Phys.org news

Phys.org / Antibiotics trigger bacterial teamwork, boosting survival through shared proteins

When bacteria are under antibiotic attack, it is not "every man for himself." Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues from collaborating institutions have discovered that bacterial populations work as a team ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / AI reads 3D tooth microwear to reconstruct diets of early human ancestors

The study of dental microwear allows the analysis of the microscopic marks that foods leave on the surface of tooth enamel during mastication. In paleoanthropology, this methodology helps reconstruct the diet of fossil primates ...

21 hours ago
Phys.org / Artificial 'leaf' powers wireless biomedical device

Plants convert light into energy efficiently through photosynthesis—an ability that scientists and engineers still struggle to match with electronic devices. Recently, researchers have looked beyond traditional semiconductor ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Sponges may cut methylmercury contamination in marine food webs by more than 50%

Marine sponges may play an important, previously underestimated role in reducing methylmercury contamination in marine food webs. In a new modeling study, researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon showed that sponges can significantly ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Turtles may migrate using Earth's magnetic field

New research indicates that sea turtles seem to navigate across hundreds of miles of open ocean using Earth's magnetic field. Previous experimental studies suggested that sea turtles use geomagnetism to navigate, but this ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / Students' climate model of deadly July 4 Texas flooding suggests sea surface temperatures actually reduced rainfall

Last fall, the 12 students in the Jackson School of Geosciences' GEO 347G "Climate System Modeling" class set out to understand something that hit close to home: What were the climatological factors that made the July 4, ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / New electrocatalyst helps turn polluted water into fertilizer and polymers

A new electrochemical system simultaneously converts plant-derived materials and nitrate pollutants into valuable industrial chemicals. Developed by Tohoku University researchers, the system provides a more sustainable way ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / A thermodynamic approach to gravity could explain cosmic acceleration without dark energy

Gravity, the force that attracts objects toward each other, is currently framed by Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity. This framework describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime, the invisible four-dimensional ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Thirsty desert lizards inspire a new water-harvesting system

When the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos) is thirsty, it cannot just lap up water or scoop it up like a bird because it lives in environments where water is extremely scarce. Typically, it's found in damp soil ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Quantum waves reveal one-sided motion marking elusive critical states

Sound waves, light waves and other types of waves, generally spread freely through space and over time. In 1958, physicist Philip W. Anderson first described a phenomenon via which irregularities or other sources of disorder ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny water droplets transmutate aniline into pyridine in ambient and catalyst-free conditions

Aniline can now be transformed into pyridine without adding any catalysts, oxidants or toxic reagents. In a recent study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers achieved skeletal editing, involving ...

Jun 25, 2026
Phys.org / Apes and humans have been sharing a laugh for 15 million years

Great apes may have been laughing with a similar rhythm to modern humans for at least 15 million years, a University of Warwick study reveals. The finding offers unexpected clues to how human speech evolved.

Jun 25, 2026