Phys.org news

Phys.org / Rare, deep-sea encounter: Scientists observe 'extraordinary' seven-arm octopus

Almost a half-mile below the surface of Monterey Bay, California, scientists have recorded rare footage of a seven-arm octopus— only the fourth time the same research team has spotted the species in about four decades.

Dec 15, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Integrative quantum chemistry method unlocks secrets of advanced materials

A new computational approach developed at the University of Chicago promises to shed light on some of the world's most puzzling materials—from high-temperature superconductors to solar cell semiconductors—by uniting two ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / The hidden physics of knot formation in fluids

Knots are everywhere—from tangled headphones to DNA strands packed inside viruses—but how an isolated filament can knot itself without collisions or external agitation has remained a longstanding puzzle in soft-matter ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Room-temperature electron behavior defies expectations, hinting at ultra-efficient electronics

Scientists have discovered a way to efficiently transfer electrical current through specific materials at room temperature, a finding that could revolutionize superconductivity and reshape energy preservation and generation.

Dec 15, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Recent H5N1 bird flu variants show increased ability to infect dairy cattle

The H5N1 avian influenza virus—commonly known as bird flu—has been causing outbreaks in dairy cows in the United States since March 2024. Now, scientists studying the adaptation of the avian H5N1 viruses to cows have ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / From cages to fields: Lab mice lose their anxiety after a week outdoors

When postdoctoral researcher Matthew Zipple releases lab mice into a large, enclosed field just off Cornell's campus, something remarkable happens.

Dec 15, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Nanomotors drive protein network formation inside artificial cells

No one has yet created a fully functioning artificial cell. But a research team at Aarhus University has taken a step in that direction:

Dec 15, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / A hormone can access the brain by 'hitchhiking' on extracellular vesicles, researchers discover

Researchers at Touro University Nevada have discovered that tiny particles in the blood, called extracellular vesicles (EVs), are a major player in how a group of hormones are shuttled through the body. Physical exercise ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Terra Amata site reveals technological flexibility of first humans in Europe

Archaeologist Paula García Medrano, researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), has just published in Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology a study on the lithic industry from the ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Engineered material uses light to destroy PFAS and other contaminants in water

Materials scientists at Rice University and collaborators have developed a material that uses light to break down a range of pollutants in water, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, the "forever chemicals" ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Scientists develop a smarter mRNA therapy that knows which cells to target

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a first-of-its-kind mRNA system that switches on therapeutic genes preferentially inside targeted cells—an advance demonstrated in studies in mice ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Manta rays create mobile ecosystems, study finds

A new study from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Marine Megafauna Foundation finds that young Caribbean manta rays (Mobula yarae) often swim with groups of other ...

Dec 15, 2025 in Biology