Phys.org news

Phys.org / DNA caught on old air filters reveals hidden past of ecosystems

DNA captured on air filters and stored since the 1960s acts as an ecological time capsule, according to a recent publication in Nature Communications. The findings show that tiny fragments of genetic material can paint a ...

Dec 18, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Enzyme shape-shifting captured in real time during catalysis

Researchers have captured real-time "molecular movies" showing how an enzyme changes shape during catalysis. The study was published in Nature Communications.

Dec 18, 2025 in Chemistry
Phys.org / Cell death discovery could aid cancer treatments

La Trobe researchers have made a discovery about the way dying cells are cleared from our bodies, which could have important impacts on recovery from diseases including cancer infection and inflammatory diseases.

Dec 18, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Public seed banks can fast-track corn quality research

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign corn breeders know profitability is about more than yield. By tweaking kernel composition, they can tailor corn for lucrative biotech applications, industrial products, overseas markets, ...

Dec 18, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Decaying dark matter: Unidentified X-ray emission lines in galaxy cluster spectra may point the way

Scientists search for "decaying" dark matter (DDM) because it offers unique signatures like specific X-ray or gamma-ray lines or neutrino signals not seen in normal matter, potentially revealing dark matter's particle nature, ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / 13 years of detailed US CO₂ emissions data released

New research from Northern Arizona University shows detailed CO2 emissions for the United States from 2010 to 2022.

Dec 17, 2025 in Earth
Phys.org / Ancient hunter-gatherer DNA may explain why some people live to 100 years or more

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors have given us many things. They passed down mastery of fire for cooking and early survival technologies, such as stone tools. They may also have given us the secret to a long life. A new study ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Physicists push superconducting diodes to high temperatures

For the first time, researchers in China have demonstrated a high-temperature superconducting diode effect, which allows a supercurrent to flow in both directions. Published in Nature Physics, the team's result could help ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Saturn's rings extend further above and below the ring plane, forming a 'halo'

The Cassini probe took its final orbits, referred to as the Grand Finale Orbits (GFOs), in 2017, before launching itself into Saturn's atmosphere. During these GFOs, the probe collected samples of dust above and below Saturn's ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / How a new diet of penguins is changing puma behavior and social lives in Patagonia

Penguins in the coastal steppes of Argentina have a new enemy to worry about: the increasing numbers of pumas in Monte León National Park (MLNP). These powerful mountain cats were once on the brink of disappearing from this ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Subtle twist in materials prompts surprising electromagnetic behavior

Materials react differently to electric and magnetic fields, and these reactions are known as electromagnetic responses. In many solid materials, unusual electromagnetic responses have been known to only emerge when specific ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Active thermal metasurfaces amplify heat signatures by a factor of nine

Light undergoes a unique phenomenon called superscattering, an optical illusion where a very small object scatters far more light than expected. This happens when multiple scattering modes overlap and interact, allowing tiny ...

Dec 17, 2025 in Physics