Phys.org news

Phys.org / Unique instruments automate sample preparation, quality control for cryo-electron microscopy

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) can help scientists determine the three-dimensional structure of proteins in unprecedented detail. Jacques Dubochet, former group leader at EMBL, shared the 2017 Nobel Prize in chemistry ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Symbiotic partner-swapping or long-term fidelity? Partnership success between beetles and bacteria revealed

Some insects and microbes develop symbiotic partnerships that become so interdependent they can no longer survive without each other. But how specific are these heritable symbioses? Is it possible for the same species of ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Plant protein pair reveals new wood-formation mechanism

Researchers from the Biosciences Department at Durham University have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps plants control the formation of wood, a finding that could open new directions for research into plant ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Researchers find microplastics in hedgehogs—then trace them back to pet food

When colleagues and I found microplastics in hedgehog droppings, we wanted to know where they were coming from. One answer was surprisingly close to home: pet food.

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / 500-million-year fossil record reveals corals' symbiotic advantage shifted with changing environments

Coral reef ecosystems, widely seen as a climate change bellwether, are more complex than previously understood. A new international study by the universities of Bristol, Wuhan in China, and Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany reveals ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Real-time imaging reveals 'RNA hub' driving adaptive immune response

A lot of things need to go right on a molecular level for immune cells to launch an adaptive response to an infection. B cells can produce different classes of antibodies tailored for specific infections through controlled ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / DNA loops reveal how immune cells build millions of antibodies from one genome

How does your body produce millions of antibodies from one genome? New research reveals how two closely related proteins help immune cells fold DNA, connecting distant genetic pieces to create diverse antibodies that help ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Our ovary blueprint is ancient, according to sea stars

At first glance, bat sea stars, the nubbly, orange, many-footed creatures often found on the seafloor, seem about as far from humans as one can get. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Scientists have found evidence showing ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / New AI tool identifies wild animals by their unique patterns in real time

Patterns reveal the individual: A novel AI algorithm equips researchers with a powerful new tool to accurately identify individual jaguars, zebras and giraffes in real time based on their unique coat patterns. Biologists ...

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Although woodland salamanders have looked the same for millions of years, their physiology has evolved rapidly

For her doctoral dissertation, Yale's Nathalie Alomar decided to study a small amphibian that appeared to have eluded the forces of evolution. She found that there is more to its evolution than meets the eye.

Jun 23, 2026
Phys.org / Zebrafish and fruit flies share the same internal compass mechanism in a case of convergent evolution

Even in darkness, many animals retain a sense of orientation because their nervous system sustains a memory of heading encoded by the activity of head-direction (HD) cells. Animals continuously update this internal compass ...

Jun 23, 2026
Dialog / Liquid ripples rewrite 130-year-old biological classic: New reflections on the lock-and-key model

This April, when the spring breeze carried the formal acceptance notice of our paper by the Journal of the American Chemical Society to my desk, my thoughts instantly drifted back to the late Phil Geissler. A legendary physical ...

Jun 23, 2026