Phys.org news

Phys.org / Researchers discover how to turn one germ's drug resistance into an Achilles' heel

Decades of reliance on the antibiotic rifampicin have fueled the rise of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). But as the bacterium mutates to protect itself from the drug, it also creates new weak points that ...

8 hours ago
Phys.org / RNA 'cut-and-patch' tool repairs faulty messages without altering DNA

A research team from the School of Biomedical Sciences at the LKS Faculty of Medicine, the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), has achieved a significant advance in biotechnology that could revolutionize treatment strategies ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Living brain gene activity revealed noninvasively through programmable blood test

Cell function is determined by how DNA is expressed into proteins. That process includes two main steps—transcription, when messenger RNA (mRNA) makes copies of active genes; and translation, when mRNA guides protein assembly.

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Box jellyfish reveal secret life cycle with implications for coastal safety

Box jellyfish are often feared as dangerous animals, with some species capable of causing severe or even fatal stings. However, box jellyfish nematocysts—organelles responsible for this toxic sting—are theorized to also play ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Why dirty farm plastic matters: Cleaner mulch film could cut landfill waste and fossil fuel use

Nearly a billion pounds of plastic film mulch is used in American agriculture each year, and most of it is dumped into landfills. New research from Washington State University shows that recycling could be a feasible alternative, ...

10 hours ago
Phys.org / Fast-moving droplets synthesize key drug compounds at room temperature, no catalysts needed

Chemical reactions are the backbone to nearly all biological processes, including those used to make new medicines. However, these reactions can often take considerable time and require harsh conditions or materials—potentially ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / How drought rewires roots, cutting iron uptake across major food crops

New research by scientists at the University of Calgary has found that plants, ranging from canola to rice to tomatoes, actively shut down their own ability to take up iron when they experience drought. It's a finding that ...

9 hours ago
Phys.org / Student astronomer discovers 'Rosetta Stone' for mysterious cosmic signals

An international team led by astronomers at the University of Sydney has uncovered the clearest evidence yet for the origin of an unusual class of cosmic signals. In doing so, they have identified a rare stellar system that ...

17 hours ago
Phys.org / The Y chromosome is home to surprising jumping genes

The humble Y chromosome may be the smallest chromosome in the mammalian genome (and getting even smaller), but it is mighty: Genes on the Y chromosome are critical for fertility in males. In a new study in the journal Current ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Understanding how things connect helps people invent, 1,200-player experiment suggests

Our capacity for innovation, rather than being the work of random variation, is based on an intrinsic understanding of how the world works, claim Karolinska Institutet and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam researchers in a new ...

4 hours ago
Phys.org / Fifty-year protein mystery breaks open as acid-driven water loss comes into view

Proteins systematically lose their protective hydration shell when their environment becomes more acidic. Until recently, this was just a theory. State-of-the-art imaging techniques have helped researchers at Martin Luther ...

10 hours ago
Phys.org / Famous wildlife coexistence scheme is slipping due to frozen funding

A celebrated scheme for human-wildlife coexistence is now at risk of failing due to lack of long-term government investment, new research has found.

10 hours ago