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. How are superconductivity and magnetism connected? A puzzling relation between magnetism and superconductivity in a quantum material has lingered for decades—now, a study from TU Wien offers a surprising new explanation. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-superconductivity-exposes-altermagnetism-symmetries.html Condensed Matter Tue, 03 Feb 2026 09:13:39 EST news689332382 When DNA breaks, cells must repair it accurately to prevent harmful mutations. Researchers have discovered that during a key repair process called homologous recombination, the cell uses loops in its DNA structure to speed up the search for an intact copy of the damaged region. These loops act like shortcuts, allowing the repair machinery to scan along the chromosome in a directed way rather than randomly. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-role-dna-loops-genetic.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 04 Dec 2025 14:00:03 EST news683998196 After a finite number of divisions, cells simply give up. As each round of replication trims their telomeres—the protective caps at the chromosome ends—those caps eventually become too short to prevent chromosome ends from being recognized as DNA breaks. As a result, cells permanently arrest, a phenomenon known as replicative senescence. This telomere-dependent limit to cell divisions prevents early cancer clones from progressing into frank cancers and constitutes a powerful tumor suppressor pathway. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-scientists-cellular-aging.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:22:35 EST news683821321 Every new life begins after a genetic shuffle. When organisms make eggs or sperm, maternal and paternal chromosomes pair up and swap pieces of DNA in a process called crossing over. This exchange is essential: without at least one swap per chromosome pair, fertility and healthy chromosome numbers are at risk. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-molecular-zipper-dna-link-team.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 25 Sep 2025 10:09:03 EDT news678013741 A group of scientists has sequenced the genome of a man who was buried in Egypt around 4,500 years ago. The study offers rare insight into the genetic ancestry of early Egyptians and reveals links to both ancient North Africa and Mesopotamia, which includes modern day Iraq and parts of Syria, Turkey and Iran. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-decoded-oldest-genetic-egyptian-years.html Molecular & Computational biology Sat, 06 Sep 2025 09:40:01 EDT news676121903 A new strategy for strengthening polymer materials could lead to more durable plastics and cut down on plastic waste, according to researchers at MIT and Duke University. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ai-uncovers-molecules-stronger-longer.html Polymers Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:16:53 EDT news673597005 In the world of professional ballet, every movement is scrutinized, every line of the body judged. For many dancers, the pursuit of perfection is not just a goal, it's also a survival strategy. But what happens when that pursuit becomes a trap? https://phys.org/news/2025-06-pirouettes-pressure-ballet-perfectionism-problem.html Social Sciences Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:00:01 EDT news669386185 A global oceans summit wrapped up Friday with world leaders taking major steps toward marine protection and vowing a showdown when nations meet to negotiate rules for deep-sea mining next month. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-nations-advance-ocean-vow-defend.html Environment Sat, 14 Jun 2025 04:20:03 EDT news669093117 The promise of genome editing to help understand human diseases and create new therapies is vast, but technological limitations have limited advancement of the field. While existing editing technologies can alter or delete single base pairs within the human genome's 3 billion base pairs, they are limited in their ability to alter multiple locations simultaneously—and can sometimes incorrectly alter neighboring DNA bases. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-genome-precision-human-gene.html Biotechnology Tue, 10 Jun 2025 12:05:03 EDT news668775901 Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in London and Linköping University in Sweden have discovered how cells prevent their chromosomes from mistakenly fusing together. Two proteins, TRF2 and RAP1, work together to block a repair process that would otherwise treat the natural ends of chromosomes as broken DNA and try to fix them. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-evolutionarily-protein-chromosomes-fusing.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 May 2025 07:00:01 EDT news665657709 Genetically speaking, it's a bacterium's worst-case scenario: During transcription, newly minted RNA sticks to its DNA template, forming a 3-stranded structure known as an R-loop. While these structures have some important roles to play in a cell, R-loops in the wrong place at the wrong time can be disastrous, leading to DNA breaks, mutations, and cell death. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-mechanism-genome-stability.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 14 Jan 2025 11:34:04 EST news656076842 A team experimentally observed higher-order and fractional discrete time crystals (DTCs) in periodically driven Rydberg atomic dissipative systems. Their study was published in Nature Communications. The team was led by Prof. Ding Dongsheng from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-higher-fractional-discrete-crystals-floquet.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 02 Dec 2024 12:50:01 EST news652365663 Donor-advised funds, or DAFs, are financial accounts funded by donors to support future charitable work. This kind of giving differs greatly from charitable giving as a whole because it's much more likely to involve donations of assets like stock, real estate or cryptocurrencies that have gained in value. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-donor-funds-lot-assets-cash.html Economics & Business Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:10:02 EST news651161261 Meiotic recombination generates genetic diversity and promotes proper chromosomal segregation of parental chromosomes. This process requires a set of recombinases polymerized on single-stranded (ss) DNAs called the nucleoprotein filament to undergo homology search and strand exchange between homologous DNAs. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-reveal-key-mechanism-dna-recombination.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Oct 2024 14:38:25 EDT news647271503 Genome instability can cause numerous diseases. Cells have effective DNA repair mechanisms at their disposal. A research team at the University of Würzburg has now gained new insights into the DNA damage response. