Phys.org news

Phys.org / Rising seas are inundating US coastal wetlands, putting many on track to become open water

Along the three coasts of the contiguous United States, a silent race unfolds. Fueled by climate change, sea levels rise faster than at any time in recent geologic history. Meanwhile, coastal wetlands cling to a slim lead, ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / Humpback whales match song themes to dive phases, tags reveal

For male humpback whales, singing is serious business. Their haunting, complex songs can last for hours and travel for miles underwater, playing a central role in reproduction during the winter breeding season. But despite ...

3 hours ago
Phys.org / Life speaks one universal language to activate genes: It speaks many more to silence them

The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Pluto's hazy atmosphere may be collapsing as it moves farther from the sun

Pluto is on an icy march away from the sun. In 2114, it will turn back, but until then, its elliptical orbit will carry it to colder and darker parts of the outer solar system. This is Pluto's first time entering the outer ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Scientists watch, molecule by molecule, as cell helpers rescue problem proteins

University of Wollongong (UOW) scientists have uncovered, for the first time, exactly how two of the cell's "helper" proteins operate as a rescue crew for misfolded proteins, a discovery that sheds new light on the molecular ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / How the brain helps protect fertility from heat-induced damage

As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are racing to understand why heat so profoundly threatens fertility across the animal kingdom. A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and collaborators has ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / Over 100 South American lakes could become climate-change early-warning observatories

More than 100 shallow lakes stretching over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) along the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil and Uruguay could become one of the world's most important natural laboratories for understanding how climate ...

5 hours ago
Phys.org / How simple amber lights could make nights safer for insects

Approximately 40% of insect species worldwide are thought to be in decline and under threat of extinction. Among the key causes are habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Another threat is artificial light from sources ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / A cooperative approach to reproductive success

Fertilization is often imagined as a frantic race, with millions of sperm competing for a single prize. But new research by a team of evolutionary biologists from Syracuse University, the University of Siena in Italy and ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Newly unearthed mechanism that helps plants 'feel full' could help crops use fertilizer more efficiently

New York University researchers have pinpointed the molecular players responsible for plants "feeling full" once they've taken up enough nitrogen—a finding that could help scientists develop plants that absorb more nitrogen ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Webb reveals warped structure in nearby TW Hydrae's protoplanetary disk

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers obtained high-contrast coronagraphic images of the protoplanetary disk around the young, nearby star TW Hydrae. Results of the observational campaign, published July ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Laid to rest with care: Ancient infants, perhaps twins, found in 1,200-year-old latrine

More than 1,000 years ago, two babies were tucked away in an abandoned Roman toilet channel. Yet, despite what the location suggests, they were cherished, not discarded.

Aug 2, 2026