Phys.org news
Phys.org / Nearby 'Super Earth' may be a better candidate for life than previously thought
Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought. The planet, known as GJ 3378b, orbits ...
Phys.org / Abundant catalyst converts methane into valuable liquid chemicals
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and their collaborators have demonstrated a promising new approach for converting methane—the primary component of natural gas—into liquid ...
Phys.org / Scientists teach human cells to compute like tiny computers
Researchers have developed a way to program human cells to perform calculations and make autonomous decisions, similar to how computer chips work.
Phys.org / Cosmic eruption caught in the act by submillimeter array's new fastest response system
On Jan. 26, 2026, the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Maunakea crossed an important threshold for time-domain astronomy. For the first time, scientists from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) demonstrated ...
Phys.org / Astronomers find an enigmatic source that is most likely a Little Red Dot in formation
Astronomers have, for the first time, found a source in the process of becoming a Little Red Dot, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). Little Red Dots are likely early galaxies and some of the most intriguing objects ...
Phys.org / Super-deep diamond discovery may rewrite Earth's role in preserving the building blocks of life
Two diamonds formed 700 kilometers below the Earth's surface reveal a life-giving synchronicity between shifting continents and the cycling of phosphorus, a vital building block of DNA and cell membranes.
Phys.org / Tiny ancient fish fossil with preserved brain offers clues to early fish evolution
Over 300 million years ago, a minnow-sized fish died and fell to the bottom of a prehistoric swamp near the village of Trawden, Lancashire, in northwest England. The remains of this tiny fish—known as Trawdenia planti—became ...
Phys.org / Houston power plant emerges as dominant source of cloud-forming aerosols
Research by atmospheric scientists at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography and colleagues pinpointed an individual coal-fired power plant in Houston as the main source of particles most likely to encourage the ...
Phys.org / Newly discovered corn trait may help improve crop drought tolerance
Researchers report some corn plants are genetically predisposed to develop longer, less constricted water-conducting tissues and deeper roots, which helps them deal with drought. That's the conclusion of a team led by Penn ...
Phys.org / Medici brothers' remains reveal Renaissance-era malaria strains, closing the book on a murder mystery
In 1562, Cardinal Giovanni de Medici, a scion of the dynastic family that dominated politics and banking in Tuscany during the Renaissance, died of malaria. Twenty-five years later, his older brother, Grand Duke Francesco ...
Phys.org / Extreme droughts in the rainforest reduce important feedback between soil and atmosphere, study finds
Isoprene is a volatile organic compound (VOC) that is produced naturally by plants. More than 500 megatonnes of isoprene are emitted each year into Earth's atmosphere, primarily from tropical forests. Soils are recognized ...
Phys.org / A cataclysmic collision in space provides new clues on astronomy's biggest stalemate
Second only to black holes, neutron stars—incredibly dense star remnants—are the densest objects in the universe. When neutron stars collide, they create ripples in the fabric of space and time that we can detect on Earth.
