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. Eggs and poultry provide important sources of protein globally, driving a major industry with large economic impacts. Challenges to hatchery operations include embryo mortality, fertility, sex determination, and eggshell characteristics. These features have a substantial impact on production, but they are difficult and time-consuming to estimate. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-egg-scanning-ai-hatcheries-life.html Biotechnology Tue, 28 Apr 2026 17:30:03 EDT news696614821 The exact origin of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is still a mystery, but researchers believe they are edging closer to the source of one of the most important food staples worldwide. Using genetic studies and ancient plant remains, an international team of scientists has narrowed the location and timeline to the Neolithic period(around 8,000 years ago) in Georgia, in the South Caucasus. They present their findings in a paper published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ancient-farming-clues-expose-humanity.html Archaeology Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:40:02 EDT news696602199 NASA's Curiosity and Perseverance rovers have captured two 360-degree landscapes that highlight how the missions are revealing details of the Red Planet's formation, watery past, and potential for life. Located 2,345 miles (3,775 kilometers) apart from each other on Mars—about the distance from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C.—both rovers are exploring areas that are billions of years old. But as the nearly 15-year-old Curiosity reaches ever-younger terrain in the foothills of Mount Sharp, the 5-year-old Perseverance is venturing into some of the oldest landscapes in the entire solar system. By time-traveling in opposite directions, the rovers are filling in missing details about the planet's history. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nasa-perseverance-curiosity-panoramas-capture.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 28 Apr 2026 07:20:01 EDT news696577981 The search for next-generation electronic materials often starts with studying the Fermi surface, which serves as a map of a material's electronic structure. Its shape varies with crystal structure, composition, and electronic band arrangement, directly impacting properties such as carrier density, magnetic behavior, and spin polarization. This makes it a crucial tool for understanding and engineering new materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-machine-faster-reliable-analysis-fermi.html Condensed Matter Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:20:01 EDT news696512162 Scientists have captured the most detailed structural images to date of a specific type of protein's DNA repair process, a finding that could reveal ways to inhibit the effects of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations that heighten the risk for breast, ovarian and other cancers. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-dna-snapshots-reveal-brca-linked.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:50:01 EDT news696521641 When Mauna Loa erupted in 2022, the largest lava flow headed on a path headed directly toward Daniel K. Inouye State Highway 200, also known as Saddle Road, a critical route that carries many residents from their homes on one side to their jobs on the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-volcano-eruption-earth-venus-mauna.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:20:08 EDT news696508381 A scientist from Tokyo Metropolitan University has proposed using safety monitoring at synchrotron facilities to study the properties of dark photons, hypothetical particles proposed to explain dark matter. Calculations show that the X-ray source at these sites and a Geiger-Muller counter behind safety shielding could be used to propose limits on how strongly dark photons interact with normal photons. The experiment would not involve a dedicated facility and could run alongside other experiments. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-synchrotron-safety-dark-photons.html General Physics Mon, 27 Apr 2026 13:40:05 EDT news696506941 Scientists at Stanford University have discovered that DRT3, a unique defense system found in bacteria, creates DNA to protect against viral infections. DRT3 is made up of two different enzymes called reverse transcriptases, Drt3a and Drt3b, and a piece of noncoding RNA (ncRNA). Together, this trio makes long, double-stranded DNA consisting of alternating repeats (GT/AC). https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bacterial-defense-dna-unexpected-viruses.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:20:03 EDT news696502424 A detector buried deep in Antarctic ice has captured the first experimental evidence of a predicted but never-before-seen phenomenon: radio pulses generated when high-energy cosmic rays slam into the ice sheet and trigger particle cascades inside it. Through results published in Physical Review Letters, astronomers of the Askaryan Radio Array (ARA) Collaboration have validated a key technique, which they hope will eventually allow them to detect some of the rarest and most energetic particles in the universe. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-deep-antarctic-ice-cosmic-strange.html General Physics Sun, 26 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news696072009 Gene editing has emerged as a powerful approach for targeting the genetic causes of disease, but getting the editing machinery into the right cells efficiently, safely, and at the scale needed for therapies remains one of the biggest set of challenges in the field. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-human-cells-boost-gene-particle.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 24 Apr 2026 17:20:03 EDT news696254581 Designing molecules is one of chemistry's most complex challenges. From life-saving drugs to advanced materials, each compound requires a precise sequence of reactions. Planning these steps demands both technical knowledge and strategic insight, making it a task that often relies on years of experience. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-natural-language-ai-chemists-molecules.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:00:01 EDT news696251720 The detection and study of isotopes, atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons, could expand the scope of physics research and enable new scientific discoveries. So far, rare isotopes have been primarily detected using a technique known as accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), which accelerates atoms, to then measure their mass and charge. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-approach-ultra-rare-sextillion-isotopes.html General Physics Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:40:07 EDT news696241546 How did the earliest life on Earth build complex biological machinery with so few tools? A new study explores how the simplest building blocks of proteins—once limited to just half of today's amino acids—could still form the sophisticated structures life depends on. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-life-earliest-proteins-complex-amino.html Evolution Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:20:05 EDT news696174061 Researchers at McMaster University have developed a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of drastically speeding up drug discovery—and, in early tests, it has already designed a brand-new antibiotic. The discovery is a demonstration of how AI could dramatically improve the slow and costly search for new antimicrobial medicines, as bacteria and other microbes continue to evolve resistance to our current suite of drugs. