https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Spotted lanternflies are adapting to the pressures of city life such as heat, pollution, and pesticides, according to genomic analyses of the invasive insects in the US and their native China. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, show how urbanization may be shaping the spotted lanternfly's spread into new environments. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cities-primed-lanternflies.html Evolution Wed, 04 Feb 2026 09:27:34 EST news689419622 Cornell researchers have found that a new DNA sequencing technology can be used to study how transposons move within and bind to the genome. Transposons play critical roles in immune response, neurological function and genetic evolution, and implications of the finding include agricultural advancements and understanding disease development and treatment. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-genome-hidden-dna-sequencing-technology.html Biotechnology Fri, 21 Nov 2025 13:23:04 EST news682953781 Young umbrella acacia trees in Africa survive severe drought by putting their natural processes into overdrive when water is in short supply, prioritizing continued growth over water conservation, new research shows. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-africa-acacias-broke-survive-drought.html Plants & Animals Thu, 30 Oct 2025 09:25:28 EDT news681035124 The microbiome—the trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live quietly in our body—plays a crucial role in shaping human health by providing a variety of micronutrients necessary for vital functions. But these tiny microorganisms can provide even more extraordinary benefits by reaching deep inside cells to accurately decode the genetic information that makes proteins, the building blocks of life. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-microbiome-metabolites-mammalian-cell-growth.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Oct 2025 10:12:04 EDT news680951521 Genetic editing holds promise to treat incurable diseases, but the most popular method—CRISPR—sometimes does more harm than good. A new study from University of California San Diego and Yale University researchers highlights an innovative alternative approach that may be safer. The study was published in Nature Chemical Biology on Sept. 18, 2025. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-small-nuclear-rna-base-safer.html Biotechnology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:57:04 EDT news677408222 Researchers from UConn's College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR) and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) have demonstrated that a novel protein-based nanoparticle can make mRNA vaccines more effective to tackle a troublesome pathogen in chickens. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-poultry-disease-mrna-nanoparticle-approach.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 05 Jun 2025 09:35:27 EDT news668334923 Researchers have developed the world's first near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent nanosensor capable of real-time, non-destructive and species-agnostic detection of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)—the primary bioactive auxin hormone that controls the way plants develop, grow and respond to stress. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-universal-nanosensor-enables-real-destructive.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 May 2025 11:19:04 EDT news666958741 Scientists have discovered how plants adapt their root systems in drought conditions to grow steeper into the soil to access deeper water reserves. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-hormones-roots-deeper-potential-strategy.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 10 Jan 2025 13:14:03 EST news655737241 Researchers have shown how genetic defects in Toxoplasma gondii are rescued if co-infected with normal parasites, thanks to supportive secreted proteins. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-genetic-defects-toxoplasma-infection.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 10 Dec 2024 11:15:51 EST news653051747 Endosymbiosis is a fascinating biological phenomenon in which an organism lives inside another. Such an unusual relationship is often beneficial for both parties. Even in our bodies, we find remnants of such cohabitation: mitochondria evolved from an ancient endosymbiosis. Long ago, bacteria entered other cells and stayed. This coexistence laid the foundation for mitochondria and thus the cells of plants, animals, and fungi. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-scientists-bacteria-fungi-endosymbiosis.html Ecology Wed, 02 Oct 2024 13:17:38 EDT news647093852 Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and collaborating institutions have discovered that a protein called hnRNPM helps protect the integrity of the process cells use to make proteins. hnRNPM works by preventing the cell from making mistakes while it is putting together the different components leading to newly produced proteins. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-hnrnpm-cellular-protein-production.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 May 2024 11:00:02 EDT news636193869 Researchers who work with tiny drug carriers known as lipid nanoparticles have developed a new type of material capable of reaching the lungs and the eyes, an important step toward genetic therapy for hereditary conditions like cystic fibrosis and inherited vision loss. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-lipid-nanoparticles-genetic-treatments-hereditary.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 04 Mar 2024 17:18:03 EST news628795081 Mimicking sugar structures in plants plays a crucial role in the development of effective vaccines against the stomach worm Ostertagia ostertagi. This has been demonstrated by Ruud Wilbers of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) together with researchers from Ghent University and Leiden University Medical Center with a proof-of-concept study. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-vaccine-cow-parasite-modification.html Veterinary medicine Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:09:04 EST news620413741 The research team of Professor Petra Beli and their collaborators have discovered that aldehydes, a type of toxic chemical produced by the body after drinking alcohol, damage cells by creating chemical crosslinks between RNA and proteins, thereby interfering with protein production. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-stress-response-pathway-rna-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 22 Nov 2023 12:59:03 EST news619880341 UCLA researchers have developed a new treatment method using a tiny nanocapsule to help boost the immune response, making it easier for the immune system to fight and kill solid tumors. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-drug-filled-nanocapsule-immunotherapy-effective-mice.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 11 Oct 2023 14:00:02 EDT news616237180 During the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical spectrum observed among people infected with SARS-CoV-2 ranged from asymptomatic carriage to death. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS and the Collège de France, in collaboration with researchers around the world, have investigated the extent and drivers of differences in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 across populations from Central Africa, Western Europe and East Asia. