Phys.org news

Phys.org / Researchers clarify how cells remove damaged endoplasmic reticulum

The cell's endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a central role in protein synthesis, folding, and calcium (Ca²⁺) storage. When damaged, ER-phagy (self-eating) removes affected ER regions via double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes. ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Fly ball: Drosophila can learn while playing with tiny spheres

For more than a century, the fruit fly has been a workhorse of the biological sciences that has helped scientists to make fundamental breakthroughs in fields such as genetics and neuroscience. As it turns out, human scientists ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / Would you spread pain to be fair? fMRI study tests moral choices in ice water

When making ethical decisions, university students appear to prioritize fairness and the fate of the worst-off over either reducing total harm or obeying unconditional moral precepts, according to a study published in PNAS ...

6 hours ago
Phys.org / After milestone-rich lunar flyby, astronauts start trip home

The Artemis II astronauts wrapped up their lunar flyby as they continue their journey back to Earth on Tuesday, bringing with them rich celestial observations including little-known lunar craters, a solar eclipse and meteor ...

19 hours ago
Phys.org / Experiments refute dark matter claim

The doctoral thesis of Sophia Hollick, Ph.D. '25, a recent graduate of Yale's Wright Lab in professor Reina Maruyama's group, has significantly contributed to answering a decades-long question in her field about whether or ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / A new equation may help baristas produce the perfect espresso shot every time

Everyone's idea of the perfect cup of coffee is different. Whether you have yours black, with a splash of milk or extra sweet, you like it your way. But is there a universal law that governs how that flavor gets into your ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / Three Himalayan predators coexist by partitioning prey, reducing direct competition

Snow leopards, leopards, and Himalayan wolves all share similar stomping grounds in Nepal's Lapchi Valley in the Himalayas. A recent study, published in PLOS One, has taken a closer look at how these apex predators have found ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / Polymers built inside the body through blood-catalyzed chemistry allow on-demand brain control

The 19th-century science fiction novel Frankenstein explores the idea of combining artificial materials with human body components, purely as a matter of imagination. Two centuries later, such concepts have become integral ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / How the female baboon body has the final say in sperm selection

Just because a female olive baboon has mated with a specific male doesn't mean he will be the father of her offspring. According to a new study published in PLOS Biology, mate selection continues long after copulation as ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / Parasitic tapeworm—a risk to domestic dogs and humans—found in Washington coyotes

New evidence suggests that a disease-causing tapeworm that has been spreading across the United States and Canada has arrived in the Pacific Northwest. The tapeworm, called Echinococcus multilocularis, lives as a parasite ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / Analysis finds geometric thinking may come from wandering, not a human-only math module

Debates over how geometry is understood and learned date back at least to the days of Plato, with more recent scholars concluding that only humans possess the foundations of this understanding. However, a new analysis by ...

Apr 6, 2026
Phys.org / Astronomers thought the early universe was full of hydrogen: Now they've found it

The Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) has discovered tens of thousands of gigantic hydrogen gas halos, called "Lyman-alpha nebulae," surrounding galaxies 10 billion to 12 billion years ago. Known as Cosmic ...

Apr 6, 2026