Phys.org news

Phys.org / AI models atom movement to predict solid-state reaction pathways, including impurities, in minutes

A research team at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has successfully demonstrated an AI modeling approach that accurately and rapidly predicts how reactions between solid materials ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Cells of the same age can follow sharply different biological aging paths

New research reveals that cells of the same chronological age can follow dramatically different biological aging paths, offering new insights into cancer, neurodegeneration and the fundamental biology of aging. Rather than ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Humpback whales match song themes to dive phases, tags reveal

For male humpback whales, singing is serious business. Their haunting, complex songs can last for hours and travel for miles underwater, playing a central role in reproduction during the winter breeding season. But despite ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Nanopore method improves detection of cyanobacteria toxins in lake water

Cyanobacterial blooms, like the ones that occur in Lake Geneva, are rapid, dense growths of photosynthetic bacteria in fresh and marine waters that can threaten the health of swimmers and their pets.

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Kids who start social media earlier may do worse at school

Students who open a personal social media account earlier in adolescence appear to perform worse on later standardized tests, according to a study in Nature Human Behaviour based on 5,227 Italian students. The authors speculate ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Over 100 South American lakes could become climate-change early-warning observatories

More than 100 shallow lakes stretching over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) along the Atlantic coast of southern Brazil and Uruguay could become one of the world's most important natural laboratories for understanding how climate ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Scientists watch, molecule by molecule, as cell helpers rescue problem proteins

University of Wollongong (UOW) scientists have uncovered, for the first time, exactly how two of the cell's "helper" proteins operate as a rescue crew for misfolded proteins, a discovery that sheds new light on the molecular ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Tiny predatory bacteria help protect endangered Caribbean corals

A microscopic predator may offer a new way to protect some of the Caribbean's most endangered corals. Georgia Tech researchers found that tiny predatory bacteria can halt the spread of a destructive coral disease by hunting ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Ten viral genome regions may explain why deadly chicken virus evades vaccines

A highly contagious herpes virus causes Marek's disease, a deadly illness that mainly infects chickens. While it does not make people sick, the virus causes tumors and paralysis in chickens and, if unchecked, can spread rapidly ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / How the brain helps protect fertility from heat-induced damage

As global temperatures continue to rise, scientists are racing to understand why heat so profoundly threatens fertility across the animal kingdom. A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and collaborators has ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Ultrafast X-ray flashes partially reverse the damage they cause, enabling brighter, more accurate imaging

The interaction between X-rays and matter can be actively controlled, according to an international research team led by the University of Hamburg and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that has succeeded in producing bright ...

Aug 3, 2026
Phys.org / Genetic analysis identifies a distinct Risso's dolphin population around British Isles

Risso's dolphins around the British Isles are part of a single population—genetically distinct from those elsewhere in the Atlantic, new research shows. Scientists studied the DNA of dolphins that stranded in England, Scotland ...

Aug 3, 2026