Phys.org news

Phys.org / How redox reactions drive bacteria's Na⁺-NQR sodium pump

The enzyme Na⁺-NQR is a sodium pump that drives the respiration of many marine and pathogenic bacteria. Using redox reactions, the process of exchanging electrons between materials, it powers the transportation of sodium ...

16 hours ago in Biology
Phys.org / Rich medieval Christians bought graves 'closer to God' despite leprosy stigma, archaeologists find

Medieval Christians in Denmark showed off their wealth in death by buying prestigious graves: the closer to the church, the higher the price. Researchers used these gravesites to investigate social exclusion based on illness, ...

21 hours ago in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Only humans have chins: Study shows it's an evolutionary accident

Dashiell Hammett mentioned Sam Spade's jutting chin in the opening sentence of his novel, "The Maltese Falcon." Spade's chin was among the facial features Hammett used to describe his fictional detective's appearance, but ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / New experiments suggest Earth's core contains up to 45 oceans' worth of hydrogen

Scientists have long known that Earth's core is mostly made of iron, but the density is not high enough for it to be pure iron, meaning lighter elements exist in the core, as well. In particular, it's suspected to be a major ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Hurricane Helene did not shift US climate views or votes, study finds

Hurricane Helene, one of the deadliest hurricanes in US history, did not affect people's views on climate change or their intentions to vote for politicians advocating stricter climate policies. This is shown in a new study ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / How a tiny shrimp could hold the clue to better armor

Modern armor systems do not do a good enough job of protecting humans from blast-induced neurotrauma (brain and eye damage). To improve them, we may have to look to nature. In particular, a tiny shrimp that is able to protect ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Ancient DNA suggests hunter-gatherers in Europe's lowlands endured until 2500 BCE

Researchers at the University of Huddersfield have used ancient DNA to reveal that hunter-gatherers in one part of Europe survived for thousands of years longer than anywhere else on the continent—and have uncovered the ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / NOvA maps neutrino oscillations over 500 miles with 10 years of data

Neutrinos are very small, neutral subatomic particles that rarely interact with ordinary matter and are thus sometimes referred to as ghost particles. There are three known types (i.e., flavors) of neutrinos, dubbed muon, ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Physics
Phys.org / Captured on camera for the first time: How tiny marsupials crawl to their mother's pouch

For the first time, scientists have recorded how baby dunnarts, tiny carnivorous marsupials from Australia, reach their mother's pouch not long after being born. While much is known about how many other marsupial babies go ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Electronic friction can be tuned and switched off

Researchers in China have isolated the effects of electronic friction, showing for the first time how the subtle drag force it imparts at sliding interfaces can be controlled. They demonstrate that it can be tuned by applying ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Ammonia leaks can be spotted in under two seconds using new alveoli-inspired droplet sensor

Researchers from Guangxi University, China have developed a new gas sensor that detects ammonia with a record speed of 1.4 seconds. The sensor's design mimics the structure of alveoli—the tiny air sacs in human lungs—while ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Subaru observations suggest an intrinsic gap in NGC 5466's tidal stream

Astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and elsewhere have used the Subaru Telescope to perform deep imaging observations of a distant globular cluster known as NGC 5466. The observational campaign ...

Feb 11, 2026 in Astronomy & Space