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-sars-cov-history-human-populations-immune.html Evolution Sat, 26 Aug 2023 10:50:01 EDT news612110523 Biologist Dr. Wenjing Qi from the University of Freiburg has discovered a genetic long-term effect in nematodes that influences the body's stress response. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-stress-health-benefits.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:26:02 EDT news609585959 Antibiotic resistance is a global health threat. In 2019 alone, an estimated 1.3 million deaths were attributed to antibiotic resistant bacterial infections worldwide. Looking to contribute a solution to this growing problem, researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have been studying the process that drives antibiotic resistance at the molecular level. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-uncover-antibiotic-resistance.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:41:04 EDT news599485262 UT Southwestern biochemist Zhijian "James" Chen, Ph.D., famously identified the cGAS enzyme pathway that alerts the human immune system to disease-causing invaders like viruses. Since then, researchers have found that cGAS signaling is an ancient, conserved defense strategy stretching from bacteria to mammals. A new study from the Chen lab published in Nature reports a novel mechanism bacteria use to enhance the effectiveness of the cGAS-mediated immune response. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-mechanism-ancient-pathway-immune-response.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 01 Mar 2023 09:39:04 EST news596885939 In the 1950s, the geneticist J.B.S. Haldane attributed the maintenance or persistence of the mutation responsible for anomalies in red blood cells commonly observed in Africa to the protection these anomalies provided against malaria, an endemic infection that claims millions of lives. This theory suggested that pathogens are among the strongest selective pressures faced by humans. Several population genetics studies subsequently confirmed the theory. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-paleogenomics-elucidate-years-immune-evolution.html Evolution Fri, 13 Jan 2023 12:01:06 EST news592833660 Researchers from Cleveland Clinic's Florida Research and Innovation Center (FRIC) found that disruption of a cellular structure, known as the actin cytoskeleton, is a "priming signal" for the body to respond to a virus. These findings, published in Cell this week, potentially lay the groundwork for development of new anti-viral vaccines and treatments. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-triggering-human-immune-response.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 15 Sep 2022 13:27:28 EDT news582467240 The immune system is under the constant challenge of specifically detecting dangerous microbes to remove them. Dr. Andrea Puhar and her team at The Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine Sweden (MIMS) at Umeå University, discovered that gut cells sense harmful bacteria through the mechanical force exerted on their cell surface during bacterial invasion. A protein called PIEZO1, which is able to sense mechanical signals, is necessary to detect invading bacteria. Activation of PIEZO1 during infection triggers a protective immune response. The study is now published in the scientific journal Cell Reports. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-physical-bacterial-infection-immune-response.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Aug 2022 08:58:48 EDT news579427124 Northwestern Medicine investigators have discovered novel mechanisms that regulate a cell's response to molecular stressors, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-explore-cellular-response-stress.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 21 Jul 2022 08:30:03 EDT news577611001 Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen have discovered how benign strains of Pseudomonas protect against their harmful bacterial relatives. The study, now published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, shows that the coexistence of beneficial and pathogenic Pseudomonas on Arabidopsis thaliana improves plant health, but that the exact extent depends on the genetic makeup of both the plant and the microbes. The findings could help to design natural alternatives to synthetic pesticides. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-enemy-microbes-pathogens.html Plants & Animals Fri, 25 Feb 2022 09:10:01 EST news565002020 New research by a team of University of Florida investigators, and others, provides evidence that host immunity drives evolution of the dengue virus. The work, published today in Science, retrospectively analyzes two decades of dengue virus genetic variation from Thailand, alongside population-level measures of infection and immunity. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-host-immunity-viral-evolution-dengue.html Evolution Thu, 18 Nov 2021 14:00:06 EST news556443247 Understanding how plants respond to stressful environmental conditions is crucial to developing effective strategies for protecting important agricultural crops from a changing climate. New research led by Carnegie's Zhiyong Wang, Shouling, Xu, and Yang Bi reveals an important process by which plants switch between amplified and dampened stress responses. Their work is published by Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nutrient-sensing-abilities-modulate-response-environmental.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 11 Feb 2021 14:59:41 EST news532277974 The American lobster, which supports the most valuable fishery in North America, may be more susceptible to the effects of climate change than previously thought, according to a new study published in Ecology and Evolution. This finding could help fishery managers anticipate the long-term effects of climate change for one the nation's most precious natural resources. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-illuminates-lobsters-genetic-response-climate.html Plants & Animals Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:33:41 EST news531059612 A research team co-led by a scientist at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a method to study how HIV mutates to escape the immune system in multiple patients, which could inform HIV vaccine design. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-method-mutations-complex-evolving-populations.html Biotechnology Mon, 30 Nov 2020 12:26:33 EST news525961587 Researchers at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have discovered a link between defensive responses in plants and the beautiful but devastating crop parasite witchweed. Published in Nature, the new study shows that both parasitic and non-parasitic plants can detect and react to a class of organic compounds called quinones. While parasitic plants sense quinones in their prey and use it to invade, quinones trigger defensive responses in non-parasitic plants that can protect them from bacteria and other microbes. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-parasitic-crops-defending-microbes.html Plants & Animals Wed, 02 Sep 2020 11:00:01 EDT news518260790 University of East Anglia scientists have helped find a way to control different plant processes—such as when they grow—using nothing but colored light. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-reveals-power.html Plants & Animals Mon, 29 Jun 2020 11:00:11 EDT news512645125