Phys.org news

Phys.org / Honduras review confirms 227 native mammal species after eight-year effort

An eight-year international research effort has produced the most comprehensive review of Honduras' mammals since 1998, verifying 227 native species across 146 genera and 42 families, along with three introduced rodent species. ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Hidden hormone–habitat relationship revealed in reef fish

In the animal kingdom, only those that adapt to their environment survive. This adaptation takes a wide range of forms, from invisible internal shifts in gene expression to dramatic anatomical changes, such as tadpoles growing ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Mobile fungal 'Starship' carries protein that triggers crop leaf loss

An international research team led by plant scientist Professor Dr. Bart Thomma of the Institute of Plant Sciences at the University of Cologne, the MiBiNet Collaborative Research Center and the CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / From mountain peaks to microclimates, new maps bring satellite big data down to Earth

Zooming from her office, Michigan State University researcher Kelly Kapsar showed satellite images from across the United States. In some, different colors revealed the precise heights of the forested ridges in the Sierra ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Different genes, same result: How flies evolved multiple ways to define heads and tails

One of the most important milestones in the early life of an organism is when the embryo breaks symmetry and arranges itself to form the head (anterior) at one end and tail (posterior) at the other end. Scientists have used ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / One snail, five slimes: Collagen and calcium reshape mucus for different jobs

Snails are particularly active after a rain shower. Even on the Max Planck Campus in Potsdam-Golm, common brown-lipped snails (Cepaea nemoralis) leave behind shiny trails of mucus. Researchers from the "Biomaterials" department ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Just 50°C decides whether an ultrathin magnetic film stays flat or falls apart

Magnetic storage technologies, which store information in the direction of magnetization, play an essential role in modern data storage. Hard disk drives (HDDs) are widely used for long-term storage, while nonvolatile magnetic ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Newly identified C/EBPγ protein links cancer cell plasticity and DNA repair

A research team has identified the transcription factor C/EBPγ as a novel regulator that simultaneously promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and DNA double-strand break repair in lung adenocarcinoma cells. The ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / Physicists trace solar outbursts that led to historic Mother's Day storms

On Mother's Day weekend in May 2024, Earth experienced its most powerful geomagnetic storm in two decades, spawning auroras—the ribbony bands of light in the nighttime skies in the Northern and Southern hemispheres—that may ...

Aug 7, 2026
Phys.org / JWST study suggests a handful of 'leaky' galaxies reionized the early universe

A new study analyzing the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) spectra of more than 1,400 galaxies suggests a surprisingly small group of "leaky" galaxies was responsible for cosmic reionization. The paper outlining this work ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / Sunlight-powered setup generates quantum entanglement

Today's quantum technologies rely on energy-intensive lasers, raising concerns that scaling them up could further increase energy demands. In new work, researchers have demonstrated that quantum entanglement between photons ...

Aug 6, 2026
Phys.org / Two-qubit entangling gate flags its own errors as detectable photon losses

Quantum errors are a normal part of quantum computing because fragile physical qubits (the tiny components storing data) can easily break down because of environmental noise, like heat, stray signals or microscopic vibrations. ...

Aug 6, 2026