Phys.org news
Phys.org / AI-designed miniproteins switch key cell receptors on and off
G protein-coupled receptors, or GPCRs, sit in the plasma membrane, the boundary that defines the inside and outside of a living cell. They communicate with nearly every physiological process in our bodies—from the ability ...
Phys.org / Flint reveals changes in human mobility in the southern Pyrenees during the Upper Paleolithic
Analysis of more than 3,000 lithic artifacts from the Cova Gran de Santa Linya site (Les Avellanes-Santa Linya, Lleida) shows that anatomically modern human communities occupying the southern Pyrenees during the Upper Paleolithic ...
Phys.org / Coupled DNA nanopores control molecular traffic inside synthetic cell microreactors
Living systems such as cells rely on membrane pores and channels to transport molecules, exchange signals, and organize biochemical reactions. These functions emerge from dynamic interactions between molecular components. ...
Phys.org / Central Asia's record-breaking ice loss in 2025 raises water risks for millions
A new international study led by Lander Van Tricht (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, ETH Zürich), shows that glaciers in Central Asia experienced their most extreme mass-loss year on record in 2025, designated as the International ...
Phys.org / Piezoelectric effect in diamond membranes challenges century-old scientific dogma
A research team in China has reported a significant piezoelectric effect in ultrathin and ultra-flexible polycrystalline diamond membranes. This pioneering discovery challenges a century-long scientific dogma that diamonds ...
Phys.org / Do you know how cynical your friends are?
New research from Michigan State University finds that people often project their own levels of cynicism—the belief that people are only interested in themselves and aren't sincere—onto their friends and consistently underestimate ...
Phys.org / Researchers develop AI model that maps how genes work together in human cells
Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have created a new artificial intelligence (AI) model that helps reveal how genes function together inside human cells, offering a powerful new way to understand biology ...
Phys.org / Why some antibiotics fail in the body—pH conditions can dramatically change how bacteria respond
When researchers test whether an antibiotic will work, they usually do so in a controlled laboratory environment. But when an infection happens inside the human body, things aren't so clean and tidy. New research from the ...
Phys.org / Multiplexed method reveals protein energy landscapes across 10 domain families
Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed a new experimental method to analyze conformational fluctuations in protein domains on a uniquely large scale, which may improve data-driven modeling, biology and protein engineering, ...
Phys.org / Capturing an elusive step in molecular sandwich making
Since their discovery in the 1950s, metallocenes—chemical compounds where a metal atom sits "sandwiched" between two carbon rings—have been at the heart of organometallic chemistry research, finding applications in catalysis, ...
Phys.org / Cell-by-cell sodium mapping reveals astrocytes are far less uniform than believed
The element sodium plays a key role in nervous system function. An international research team headed by the Institute of Neurobiology at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) has now conducted a closer examination of ...
Phys.org / Is organic farming the solution to enhance natural drought resilience in crops?
A study led by researchers from the Department of Microbiology at the University of Malaga has revealed how organic farming—using natural substances and processes and avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals—can, in the long ...
