Phys.org news

Phys.org / When polymers meet primitive membranes: How molecular cooperation may have helped life begin

A new study suggests that simple molecules on early Earth may have worked together to create more stable, cell-like structures, offering fresh clues about one of science's biggest questions: how life began. Led by Dr. Moran ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Molecular switch that activates cell growth signaling may offer more precise route for anticancer therapy

Cells carry their own growth switches. When enough nutrients—amino acids in particular—are available, cells flip this switch on and begin to grow. Researchers at KAIST and Yonsei University have uncovered the molecular mechanism ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / How changing environments can preserve an ancient microbial survival strategy

A research group led by Tetsuhiro Hatakeyama from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo has revealed how a seemingly self-destructive survival strategy could persist in yeast for hundreds ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / California wildfire damage risk map uses factors most closely linked to severe property losses

By analyzing 100,000 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection inspection records from 2013 to 2024, researchers at the University of California, Irvine have identified the key environmental and human factors ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / Simple semiconductor films break light's front-back symmetry

Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back—like polarized sunglasses that work the same from either side. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Industrial poultry farming is accelerating the spread of a major foodborne disease

A new study by the Ineos Oxford Institute for Antimicrobial Research at the University of Oxford reveals that industrial poultry farming has led to a more than 100-fold increase in the movement of Campylobacter, allowing ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Seven possible quasar lenses emerge from AI scan of 800,000 DESI objects

Quasars, distant cores of galaxies powered by supermassive black holes, are among the most luminous objects in the universe. While not uncommon, their brightness can make it difficult to accurately measure the galaxies they ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Purple corn offers a stable natural alternative to artificial food dyes

University of Missouri researchers are turning a unique variety of corn into an effective natural alternative to artificial food dyes.

21 hours ago
Phys.org / New quantum chip architecture could use built-in vibrations to link distant qubits

A new concept from Warwick researchers could help solve one of the biggest challenges to building large-scale quantum computers: enabling communication between vast numbers of quantum bits (qubits) over long distances across ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / Mercury reveals short-lived radiation belts during its swing farther from the sun

Mercury was long considered the exception to the rule that magnetic planets have radiation belts similar to Earth's Van Allen belts, but a new study by University of Michigan Engineering and the University of California, ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / New thermodynamic framework explains pressure and edge currents in spinning active particles

Physicists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU), the Technical University of Darmstadt, Sapienza University in Rome and the University of Camerino (both in Italy) have calculated the fundamental laws of thermodynamics ...

20 hours ago
Phys.org / 'Dead stars' may have surprisingly healthy appetites

"Dead stars" known as white dwarfs have already shown the potential to help us better understand how planetary systems, including our own solar system, take shape and evolve. Now, research from the University of Michigan ...

23 hours ago