Phys.org news

Phys.org / Climate change is rewriting winter lakes in a way that looks completely backward at first glance

Climate change undoubtedly affects lakes and the functioning of their ecosystems, but seasonal impacts are not always straightforward. An international team of researchers from York University in Canada, the Finnish Environment ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / A quiet Alaska fault is missing the fluids scientists expected, and it's changing what we know about earthquake zones

Not all earthquake faults behave the same. Some stick and snap, causing earthquakes. Others move slowly over time.

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / Plants under stress switch from photosynthesis to protein cleanup, researchers show

Plants are under constant stress due to pathogens, heat, or other environmental factors. Proteins can become damaged as a result and cell function is thrown off balance. Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum working with ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / How plants make copies of themselves—key 'cloning switch' gene identified

A Hiroshima-University-led research team has discovered a key gene responsible for the initiation of gemma development, acting as a "master switch" to start asexual reproduction (cloning) in the model plant Marchantia polymorpha ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / Eucalyptus bark points the way to cleaner water and air

Eucalyptus bark, usually stripped from logs and treated as waste, could be repurposed to help clean polluted water, filter dirty air and capture carbon dioxide, according to new research from RMIT University. Researchers ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden risk pushes 459 Northwest communities higher on wildfire danger scale

A new wildfire risk assessment tool that takes social vulnerability into account indicates that more than 400 communities in the Pacific Northwest are at greater risk than previously thought. However, researchers at Oregon ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / Speed 'training' prepares bacteria for complex tasks, like munching plastics

Millions of tons of plastic waste accumulate in landfills and oceans every year. One promising response is to engineer microbes to break the plastic down into useful chemical building blocks. However, teaching a bacterium ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / A simple filter swap could advance marine eDNA biomonitoring

Researchers at Aarhus University have demonstrated that a simple adjustment to water filtration methods can dramatically improve the detection of marine animal DNA when using advanced, PCR-free sequencing. This methodological ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / Chromatin tracking reveals two motion modes that help control gene expression

Gene expression is controlled, in part, by the interactions between genes and regulatory elements located along the genome. Those interactions depend on the ability of chromatin—a mix of DNA and proteins—to move around within ...

May 4, 2026
Phys.org / How a newly discovered organelle could help reduce cow methane emissions

When cows burp, they send a substantial amount of methane gas into the air, which makes them a leading contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. According to research published in the journal Science, a newly discovered hydrogen-producing ...

May 3, 2026
Phys.org / Rising temperatures could be driving up antibiotic resistance in soil, 11-year study finds

Every year, millions suffer, and thousands lose their lives to infections that were once easily treatable with the right dose of medication. The drugs are the same; human physiology is the same; the only difference is that ...

May 3, 2026
Phys.org / This 'living plastic' activates and self-destructs on command

Many plastic products are designed to be used only once, yet the material itself lasts for years. But a new strategy is addressing this problem by creating products that self-destruct on command, known as living plastics. ...

May 3, 2026