Phys.org news

Phys.org / Cowpea plants create underground defense system for the next generation after insect attacks

Plants might seem helpless when it comes to insect attacks, but they are known to employ various techniques to deter pests. One of these techniques involves sending out signals to recruit parasitoid wasps, and a new study, ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Engineered yeasts help turn PET plastic and crop waste into protein-rich cookies

Plastic might be the last ingredient you would ever add to a cookie recipe. But a team of researchers is looking to change that. They've programmed yeasts to turn plastic and agricultural waste into edible proteins and flavoring ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / A 4-star system caught eclipsing itself in a way never seen before

Astronomers have found a four-star system doing something that has never been confirmed before. The system, TIC 433545934, has two close pairs of stars orbiting each other. While each pair eclipses its own two stars, as usual, ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Mystery statue unearthed at Sardis archaeological dig

Researchers with the long-running Harvard–Cornell Archaeological Exploration of Sardis have unearthed a larger-than-life statue estimated to be nearly 2,500 years old.

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Vacuum-fluctuation-enhanced superconductivity demonstrated for the first time

In a study published in Nature on Aug. 19, a research team has enhanced superconductivity through vacuum fluctuations for the first time. The achievement marks a significant advance in controlling quantum states of matter.

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Why ancient grasslands, once plowed, don't grow back the same

When a 10,000-year-old prairie is plowed up to plant corn or a savanna is consumed by a strip mall, these once-grassy expanses, if left to regrow, can eventually look vaguely like they did before. But a growing body of research ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / AI finds six ways to print rocket-grade alloy on commercial 3D printers

Washington State University researchers used artificial intelligence to find a more efficient, less expensive way to 3D-print a high-performance metal alloy, saving researchers from needing to painstakingly test more than ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Deuterium enables chip waveguides to generate broadband light from infrared pulses

A research team from Singapore, led by Associate Professor Dawn Tan of the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Dr. Luo Xianshu, head of the Silicon Photonics Department at the A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Why marine heat waves and acidification strike together

Marine heat waves and extreme ocean acidification events are each damaging on their own. But when both stressors hit simultaneously, their individual effects can be exacerbated.

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Molecular trick opens the door to a new generation of glass

Researchers at TU Dortmund University, Paderborn University, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the University of Oxford have developed a new method for selectively modifying the internal structure of specific types of ...

Aug 24, 2026
Phys.org / Gut bacteria mostly compete—but cooperation finds a way

Understanding how bacteria influence one another is essential for understanding how microbial communities are formed and maintained. Researchers at Umeå University have now systematically mapped interactions between common ...

Aug 24, 2026
Dialog / Blood-clotting protein may be SARS-CoV-2's hidden accomplice, helping it hide from antibodies and reach blood vessels

Fibrinogen, the abundant plasma protein best known for forming blood clots, may play a second and far less benign role during SARS-CoV-2 infection: acting as a molecular bridge that simultaneously hides the virus from neutralizing ...

Aug 24, 2026