Phys.org news

Phys.org / Platinum-free catalyst splits hydrogen from water for energy, running 1,000 hours at industry standards

Using a renewable energy source has multiple benefits, including reducing harmful emissions and dependence on fossil fuels while increasing efficiency. But many renewable energy sources have a higher cost than fossil fuels ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Medicine's next leap: Delivering gene therapies exactly where they're needed

A quiet revolution is underway in modern medicine: Drug development is aiming to move from managing disease to correcting it through RNA and gene-editing therapies. But delivering these treatments safely and precisely to ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Two bacteria join forces to turn chemical signals into electricity, opening up low-cost sensing options

Bacterial sensors usually rely on emitting light to transfer information about what they're sensing, but that method isn't practical in many settings. That's why most information transmission is done via electricity. And ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Machine learning detects more than 60,000 earthquakes during 2025 Santorini sequence

The seismic crisis that gripped the Greek island of Santorini and its neighbors in 2025 contained more than 60,000 earthquakes, according to a unique machine learning study that identified the earthquakes as they occurred ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Warmer streams may be draining river food webs by sending more carbon into the air

Rising stream temperatures may be weakening the foundation of river food webs by altering how carbon moves through these watery ecosystems. In a new study published in the journal Ecosphere, researchers from Northern Arizona ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Want to restore oyster reefs? Find a site where they don't wash away or become buried under the sand

Restoring once abundant oyster reefs in temperate marginal seas such as the North Sea is a challenging task. New research by NIOZ marine ecologist Zhiyuan Zhao and colleagues shows that it is necessary to consider the short-term ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Nanobody repairs misfolded CFTR inside cells, boosting function in cystic fibrosis

A tiny antibody component could fundamentally transform the treatment of cystic fibrosis: For the first time, researchers have succeeded in developing a so-called nanobody that penetrates directly into human cells and can ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Iron plus UV light turns alcohol into hydrogen with catalyst-like efficiency

Publishing in Communications Chemistry, researchers from Kyushu University have discovered a simple method of generating hydrogen gas by mixing methanol, sodium hydroxide, and iron ions, then irradiating the solution with ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers directly observe muonic molecules critical to muon catalyzed fusion

Scientists have directly observed muonic molecules in resonance states for the first time, using a high-resolution X-ray detector, a new Science Advances study reports.

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Saving coral reefs will require ruthless selection over generations to beat future heat waves

Assisted evolution could help corals survive future heat waves, but careful trait choice and strong repeated selection will be needed for it to be effective. As global temperatures rise, marine heat waves are becoming more ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Volunteers discover rare space weather events using their ears

Our planet rests inside a magnetic cocoon filled with plasma—but it's not always peaceful and quiet. Activity from the sun can send waves through this space, and some of those disturbances can even reach Earth, affecting ...

Apr 17, 2026
Phys.org / Shrink, remove and modify: Team successfully 'trims' wheat chromosomes

For the first time, a research team at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has succeeded in reducing the size of, or even completely removing, chromosomes in plants with large genomes, such ...

Apr 17, 2026