Phys.org news

Phys.org / Why do spruce take decades to reproduce? A genetic study offers some clues

New techniques have enabled researchers in Sweden to begin decoding how one of Northern Europe's most important coniferous tree species switches from growing branches to producing cones—their seed-bearing reproductive organs.

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Three DNA loops prove essential for efficient wing tissue regeneration in fruit flies

After an injury, DNA not only changes its activity but also the way it is organized spatially within the cell nucleus. In this process, certain regions of DNA establish new physical contacts through chromatin loops that act ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Improved climate forecasts alone won't protect Africa's poorest farmers

As Africa prepares for the arrival of a powerful El Niño weather event, an international team of researchers led by the University of Sydney and Imperial College London has found that access to improved forecasts alone will ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / RNA 'delivery tags' guide key messages to distant neuron branches

Much like a courier reading an address on a package, neurons must deliver RNA to the precise locations where it is needed. A KAIST research team has discovered how a small chemical modification on RNA acts as a "delivery ...

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Salicornia genomes reveal genetic secrets to farming on salty land

A University of Newcastle-led global study has produced the most complete genetic picture yet of a salt-loving plant with the potential to help grow food in some of the world's harshest environments.

Sep 14, 2026
Phys.org / Luminescence dating pushes age of South Dakota's Mammoth Site back by more than 100,000 years

Deep within an ancient sinkhole lie the remains of dozens of mammoths, prehistoric wanderers who waded into the warm springs to their deaths. These deaths had long been accepted as having occurred roughly 26,000 years ago, ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / Gravitational-wave analysis narrows the search for black hole impostors

Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. When two black holes orbit each other and merge, they produce gravitational waves (i.e., ripples in spacetime) that ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers pinpoint key early-universe measurement with record precision

An international team, including researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has reached a major milestone in "precision cosmology" by measuring the amount of helium created in the universe's first five minutes ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / A 1,000-fold longer charge lifetime helps organic catalyst produce solar hydrogen faster

Researchers from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), in collaboration with researchers from the Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry of CAS, ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / AI helps microscopes find the most informative nanoscale features in a sample

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an artificial intelligence framework that helps researchers use atomic force microscopes to identify important nanoscale features ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / AI automates 3D membrane mapping, matching manual results in a fraction of time

Cell membranes and the proteins within them control many vital processes and play a key role in health and disease. But studying them in 3D images of cells has so far meant slow, manual work. A team from Helmholtz Munich, ...

Sep 13, 2026
Phys.org / Southern Ocean may flip from carbon sink to carbon source under mitigation scenarios

Plans to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels depend on reaching net-zero emissions and, in many cases, actively removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. While this helps limit extreme ...

Sep 12, 2026