Phys.org news

Phys.org / Two white-blooded fish, two paths: Icefish and noodlefish independently lose red blood cell function

Antarctic icefish are famous for living without red blood cells, but they are not alone. A species of needle-shaped, warm-water fish called the Asian noodlefish also lacks hemoglobin and red blood cells. Like icefish, its ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Wood-derived chemicals offer safer alternative for thermal receipt paper coatings

Every day, millions of people use thermal paper without thinking about it. Receipts, shipping labels, tickets, and medical records all rely on heat‑sensitive coatings to make text appear. More specifically, heat triggers ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / How a single 2003 heat wave triggered lasting upheaval in the North Atlantic

The ecology of the North Atlantic is constantly changing. Sometimes it changes abruptly. Extreme events are one driver of such sudden changes. A team of researchers has discovered that a single, large-scale heat wave has ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Flowering plant origins: Dosage-sensitive genes suggest no whole-genome duplications in ancestral angiosperm

Angiosperms, also known as flowering plants, represent the most diverse group of seed plants, and their origin and evolution have long been a central question in plant evolutionary biology. Whole-genome duplication (WGD), ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Bacteria reveal second 'shutdown mode' for surviving antibiotic treatment

A new study reveals that bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment through two fundamentally different "shutdown modes," not just the classic idea of dormancy. The paper is published in the journal Science Advances.

Jan 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / How the 'guardian of the genome' impacts blood vessel growth

The protein p53, best known as the "guardian of the genome" for its role in preventing cancer, can affect blood vessels in different ways. However, it has not been clear how p53 can slow blood vessel growth in some cases ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Quantum spins team up to create stable, long-lived microwave signals

When quantum particles work together, they can produce signals far stronger than any one particle could generate alone. This collective phenomenon, called superradiance, is a powerful example of cooperation at the quantum ...

Jan 2, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Searching for light dark matter by tracking its direction with quantum sensors

Dark matter is an elusive type of matter that does not emit, absorb or reflect light, interacting very weakly with ordinary matter. These characteristics make it impossible to detect using conventional technologies used by ...

Jan 1, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Finding runaway stars to help map dark matter in the Milky Way

Hypervelocity stars have, since the 1920s, been an important tool that allows astronomers to study the properties of the Milky Way galaxy, such as its gravitational potential and the distribution of matter. Now astronomers ...

Jan 1, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Study unveils the dual nature of a young stellar object

Astronomers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in India and elsewhere have conducted a long-term photometric and spectroscopic study of a young stellar object known as V1180 Cassiopeiae. ...

Jan 1, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Tokamak experiments exceed plasma density limit, offering new approach to fusion ignition

Researchers working on China's fully superconducting Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) have experimentally accessed a theorized "density-free regime" for fusion plasmas, achieving stable operation at densities ...

Jan 1, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Experiment nixes 'sterile' neutrino explanation of previous unexpected measurements

Experimental particle physicists working at the MicroBooNE experiment at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory have found evidence against the existence of a "sterile" type of neutrino hypothesized to be responsible for ...

Jan 1, 2026 in Astronomy & Space