Phys.org news

Phys.org / Newly unearthed mechanism that helps plants 'feel full' could help crops use fertilizer more efficiently

New York University researchers have pinpointed the molecular players responsible for plants "feeling full" once they've taken up enough nitrogen—a finding that could help scientists develop plants that absorb more nitrogen ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / How simple amber lights could make nights safer for insects

Approximately 40% of insect species worldwide are thought to be in decline and under threat of extinction. Among the key causes are habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Another threat is artificial light from sources ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Webb reveals warped structure in nearby TW Hydrae's protoplanetary disk

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers obtained high-contrast coronagraphic images of the protoplanetary disk around the young, nearby star TW Hydrae. Results of the observational campaign, published July ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Laid to rest with care: Ancient infants, perhaps twins, found in 1,200-year-old latrine

More than 1,000 years ago, two babies were tucked away in an abandoned Roman toilet channel. Yet, despite what the location suggests, they were cherished, not discarded.

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / DESI side project reveals the spectra of disintegrated exoplanets

Using spectral data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI), astronomers have gained some of the clearest evidence yet that white dwarf stars are accreting debris from disintegrating exoplanets. Captured while ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / New microscopy method achieves angstrom-scale localization precision with one laser

Researchers in the lab of Sam Peng, the Pfizer Inc.–Gerald Laubach Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry at MIT and a core institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have developed a super-resolution ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Climate change could dramatically reduce water flowing from the West's headwaters

The small mountain streams that feed many of the West's rivers may face a much drier future. A new study led by NAU researchers found that groundwater-fed streamflow, known as base flow, has been steadily declining across ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Supergene solves evolutionary puzzle of mirror-image flowers

The left-right asymmetry of South African butterfly lilies (genus Wachendorfia) has been regarded as a classic evolutionary puzzle for more than a century. Due to the mirror-image arrangement of the floral parts, the plants ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Why some nitrogen-processing enzymes are more efficient than others

Nitrogen gas is abundant in Earth's atmosphere, but most living organisms can't readily use it. Only a subset of microbes with enzymes known as nitrogenases can break nitrogen gas apart and convert it into ammonia.

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Smart sensor identifies present molecules by remembering the past

Most sensors are designed to do only one thing: detect what passes through them. But what if a sensor could do more? To create a new generation of technology, researchers have looked to living systems for inspiration. If ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / AI use mirrors student schedules in study of 77,000 online learners

How do students actually use AI learning assistants? A new research paper by IU International University of Applied Sciences provides the first robust answers to this question. For the study "Using AI-based Learning Assistants ...

Aug 2, 2026
Phys.org / Pine bark and sponge compounds could counter drug-resistant malaria and babesiosis

As parasites become increasingly resistant to existing drugs, researchers at the University of California, Riverside, are working to develop a new generation of treatments for two serious infectious diseases: malaria and ...

Aug 2, 2026