Phys.org news

Phys.org / What contributed to the success of termites? Their genomes provide the answer

The most comprehensive dataset of termite genomes to date was created by an international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Biology Center of the Czech Academy of Sciences. The team sequenced 45 termite genomes ...

20 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / More eyes on the skies can help planes reduce climate-warming contrails

Aviation's climate impact is partly due to contrails—condensation that a plane streaks across the sky when it flies through icy and humid layers of the atmosphere. Contrails trap heat that radiates from the planet's surface, ...

20 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / Structural findings reveal how distinct GPCR ligands create different levels of activation

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are proteins triggered by ligands (protein-binding chemicals) from outside cells to transmit signals inside the cell. These signals are transmitted primarily through the activation of G ...

19 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Male bees' food begging behavior traced to a single genetic factor

Is complex social behavior genetically determined? Yes, as a team of biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) together with colleagues from Bochum and Paris discovered while studying bees.

20 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / The way our cells respond to estrogen depends on how DNA is 'supercoiled'

Although it also performs some functions in men, estrogen, the main female sex hormone, is involved in a myriad of processes, which is why the body changes so much during menopause. This is because estrogens regulate hundreds ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Fishing fleet tracking can reveal shifts in marine ecosystems

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have already leveraged the vast troves of geolocation data from vessel-tracking systems to pinpoint where whales and other large marine species are endangered by ship ...

20 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Reversible spin splitting effect achieved in altermagnetic RuO₂ thin films

A research team affiliated with UNIST has made a advancement in controlling spin-based signals within a new magnetic material, paving the way for next-generation electronic devices. Their work demonstrates a method to reversibly ...

21 hours ago in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / How soil and human antibiotic resistance are connected

A study led by researchers at the Department of Civil Engineering at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has uncovered alarming evidence that soil worldwide is emerging as a significant reservoir and amplifier of high-risk ...

21 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Leaves' pores explain longstanding mystery of uneven tree growth in a carbon-enriched world

The basics of photosynthesis are something that every student learns in school: carbon dioxide, water and light in; oxygen and sugar for growth out. In a world where atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are rising, it is plausible ...

22 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / An ecosystem never forgets: Extreme heat and drought responses linked to hydrological memory

The low-latitude highlands region of southwestern China experienced two major climate events in recent years: a severe drought in 2009–2010 and an extreme heat wave in 2019. Though both sprang from similar large-scale atmospheric ...

22 hours ago in Earth
Phys.org / The dual impact of stellar bars on star formation in galaxy pairs

Professor Woong-bae Zee of the College of Liberal Studies at Sejong University has revealed that a galaxy does not possess only a single evolutionary pathway; instead, depending on the nature of its neighboring galaxy, it ...

23 hours ago in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Kolmogorov-Arnold networks bridge AI and scientific discovery by increasing interpretability

AI has successfully been applied in many areas of science, advancing technologies like weather prediction and protein folding. However, there have been limitations for the world of scientific discovery involving more curiosity-driven ...

Dec 22, 2025 in Physics