Phys.org news

Pore-forming proteins are found throughout nature. In humans, they play key roles in immune defense, while in bacteria they often act as toxins that punch holes in cell membranes. These biological pores allow ions and molecules ...

Research led by the University of Auckland has cast light on the evolutionary origins of one of nature's first motors, which developed 3.5 billion to 4 billion years ago to propel bacteria.

The evolution of the so-called dread risk response has been explained by new research. People often respond to low-probability, high-consequence events like terror attacks or nuclear accidents with a dread risk response. ...

Earth scientists have discovered how continents are slowly peeled from beneath, fueling volcanic activity in an unexpected place: the oceans.

In the home, the lab and the factory, electric fields control technologies such as Kindle displays, medical diagnostic tests and devices that purify cancer drugs. In an electric field, anything with an electrical charge—from ...

Invasive tawny crazy ants have been wreaking havoc across the U.S. Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas, disrupting ecosystems and causing headaches for homeowners. Now scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have devised ...

They power green energy, enhance defense systems, and drive the future of microelectronics. Known as critical minerals, elements like lithium, cobalt, and nickel are vital to national security and innovation. Yet the U.S. ...

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) acts as an important coenzyme that helps convert food into energy within the body. Korean researchers have successfully created a new artificial enzyme for the first time in the world by combining ...

Pictures of DNA often look very tidy—the strands of the double helix neatly wind around each other, making it seem like studying genetics should be relatively straightforward. In truth, these strands aren't often so perfectly ...

Climate change in Earth's polar regions is emerging as an underrecognized driver of global health risks, with consequences reaching far beyond the Arctic and Antarctic, researchers argue.

For the first time, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have succeeded in using nanorobots to stimulate stem cells with such precision that they are reliably transformed into bone cells. To achieve this, ...

The stranded crew of a Chinese space mission is "in good condition, working and living normally," China's Manned Space Engineering office said on Tuesday.