Phys.org news

Phys.org / Nanoscale hairs may help gecko skin trap moisture and slow evaporation

In a dry shrubland, a gecko sprints toward shelter. Its greatest danger is not a predator, although hawks circle overhead and sand cats wait in ambush. Rather, its most pressing concern is dehydration. Its skin is paper-thin; ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Scientists unlock 'ancestral code' of banana family

Scientists have recently reconstructed the ancestral karyotype of the banana family, revealing how chromosome numbers decreased stepwise from 17 to 9–11 over evolutionary time.

5 hours ago
Phys.org / Young golden eagles leave their parents' territory late

When a young golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) finally leaves its parents' territory, it leaves behind the only safety net it has ever known. Until now, biologists had assumed that eagles took this step as soon as they could ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Chatbots are making our writing more similar but losing the identity and personality behind it

Large language models (LLMs) are making writing styles more similar without changing the overall meaning, according to an analysis of more than 880,000 texts across different writing types published in Nature Human Behaviour. ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Cow gut enzyme could help target bacterial biofilms and antibiotic-resistant infections

The bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii poses a substantial threat in health care settings, readily forming biofilms on wounds and medical surfaces and contributing to persistent infections and delayed healing. Its growing ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / AI financial advice can improve decisions or steer investors wrong, experiment finds

To what extent can AI improve our financial decisions or steer us in the wrong direction? Researchers at the University of Bayreuth investigated this question in a new study involving 3,700 participants and fictional investment ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Bright ideas accelerate the hunt for quantum emitters

The search for materials that can power future quantum technologies is accelerating, but identifying the most promising candidates remains painfully slow. Evaluating whether a material can efficiently emit quantum light requires ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / The hidden chemistry behind glow-in-the-dark art

Some of the world's brightest colors don't just reflect light; they create it. Scientists and museum conservators are now uncovering why these luminous pigments fade and how to preserve them for future generations. The findings ...

18 hours ago
Phys.org / Tides can vary by almost a meter across a single bay, four decades of satellite images reveal

Tide levels can vary by almost a meter across a single bay, according to a new study that uses decades of satellite images to measure tides at the scale of individual beaches.

18 hours ago
Phys.org / How the sun's galactic journey and superflare-filled youth shaped Earth's climate

At the center of our solar system, the sun influences every planet that orbits it. In two recent studies, scientists uncovered how ancient events in the sun's history may have helped create Earth's unique climate and driven ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Mapping thorium's preferred sites could pave the way for nuclear clocks

For decades, physicists have used a technique called Mössbauer spectroscopy to peer inside solid materials, revealing fine details of their surroundings by studying how their atomic nuclei absorb and re-emit gamma rays.

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Engineered yeasts help turn PET plastic and crop waste into protein-rich cookies

Plastic might be the last ingredient you would ever add to a cookie recipe. But a team of researchers is looking to change that. They've programmed yeasts to turn plastic and agricultural waste into edible proteins and flavoring ...

Aug 24, 2026