Phys.org news

Phys.org / New DNA tagging workflow boosts gene delivery to the nucleus over tenfold

Gene therapy holds the promise of preventing and curing disease by manipulating gene expression within a patient's cells. However, to be effective, the new gene must make it into a cell's nucleus. The inability to consistently, ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Simulations and experiments meet: Machine learning predicts gold nanocluster structures

Researchers at University of Jyväskylä (Finland) advance understanding of gold nanocluster behavior at elevated temperatures using machine learning-based simulations. This information is crucial in the design of nanomaterials ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Why snakes can go months between meals: A genetic explanation

Snakes may well be one of nature's greatest predators, capable of eating whole deer or even crocodiles, but just as impressive is that they can go months, or even a whole year, without a single meal. And now an international ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Glimpsing the quantum vacuum: Particle spin correlations offer insight into how visible matter emerges from 'nothing'

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have uncovered experimental evidence that particles of matter emerging from energetic subatomic smashups retain a key feature of virtual particles ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Terahertz microscope reveals the motion of superconducting electrons

You can tell a lot about a material based on the type of light shining at it: Optical light illuminates a material's surface, while X-rays reveal its internal structures and infrared captures a material's radiating heat. ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Astronomers trace a runaway star to a former companion's supernova

Astronomers have strengthened long-standing predictions that massive runaway stars could have originated in binary pairs, and were dramatically ejected into space when their companion stars underwent supernova explosions. ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Poop as medicine? A Roman vial's chemistry backs up ancient medical texts

When some ancient Romans were feeling a little under the weather, they were treated with human feces. While this practice was mentioned in ancient Greco-Roman medical texts by figures such as Pliny the Elder, there was no ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / 'Red Potato' galaxy discovered by astronomers

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), an international team of astronomers has discovered a new massive and quiescent red galaxy, which they dubbed "Red Potato." The discovery was reported in a research paper published ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Forest soils increasingly extract methane from the atmosphere, long-term study reveals

Forest soils have an important role in protecting our climate: They remove large quantities of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—from our atmosphere. Researchers from the University of Göttingen and the Baden-Württemberg ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Graphene sealing enables first atomic images of monolayer transition metal diiodides

Two-dimensional (2D) materials promise revolutionary advances in electronics and photonics, but many of the most interesting candidates degrade within seconds of air exposure, making them nearly impossible to study or integrate ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Temperature of some cities could rise faster than expected under 2°C warming

New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) shows how many tropical cities are predicted to warm faster than expected under 2°C of global warming.

Feb 4, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Invisible actors in groundwater mapped for first time, revealing role in freshwater reservoir

Groundwater is considered the largest reservoir of liquid freshwater on Earth and a habitat for complex microbial communities that drive essential biogeochemical cycles. Until now, the role of viruses that infect microorganisms ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Biology