Phys.org news

Phys.org / Were Denisovans tall compared to other ancient humans? We should be skeptical

Take a walk in London's Trafalgar Square this summer, and people of all body sizes—some tall, some short—will be wilting in the heat: a real mix of sizes.

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / 'Disarming' discovery could help scientists fight deadly fungal infections

Researchers from Monash University, in collaboration with the University of Warwick, have discovered how the bacterial antibiotic "gladiolin" can disarm Candida albicans, one of the leading causes of life-threatening fungal ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Too much RNA can starve cells of energy, study finds

A new study from researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has uncovered a previously unknown consequence of viral infection: Too much RNA inside a cell can disrupt its ability ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / New lipid nanoparticle delivers capped circular RNA for longer-lasting gene expression

Researchers at Nagoya University in Japan in collaboration with FUJIFILM have developed a novel way of delivering circular RNA (cirRNA) into cells, paving the way for longer-lasting mRNA-based therapeutics including cancer ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / AI screens 100,000+ membrane combinations, predicting carbon capture performance within seconds

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions from industrial processes and energy production remains one of the major technological challenges in addressing climate change. Membrane-based gas separation offers an energy-efficient alternative ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Antarctica's brief rebound was caused by climate variability, not a 'new normal'

Between 2021 and 2023, Antarctica appeared to be growing. Heavy snowfall fueled by wetter weather caused parts of the continent to gain mass, leading some to question whether climate change is really causing the ice to melt. ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Foreign tariffs made U.S. whiskey cheaper... depending on where you live

A new study finds that one side effect of Trump-era trade wars has been cheaper whiskey in much of the United States. But if you live in whiskey hubs Kentucky or Tennessee, your prices actually went up.

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Beijing's isoprene-emitting trees highlight ozone risks in greener, hotter cities

Amid current heat waves, urban greening is once again moving to the center of public debate. Greener cities are generally expected to have cleaner air because trees capture airborne particles, absorb gaseous pollutants and ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / A 100-year-old mystery in the cat kidney may be linked to scent communication

Many animals obtain information about others from scent marks left in the environment, including urine. Because these marks remain after the sender has left, they allow animals to communicate across space and time. But odor ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / AI prompts offer a new tool for mapping how emotion concepts relate

How similar are "joy" and "surprise"? Conversely, how far apart are "joy" and "sadness"? We naturally organize words that express emotions—such as "happy," "afraid," and "angry"—according to similarities and differences in ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / 'Ecology of fear' can dramatically change the behavior of blue mussels

For a blue mussel, a good meal does not come entirely without risk. Blue mussels feed by filtering microscopic algae from seawater. But some unwelcome guests can slip in along with their food. Tiny parasite larvae can hitch ...

Aug 19, 2026
Phys.org / Fastest known Milky Way star offers new test of supermassive black hole's spin

Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer ...

Aug 19, 2026