Phys.org news

Phys.org / Beyond the algorithm, online negativity takes on a life of its own as users try to stand out

It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that social media can trend toward the negative. But it might take one to figure out why. In a new paper in PNAS, professor of psychology Joshua Conrad Jackson and colleagues show ...

23 hours ago
Phys.org / How to fine-tune molecular structures within vaccines to improve immune responses

A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exposure to a specific pathogen. To develop a vaccine that offers long-term protection ...

22 hours ago
Phys.org / Early hardship may shape how oxytocin influences altruism

While humans are inherently social beings, they can interact and connect with others in very different ways. For instance, while some people tend to be more altruistic, others are less prone to helping their friends, acquaintances ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / India faces rising uncompensable heat stress, especially during monsoon season

Animals struggle to cool down in extreme heat and high humidity, and heat stress is rising in many regions around the world. This is especially true for people in tropical countries, including populous India. In a new paper ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / A new category of heat waves is melting western US snowpack faster

Heat waves are not all created equal. While some bring dry heat that rapidly dries out crops, others carry a lot of moisture that can prevent sweat from evaporating off the skin. In new research published in the journal Science ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Active supermassive black holes may help form massive planets

A popular myth about black holes is that they act like giant cosmic vacuum cleaners, sucking in everything around them. But Wladimir Lyra's research found a new mechanism around supermassive black holes that is more like ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Protein-like nanoparticles sort themselves inside growing crystals, enabling controlled release

The tiny bones in your fingers withstand countless taps and swipes thanks to a precise blend of materials. Flexible collagen fibers form the framework, reinforced by hard calcium phosphate hydroxyapatite crystals. This is ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Complex suicidal somersault behavior in male redback spiders may be explained by surprisingly simple genetics

The Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), a cousin of the North American black widow spider, is known to practice sexual cannibalism, which is somewhat common among spider species. However, the male Australian ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Paleontologists reconstruct forests of 56 million years ago with chilling parallels for our warming planet

If you want to know how rapidly pumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere will affect future forest ecosystems, you have to look into the distant past. The researchers behind a new study published in Science have done just ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / CRISPR roadblocks: Scientists identify genes blocking gene therapy success

Like a delivery driver navigating crowded city streets, a gene-therapy-toting lipid nanoparticle faces a gauntlet of potential detours on its journey toward a cell's nucleus. First, there's entering the cell's plasma membrane; ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Melting diamond could unlock triple fusion gain and the secrets of ice giant planets

Diamond is more than a dazzling gem—the extremely hard form of carbon makes up the pellet that encases fuel for inertial confinement fusion, and scientists believe it rains down deep inside ice giant planets like Neptune ...

Aug 13, 2026
Phys.org / Climate change decided who ruled as top predator 35 million years ago

An international team of researchers from Belgium, France, Switzerland, Spain and the U.S. has reconstructed the evolution of body mass in carnivorous mammals during the Paleogene—a crucial window in the diversification of ...

Aug 13, 2026