Phys.org news

Phys.org / A hidden food boom across Central Africa is pushing wildlife and rural diets toward a precarious edge

The total annual biomass of wild meat consumed across Central Africa has increased from an estimated 0.73 million metric tons in 2000 to 1.10 million metric tons in 2022. This increase is threatening wildlife populations ...

12 hours ago
Phys.org / Lithium in the Appalachians could replace imports for a century or more, estimates suggest

The southern Appalachians hold an estimated 1.43 million metric tons of lithium oxide, concentrated in the Carolinas, and the northern Appalachians hold an estimated 900,000 metric tons, concentrated in Maine and New Hampshire, ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Water molecules found to actively drive gene transcription process

Researchers have uncovered a previously hidden layer of complexity in how genes are activated, showing that water molecules play a direct and essential role in one of the most fundamental processes in biology: DNA transcription.

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Captured mid-reaction, RNA polymerase reveals universal blueprint for gene transcription

The enzyme RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out transcription, copying DNA into RNA. It's the first step in gene expression, and a process fundamental to all life. But the inner workings of this essential enzyme have long baffled ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / How mass extinctions helped termites become essential engineers of today's tropical ecosystems

Tropical ecosystems rely on the infrastructure provided by termites. These insects supply plants with vital nutrients by breaking down organic waste, bringing water to the roots by aerating the soil through tunneling, and ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / Hemp-based thermoplastic offers a greener alternative to plastic packaging

As the global pollution crisis caused by manufacturing and disposing of single-use plastics continues to grow, researchers have developed a non-toxic plastic alternative derived from the hemp plant—a non-psychoactive type ...

13 hours ago
Phys.org / A longstanding quantum roadblock just fell, opening existing fiber networks to ultra-secure light signals

Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute have broken a longstanding barrier by managing to send single photons—that can't be copied or split and thus are secure—in the network of optical fibers we already have. This opens ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Buried in soil, a 100-million-year-old bacterial toxin could reshape pest control and antibiotic discovery

In every backyard, park, and playground on Earth, the ground is teeming with a type of bacteria called Streptomyces—one of the most abundant organisms on the planet. While these dirt-dwelling microbes are known for producing ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Why Kamchatka's magnitude 8.8 earthquake brought a smaller tsunami—and where risk may remain

On July 29, 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake occurred near the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was so powerful that it ranks as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded by modern instruments. Using this giant earthquake as a learning ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Researchers create DNA 'nano-rings' to control viral cell proteins

Scientists at Durham University, working in partnership with Jagiellonian University in Poland, have developed a new nanoscale tool that can capture and precisely position some of the most important proteins in the human ...

14 hours ago
Phys.org / Tiny fossil shells hold two chemical signals that could skew past ocean temperatures

Tiny plankton shells used to reconstruct past polar ocean temperatures may contain two different chemical stories, a new study by iC3 researchers has found. The work shows that Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, a key species in ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Western US is fending off more fires before they start—and still getting hit by its biggest blazes yet

The number of wildfires burning in the Western United States each year dropped roughly 28% over the past three decades, even as annual burned area and damage from wildfires have soared. A decline in fires accidentally sparked ...

15 hours ago