Phys.org news

Phys.org / Qinghai-Tibet Plateau study reveals timeline and uneven evolution of endemic flora
A team of researchers led by Prof. Wang Wei from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IBCAS) has revealed how unique native plant life on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has evolved over time, shedding ...

Phys.org / Cryo-EM structures reveal how the reproductive hormone GnRH activates its receptor
In 1977, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Roger Guillemin and Andrew Schally for their discovery and synthesis of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), a key regulator of reproductive function. Today, ...

Phys.org / Catching a jellyfish in the sky: New galaxy discovered with the James Webb Space Telescope
Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers from Canada and Switzerland have discovered a new galaxy, which received designation COSMOS2020-635829. The newfound object appears to undergo a ram pressure stripping ...

Phys.org / Study tightens King plot-based constraints on hypothetical fifth force
While the Standard Model (SM) describes all known fundamental particles and many of the interactions between them, it fails to explain dark matter, dark energy and the apparent asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the ...

Phys.org / Engineers turn toxic ancient tomb fungus into anti-cancer drug
Penn-led researchers have turned a deadly fungus into a potent cancer-fighting compound. After isolating a new class of molecules from Aspergillus flavus, a toxic crop fungus linked to deaths in the excavations of ancient ...

Phys.org / Lipid nanoparticles that engineer CAR T cells in vivo could unlock access for millions of autoimmune patients
Capstan Therapeutics scientists demonstrate that lipid nanoparticles can engineer CAR T cells within the body without laboratory cell manufacturing and ex vivo expansion. The method using targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNPs) ...

Phys.org / Synthetic 'killswitch' uncovers hidden world of cellular condensates
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics have developed a novel synthetic micropeptide termed the "killswitch" to selectively immobilize proteins within cellular condensates, unveiling crucial connections ...

Phys.org / Mysterious fast radio burst turns out to be from long-dead NASA satellite
A team of astronomers and astrophysicists affiliated with several institutions in Australia has found that a mysterious fast radio burst (FRB) detected last year originated not from a distant source, but from one circling ...

Phys.org / Glass nanostructures reflect nearly all visible light, challenging photonics assumptions
A research team led by SUTD has created nanoscale glass structures with near-perfect reflectance, overturning long-held assumptions about what low-index materials can do in photonics.

Phys.org / Biomass satellite returns striking first images of forests and more
Today, at the Living Planet Symposium, ESA revealed the first stunning images from its Biomass satellite mission—marking a major leap forward in our ability to understand how Earth's forests are changing and exactly how ...

Phys.org / Big possum that lived 60 million years ago unearthed in Texas
They say everything's bigger in Texas. And that appears to be true, at least in the case of a group of ancient near-marsupials scientists call Swaindelphys.

Phys.org / Unexpected mineral in a Ryugu grain challenges paradigm of the nature of primitive asteroids
The pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu returned by the Hayabusa2 mission on December 6, 2020, have been vital to improving the understanding of primitive asteroids and the formation of the solar system. The C-type asteroid ...