Phys.org news
Phys.org / Microbial assembly line makes plastic upcycling programmable
By converting plastic waste into a microbe-friendly food source, scientists have built an upcycling pipeline that turns the waste into a variety of useful products. The findings are detailed in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Phys.org / Climate change pushes tropical insects to their heat limit
Up to half of the insects in the Amazon region could be exposed to life-threatening heat levels due to progressive, anthropogenic global warming. This is shown by a recent study by the universities of Würzburg and Bremen.
Phys.org / Möbius-inspired surface controls light in two directions
Light is an unusually rich carrier of information. Its direction of travel, wavelength, and polarization can all be used to encode signals or images. Yet controlling these properties independently remains difficult, especially ...
Phys.org / Using individual atoms to achieve fossil-free chemistry
Every chemical reaction faces a barrier: For substances to react with one another, it is first necessary to supply energy. In many cases, this energy barrier is low—such as when striking a match. For many key reactions ...
Phys.org / Tracing extracellular vesicles' journey from cancer cells to urine
Cancer cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) can travel from distant tumors through the bloodstream and kidneys and be excreted into urine, as reported by researchers at Science Tokyo. Using sophisticated molecular ...
Phys.org / Why conversation is more like a dance than an exchange of words
Think about the last time you told a story to a friend. You probably adjusted it halfway through. You saw their eyebrows lift. You noticed them lean in, or glance away. You clarified a detail. You sped up the ending. That ...
Phys.org / The sea is higher than we thought and millions more are at risk, study finds
Climate change's rising seas may threaten tens of millions more people than scientists and government planners originally thought because of mistaken research assumptions on how high coastal waters already are, a new study ...
Phys.org / SWOT satellite takes stock of world's river water
In a first, a space mission led by NASA and France has tracked Earth's rivers swelling and shrinking from month to month over the course of a year and found significantly less of a swing than previous model-based estimates. ...
Phys.org / Smarter mangrove protection: Study links a 7.3% area boost to 13.3% resilience gain
A global study of mangroves has found that a modest boost in conserved areas could significantly increase their ability to adapt to the changing climate, including rising sea levels. University of Queensland Ph.D. candidate ...
Phys.org / Irrigation gaps in weather models could skew air quality forecasts, study finds
Outdoor air pollution is estimated to contribute to more than 100,000 premature deaths in the United States each year, according to the National Weather Service. Accurate air quality forecasts—designed to protect public ...
Phys.org / NA62 Collaboration refines measurement of rare particle decay
The NA62 Collaboration has dramatically reduced the uncertainty in its measurement of an extremely rare particle decay, in results just presented at the 2026 La Thuile conference.
Phys.org / Influenza's molecular theft caught in action—how the virus steals the cap of host RNA in order to replicate
The cold season is in full swing, throats are scratchy and noses are running. We feel ill and hope it is not the flu. The influenza virus continues to pose a threat to our health. It triggers seasonal epidemics and, from ...
