Phys.org news

Phys.org / Seeing physics as a mountain landscape for classification of nonlinear systems

Imagine standing on top of a mountain. From this vantage point, we can see picturesque valleys and majestic ridges below, and streams wind their way downhill. If a drop of rain falls somewhere on this terrain, gravity guides ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / When Americans migrate from violent states, the risk of future violence follows them

Americans who grow up in historically violent states may move to a safer state, but they remain far more likely to die violently, according to new research co-authored at the University of California, Berkeley.

Dec 2, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Ocean microplastics can drift for years or sink rapidly: Analysis reveals two distinct pathways

Publishing in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, researchers at Kyushu University report that they have developed a new method to more accurately analyze the distribution of small microplastics in the ocean at ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Rapid weather shifts govern how plants influence climate and air quality, study finds

A new study shows that during drought, it's not how hot or how dry it is that determines gas emissions from plants—but how quickly conditions change. This discovery reshapes our understanding of the relationship between ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Plant 'first responder' cells warn neighbors about bacterial pathogens

Purdue University researchers found that a subset of epidermal cells in plant leaves serves as early responders to chemical cues from bacterial pathogens and communicate this information to neighbors through a local traveling ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Urban sprawl could deny 220 million people access to clean water by 2050

A new study analyzing more than 100 cities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America has quantified the stark consequences of urban sprawl on water and sanitation access, finding that how cities grow might determine whether ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / X-ray laser offers new look at protein movement inside cells

At European XFEL, researchers have observed in detail how the vital iron protein ferritin makes its way in highly dense environments—with implications for medicine and nanotechnology.

Dec 2, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Define your dating goals: Study shows clarity is key to dating satisfaction

Single people who date without a clear understanding of what they are looking for in a relationship experience more loneliness and decreased life satisfaction, McGill researchers have found.

Dec 2, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Crop pests can develop 'fighter-jet wings' after eating specific mix of corn

Eating a blend of non-toxic corn and genetically modified toxic corn can result in corn earworm pests (Helicoverpa zea) developing longer, more narrow and more tapered wings—shaped like the wings of a fighter jet—that ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Newly discovered viral enzymes act like molecular scissors to disable immune alarm signals

Viruses and their hosts—whether bacteria, animals, or humans—are locked in a constant evolutionary arms race. Cells evolve defenses against viral infection, viruses evolve ways around those defenses, and the cycle continues.

Dec 2, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Studies reevaluate reverse weathering process, shifting understanding of global climate

Two new publications remap the understanding of reverse weathering in the scientific community. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab's Senior Marine Scientist, Dr. Jeffrey Krause, played a key role in both projects, which include several ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Adjustable DNA 'shield' can control timing and rate at which mRNA produces proteins in vivo

mRNA, widely known from the COVID-19 vaccine, is not actually a "therapeutic agent," but a technology that delivers the blueprint for functional proteins in the body and induces therapeutic effects. Recently, its application ...

Dec 2, 2025 in Biology