Phys.org news

Phys.org / Unlocking Earth's 4.5-billion-year secret: The case of the missing lead

Geoscientists have long relied on different forms of lead to understand Earth's geological history and how it was created over billions of years. However, there is a mystery that has been puzzling scientists for decades: ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / After reaching speeds of 10,657 meters per second, Artemis II hurtles home for make-or-break splashdown

The Artemis II astronauts conducted a historic lunar flyby, gathered invaluable data and took in unprecedented moon views, but one of the most crucial moments of their 10-day mission is still to come: Friday's splashdown.

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / AI chips could get faster with 30-nanometer embedded memory that cuts data shuttling

When we watch videos or ask AI questions, enormous amounts of data are constantly moving inside computers. In particular, data centers that support AI must process and transfer vast amounts of data at very high speeds. However, ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Using menstrual blood-derived particles to treat osteoarthritis

New research by an interdisciplinary team in Lithuania has revealed a promising and unconventional approach to cartilage regeneration. Using extracellular vesicles derived from menstrual blood stromal cells, the researchers ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Nicotine's last biosynthesis steps mapped in wild tobacco, ending a long mystery

Nicotine, a potent insecticidal alkaloid unique to the nightshade family, has been employed in agriculture as a pesticide since 1690. It also has therapeutic potential for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Highway widening may be heating cities faster; here's what could curb it

U.S. cities are rapidly becoming urban heat islands, where these cities are significantly warmer than their surrounding area. Vast expanses of asphalt and concrete trap heat, while large, densely packed buildings disrupt ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Chang'e mission samples reveal how exogenous organic matter evolves on the moon

Elements essential to life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were "delivered" to Earth and the moon during the early stages of the solar system via asteroids and comets impacting their surfaces. These ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Unexpected predator: Jellyfish shown to hunt polychaete worms

Most polychaete species spend their lives in burrows in the seabed. However, adult individuals of two species, Alitta succinea and Platynereis dumerilii, leave their burrows to spawn during warm summer nights around the full ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Climate change is outpacing evolution. Scientists are using DNA to catch up

Evolution works over millennia. Climate change is moving far faster. That mismatch is killing some of the planet's most vital ecosystems, from California's towering redwoods to the seagrass meadows along its coast, both of ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Could your housemates be changing your gut bacteria? An island bird study suggests so

Living with friends may quietly be altering your gut bacteria, according to a new study from the University of East Anglia. Research on a colony of tiny island birds reveals they share more of their gut bacteria with the ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists discover f-block metals yield new oxygen-binding chemistry

Iron and oxygen bind together throughout the body. Most famously, iron binds dioxygen, or two oxygens paired with each other, in hemoglobin that transports oxygen through blood. But iron-oxo compounds, as they're called, ...

Apr 10, 2026
Phys.org / Tarantulas may use learning and memory to search for food and locate their retreats

Researchers have documented several cases of spatial orientation in tarantulas living both in trees and in underground burrows. Spatial orientation refers to the ability of an animal to understand where it is in three-dimensional ...

Apr 10, 2026