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-antibiotic-staph-infections-exploring.html Biotechnology Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:00:05 EDT news696167822 Paleontologists from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM) have published a new study in the scientific journal Royal Society Open Science, in which they describe a new species based on a fossil skull approximately 230 million years old. The specimen was discovered within the Quarta Colônia UNESCO Global Geopark, in southern Brazil, at a fossil site that has already yielded some of the oldest dinosaurs in the world. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-brazil-unearths-bizarre-beaked-reptile.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:40:02 EDT news696164521 NASA's Curiosity rover has identified seven new organic compounds on the planet Mars, according to new research published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-nasa-curiosity-rover-ancient-life.html Astrobiology Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news696161582 New observations and simulations by a team of researchers led by MPE reveal that a massive binary star near our galaxy's center is responsible for creating a series of enigmatic gas clouds—compact gas clumps that help feed the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*. The study is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mysterious-gas-clouds-milky-black.html Astronomy Thu, 23 Apr 2026 12:00:08 EDT news696159422 A team of astronomers led by Elisabeth Matthews at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has made a discovery that highlights the limits of most current models of exoplanet atmospheres: water-ice clouds on a distant Jupiter-like exoplanet called Epsilon Indi Ab. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-astronomers-exo-jupiter-clouds.html Astrobiology Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:20:01 EDT news696075421 Cells constantly probe their environments, searching for physical cues that guide their behavior. And yet a cell's response to its environment is always biochemical, mediated by the chemistry of its internal protein machinery. So how does a cell convert mechanical information into a molecular process? It's a long-standing mystery of cell biology, with various implications for cancer and other diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-cells-mechanical-biochemical.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 22 Apr 2026 11:00:26 EDT news696069241 Although the genetic material of most living organisms is DNA, various self-replicating agents rely instead on RNA, including RNA viruses and viroids, which are infectious RNA molecules that are smaller and structurally simpler than RNA viruses. These RNA-based replicators are considered important for understanding the origin and early evolution of life. However, the distribution, diversity, and ecological range of self-replicating RNAs across different environments remain poorly understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-selfreplicating-circular-rna-persists-extreme.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 21 Apr 2026 19:20:06 EDT news696006002 Using the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), an international team of astronomers has performed radio observations of FRB 20220912A—a highly active source of repeating fast radio bursts. Results of the monitoring campaign, published April 10 on the preprint server arXiv, could help us better understand the nature of these enigmatic sources. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-chime-tracks-hyperactive-fast-radio.html Astronomy Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:40:03 EDT news695985187 Superconductors, materials that can conduct electricity with a resistance of zero, have proved to be highly promising for the development of quantum technologies, medical imaging devices, particle accelerators and other advanced technologies. These materials can be divided into two broad categories: conventional and unconventional superconductors. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-alternating-atomic-layers-enable-rare.html Superconductivity Tue, 21 Apr 2026 11:20:01 EDT news695985154 A quantum spin liquid is a phase of matter in which the magnetic moments in a material do not align or freeze, even at temperatures close to absolute zero (i.e., at 0 K). The experimental realization of this highly dynamic state could have important implications for the development of quantum computers and other technologies that operate leveraging quantum mechanical effects. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-pressure-tuned-quantum-liquid-behavior.html Condensed Matter Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:00:02 EDT news695910243 NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has uncovered a diverse mix of organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mars-rover-compounds.html Astrobiology Tue, 21 Apr 2026 05:00:03 EDT news695923621 Composed of five or more elements in nearly equal amounts, high-entropy alloys (HEAs) have emerged as promising catalysts due to their compositionally complex surfaces that can accelerate chemical reactions. Until now, scientists have not been able to precisely engineer these surface structures at the nanoscale, making it difficult to study how particle shape influences catalytic performance. Now, a study led by Northwestern University professors Chad A. Mirkin and Christopher M. Wolverton has solved that problem. The research is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-problem-high-entropy-alloy-nanoparticle.html Nanomaterials Mon, 20 Apr 2026 18:30:04 EDT news695922301 Recent findings from research we have been carrying out at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern in Geneva suggest that we might be closing in on signs of undiscovered physics. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-lhc-decay-anomaly-reveals-standard.html General Physics Mon, 20 Apr 2026 14:30:01 EDT news695913603 An international research team has rediscovered a dinosaur tracksite in the Saijrakh area of northern Mongolia. The site was originally reported about 70 years ago but had since been lost due to a lack of detailed documentation and follow-up investigation. The team conducted the first comprehensive study of the site. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-rediscovered-tracksite-reveals-large-dinosaurs.html Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 20 Apr 2026 13:50:01 EDT news695910121 Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have inspected two nearby galactic globular clusters, namely NGC 6517 and NGC 7078. The study resulted in the discovery of six new millisecond pulsars in these clusters, which are isolated and faint. The finding was detailed in a paper published April 9 on the arXiv pre-print server. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-isolated-millisecond-pulsars-fast.html Astronomy Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:20:04 EDT news695898433 Picture two materials sandwiched together. The boundary between them may appear flat, but, in reality, it is full of tiny bumps and dents. Suddenly, the materials are hit with a shockwave. If that wave hits a bump in the material interface, it slows down. If it hits a dent, it accelerates forward. This imbalance creates fast, narrow jets of material—called the Richtmyer-Meshkov (RM) instability. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-voids-fusion-stable-powerful.html General Physics Sun, 19 Apr 2026 14:00:03 EDT news695572592 Protein engineering is a field primed for artificial intelligence research. Each protein is made up of amino acids; to optimize a protein function, researchers modify proteins by switching out one of 20 different amino acids for another. For a protein that is just 50 amino acids in length, this leads to approximately 1.13x1065 potential combinations to test—that's 1 followed by 65 zeroes, or five times as many zeroes as a trillion has. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-breakthrough-generates-10m-turbocharges.html Molecular & Computational biology Sun, 19 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news695313682