Phys.org news

Phys.org / Insect remains reveal Indigenous burial practices in the Canary Islands

Archaeologists have analyzed insect remains preserved in the 7th to 9th centuries AD funerary cave of Cruz de la Esquina, Gran Canaria, and found that it was used by the island's Indigenous people for food storage before ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Why you really shouldn't overcook your proteins

The development of cooking was a major milestone in the evolution of human civilization because it made food easier to digest and more energy-efficient. Heating food can also kill harmful pathogens and make certain foods ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Newfound 'baby' planet smashes record for youngest known world

Astronomers have confirmed a world less than a million years old as the youngest known planet, using data from archives. Called Elias 2-24 b, the baby planet is still whirling in its natal disk of dust and gas.

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Iron, sulfur and purple light unlock greener carbon-carbon bond formation

Much of organic chemistry, including the type used to create and alter medicinal drugs, relies on modifying carbon bonds. Rice University's Julian West has been developing a less expensive, faster and more environmentally ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Nearly 50 'ghost galaxies' emerge around three hosts, challenging dwarf galaxy counts

Dwarf galaxies—with a mass equal to about a billion suns, but often considerably less—are the most abundant in the universe. However, because of their low luminosity, they are very difficult to detect. They have mostly been ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Half-billion-year-old fossils rewrite the origin story of starfish

Scientists have discovered several 518-million-year-old fossils that reshape understanding of the origins of the animal group containing starfish. The fossils show that these animals ate using tentacles rather than passively ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Brazilian sedge reproduces sexually but without DNA reshuffling, producing genetic clones

Sexual reproduction usually reshuffles genetic information, creating offspring that differ from their parents. But one small plant takes an unexpected route. In a new study published in Nature, an international team led by ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Without bacteria or chemicals: How methanol and formaldehyde form abiotically in nature

The biopolymer lignin—one of the most important carbon reservoirs in plants and soils—not only decays through fungi or bacteria but can also be chemically attacked by iron linked to reactive oxygen species, without the involvement ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Aqueduct deposits suggest Plague of Cyprian may have emptied Nîmes around 270 A.D.

Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have gleaned new insights into ancient water management in the French region around Nîmes by analyzing carbonate deposits within the Roman aqueduct that features the ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / AI struggles to decipher 'animal language' because sound doesn't equal meaning, experts say

In recent years, numerous attempts have been made to use artificial intelligence to decipher the communication of bats, whales, birds and other animals. However, a new study led by a team of researchers from Tel Aviv University ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny oyster larvae rely on gravity to feed

Eastern oyster larvae are only 100–300 micrometers long, but their dense calcium carbonate shells make them substantially heavier than the surrounding seawater. A new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution ...

Sep 16, 2026
Phys.org / Bacterial invasion proteins could improve detection of live crop pathogens

Scientists, clinicians, seed companies and others may soon have a new tool in their toolkit for detecting bacterial pathogens, thanks to a new study by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The research—published ...

Sep 16, 2026