would be entirely pointless if we couldn't do anything with it. To use our genetic blueprints, all organisms need to translate the message ...

Apr 27, 2026
Phys.org / Why did Clovis toolmakers choose difficult quartz crystal? New study offers clues

Quartz crystals are difficult to knap due to size, hardness, and crystalline structure, making them a "low-quality" raw material. However, the Clovis people of North America sometimes made points and other tools from this ...

Apr 26, 2026
Phys.org / Two blazing quasars caught waltzing into a merger

Astronomers, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), have confirmed the existence of a close quasar pair housed in a pair of merging galaxies seen when the universe was less than a billion years old, ...

Apr 26, 2026
Phys.org / This new tool makes AI's role in student writing visible

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed college writing. As paper drafts are increasingly co-written with AI, professors are left wondering not whether students are using AI, but how. A 2025 AI in Education ...

Apr 26, 2026
Phys.org / AI-enhanced microscopy produces crisp, real-time video inside live cells

Using artificial intelligence, engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new way to watch the inner workings of living cells in real time. The process both captures images that are twice as sharp ...

Apr 26, 2026
Phys.org / Extreme stability in ultrafast nanomagnetism aids the development of faster data storage

For the first time, researchers have mapped how the boundaries of magnetic nanostructures behave on extremely short timescales. The work of physicist Johan Mentink of Radboud University shows that these boundaries are much ...

Apr 26, 2026
Phys.org / Studying the emergence of leaders in moving crowds of pedestrians

When humans are moving as a crowd, their movements tend to be highly coordinated, similarly to the collective motions of bird flocks or other groups of animals. These group behaviors can limit collisions in dynamic environments, ...

Apr 25, 2026
Phys.org / More activity means less response in active materials

For some time, researchers have assumed that solid materials could gain more useful properties by making their microscopic components more active. Now, a team led by Jack Binysh at the University of Amsterdam has found that ...

Apr 25, 2026
Phys.org / Before dinosaurs vanished, a hamster-sized mammal was already shaping what survived next on the Pacific Coast

Mammals and dinosaurs coexisted on Earth until a catastrophic event 66 million years ago killed 75% of life on the planet. Despite the devastation, some animals survived, including rodent-like mammals in the Cimolodon genus. ...

Apr 25, 2026
Phys.org / Magnet with near-zero external field could reshape future electronics

An international research team led by DTU has developed a new magnetic material that features a stable internal magnetic structure, almost no external magnetic field, and retains these properties above room temperature. These ...

Apr 25, 2026
Phys.org / When the rain comes, some NYC subway riders stay home. Scientists are now mapping exactly who, and where

On a sweltering August afternoon or in the teeth of a winter storm, New York City subway riders make a quiet calculation: Is the trip worth it? A new study published in npj Sustainable Mobility and Transport takes a detailed ...

Apr 25, 2026