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-pathway-insights-cells-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Oct 2024 09:51:55 EDT news647254303 Phones can be useful tools in classrooms to remind students of deadlines or encourage more exchange between students and teachers. At the same time, they can be distracting. Students report using their phones for non-academic purposes as often as 10 times a day. Thus, in many classrooms, phones are not allowed. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-minute-students-focused-class.html Education Wed, 02 Oct 2024 00:00:01 EDT news646991277 Saskatchewan education sector workers are experiencing disturbing levels of workplace violence and harassment, says a new report spotlighting a situation that has reached "a breaking point," according to its authors. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-violence-students-overwhelmingly-job-saskatchewan.html Education Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:20:07 EDT news646413603 University of Adelaide researchers have developed a new theoretical model to predict the distances ocean waves can travel to break up sea ice. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-importance-climate-effect-sea-ice.html Earth Sciences Tue, 24 Sep 2024 10:12:04 EDT news646391522 Americans give about a half-trillion dollars a year to charity. That money helps fund services for the homeless, fight diseases, run museums and other organizations doing worthwhile activities. Some donations, such as those supporting religious congregations, are expenditures that the U.S. government couldn't legally make even if it wanted to. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-trump-tax-20b-reduction-charitable.html Economics & Business Wed, 11 Sep 2024 12:35:02 EDT news645276901 When teens see risk behavior such as drinking, smoking or drug use in movies or series, they sometimes find it difficult to define whether it's realistic or not. They recognize stereotypes but cannot always interpret it critically. This is according to research by Anne Sadza of Radboud University. "By talking to teenagers about the risk behavior they see, you can help start a critical process." https://phys.org/news/2024-08-teens-behavior-movies-series-critical.html Social Sciences Thu, 29 Aug 2024 10:33:41 EDT news644146417 Researchers at the University of Toronto have discovered a DNA repair mechanism that advances understanding of how human cells stay healthy, and which could lead to new treatments for cancer and premature aging. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-uncover-human-dna-nuclear-metamorphosis.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 17 Apr 2024 11:10:01 EDT news632570600 Millions of people around the world will pause on Monday, at least for a moment, to mark Earth Day. It's an annual event founded by people who hoped to stir activism to clean up and preserve a planet that is now home to some 8 billion humans and assorted trillions of other organisms. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-earth-day-senator-idea-years.html Environment Wed, 17 Apr 2024 09:58:00 EDT news632566675 Numerous anti-cancer drugs function by targeting the DNA within cancerous cells, halting their proliferation. Yet, cancer cells occasionally develop mechanisms to repair the damage inflicted by these drugs, diminishing their effectiveness. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-natural-compound-sea-squirts-combats.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 12 Mar 2024 10:11:19 EDT news629457076 As a sociologist who studies how people think and feel about work, I've been struck by the unflattering cultural narrative that has intensified around work in recent years. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-debunks-unhappy-worker-narrative.html Social Sciences Mon, 12 Feb 2024 12:10:06 EST news626962201 Our DNA undergoes constant damage and repair. The most severe damage happens when the DNA breaks into two pieces, known as a double-strand DNA break. It creates two loose DNA ends that, if left unfixed, can lead to cell death. Researchers from the Biotechnology Center (BIOTEC) of the Dresden University of Technology have now answered the long-standing question of what keeps the broken DNA ends from being separated. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-protein-superglue-crucial-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Feb 2024 09:10:27 EST news626433024 The gene editing technique CRISPR/Cas9 has allowed researchers to make precise and impactful changes to an organism's DNA to fix mutations that cause genetic disease. However, the CRISPR/Cas9 method can also result in unintended DNA mutations that may have negative effects. Recently, researchers in Japan have developed a new gene editing technique that is as effective as CRISPR/Cas9 while significantly reducing these unintended mutations. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-nicer-approach-genome.html Biotechnology Fri, 15 Sep 2023 05:00:01 EDT news613928282 Spring break can be a good time for ski trips—the days are longer and a little warmer. But if people are booking their spring skiing trips the fall before, it's hard to know which areas will have the best snow coverage later in the season. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-fall-season-total-snowpack-western.html Earth Sciences Tue, 12 Sep 2023 09:00:01 EDT news613727473 In a recent Science paper, researchers led by JILA and NIST Fellow Jun Ye, along with collaborators JILA and NIST Fellow David Nesbitt, scientists from the University of Nevada, Reno, and Harvard University, observed novel ergodicity-breaking in C60, a highly symmetric molecule composed of 60 carbon atoms arranged on the vertices of a "soccer ball" pattern (with 20 hexagon faces and 12 pentagon faces). https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ergodicity.html General Physics Fri, 18 Aug 2023 13:08:03 EDT news611582881 Chemotherapy and radiotherapy aim to destroy cancer cells by inducing DNA double-strand breaks—damage that, once inflicted, usually causes the cells to die. But damage to a cell's genetic material also activates a signaling pathway called IKK/NF-κB that helps prevent cell death, thus limiting the success of these treatments in patients. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-compounds-cancer-cells-route.html Biochemistry Thu, 27 Jul 2023 13:33:00 EDT news609683577 Every day, millions of cells die in our body. Cells do not simply burst at the end of their lives but rather, a specific protein serves as a breaking point for cell membrane rupture. Researchers at the University of Basel have now been able to elucidate the exact mechanism at the atomic level. They have published their results in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-protein-cell-membrane-rupture-death.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 05 Jun 2023 09:28:53 EDT news605176127