Phys.org news

Phys.org / Changing land use can increase threat of animal‑to‑human disease spread

Changes to land use can directly heighten the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans, new University of Stirling–led research has shown. The study, led by Dr. Adam Fell of the University's Faculty of Natural ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Residents from strongly blue or red counties favor like-minded destinations for everyday travel, analysis finds

A new analysis of 471 U.S. counties has found that, for everyday travel, people from counties with particularly strong political leanings—whether liberal or conservative—are more likely to visit like-minded destinations. ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Plant mothers send molecular 'text messages' to pollen

Small RNAs are short RNA molecules that help determine which genes in a cell are switched on or off. Until now, it was assumed that the small RNAs necessary for pollen development originate in the pollen itself and in the ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Cryoelectron tomography reveals paracrystalline architecture of proteasome storage granules

Cells organize their molecules into distinct functional areas. While textbooks usually refer to membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria and cell nuclei, recent studies have also revealed organelles without membranes. ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Capturing the moment of organelle handoff inside living cells

For the first time, researchers have directly visualized how newly formed cellular organelles leave the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transition onto microtubule tracks inside living cells. This new finding reveals that ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Unprecedented 3D views of sensory cells accelerate hearing research

The cochlea is the spiral-shaped structure within the inner ear responsible for our sense of hearing. To fully understand hearing functions and open the door to new hearing loss treatments, scientists require intricately ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / AI bosses are creating a new problem for gig workers

For millions of gig workers driving for companies such as Uber Eats, DoorDash and Deliveroo, there is no human manager to call, no supervisor to appeal to and no office to walk into. Decisions about pay, performance, penalties ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Hearing tests uncover unexpected humpback sensitivity to high-frequency noise

University of Queensland hearing tests conducted across kilometers of ocean off the Australian coast show humpback whales react to higher frequency sounds than expected. Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop from UQ's School ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Proton-trapping MNene transforms ammonia production for food security and economic growth

With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / How iron-sulfur nanolayers are formed: X-ray methods enable real-time view

Researchers at the University of Hamburg, the University of Toulouse, and the DESY and ESRF research institutes have observed for the first time in real time how iron-sulfur nanostructures form in solutions. Using time-resolved ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / New ABF crystal delivers high-performance vacuum ultraviolet nonlinear optical conversion

Vacuum ultraviolet (VUV, 100–200 nm) light sources are indispensable for advanced spectroscopy, quantum research, and semiconductor lithography. Although second harmonic generation (SHG) using nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Strength-in-numbers X-ray technique can map previously unattainable atomic structures

For many decades, the method to obtain atomic-level descriptions of chemical compounds and materials—be it a drug, a catalyst, or a commodity chemical—has been X-ray crystallography. This method has a known weakness: ...

Jan 28, 2026 in Chemistry