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. Researchers at the University of Miami have identified a group of previously unknown viruses that bridge an evolutionary gap between viruses and cellular protein compartments, a discovery with implications for both biotechnology and scientists' understanding of the origins of life. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-newly-viruses-reveal-evolutionary-link.html Evolution Thu, 15 Oct 2026 19:40:10 EDT news711297722 RNA therapeutics open up new possibilities for the targeted and precise treatment of diseases. To ensure that RNA molecules remain stable in the body and can reliably exert their effects, they undergo specific chemical modifications. However, such modifications to the RNA backbone also occur naturally, according to research by Schraga Schwartz, a professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science (Rehovot, Israel), and Dr. Dina Grohmann, a professor at the University of Regensburg. Their research findings have now been published in the journal Cell under the title "Phosphate backbone epitranscriptomics: Discovery of natural RNA phosphorothioates and their writer machinery." https://phys.org/news/2026-10-natural-rna-modifications-archaea-mirror.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 13 Oct 2026 14:40:10 EDT news711112952 A new antiviral defense system discovered by Columbia scientists could be adapted in the future into a gene editor that slows down aging in our cells and improves cancer therapies. At the same time, the discovery also sheds light on an ancient event in evolution that may have helped set the stage for the emergence of higher organisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacterial-antiviral-defense-ancient-link.html Evolution Mon, 12 Oct 2026 18:20:02 EDT news711038641 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown microorganism that has the smallest genome ever found and may be able to replicate and express its own genetic information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tiny-marine-microbe-genetic-machinery.html Evolution Fri, 09 Oct 2026 11:00:12 EDT news710692981 Asgard archaea, our closest known microbial relatives, play a key role in current models of the origin of more complex organisms, known as eukaryotes (all animals, plants, protists and fungi). However, their biology has so far been poorly understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-asgard-archaea-motility-older-previously.html Evolution Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:00:20 EDT news709920782 In acute, life-threatening infections, rapidly characterizing the microorganisms in a patient sample can help guide diagnosis and treatment. Computational methods known as taxonomic profilers can analyze metagenome sequencing data generated from the microorganisms' genomic information and compare it with reference genomes of individual microorganisms. However, taxonomic profilers are still under development and are not yet in common use. Current methods can produce false-positive results or inaccurate abundance estimates. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microbial-dna-scarce-profiling-method.html Biotechnology Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:00:01 EDT news709827486 The origins of the earliest life on Earth, prior to the rise of oxygen and photosynthesis, remain a mystery. Graveyards in brine pools at the bottom of the Red Sea may hold some answers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-briny-death-pools-clues-early.html Earth Sciences Tue, 22 Sep 2026 13:00:01 EDT news709290788 A tiny, single-celled organism can thrive at temperatures that would kill all other known complex life. In a study published in Cell, scientists describe a new species of amoeba that can eat and reproduce in hot spring water as warm as 63°C (145°F) in California's Lassen Volcanic National Park. The amoeba can protect itself at temperatures up to 70°C (158°F) by changing shape and forming a protective outer layer. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hot-amoeba-tolerance-complex-life.html Ecology Tue, 22 Sep 2026 11:00:09 EDT news709205701 Symbiotic ammonia-oxidizing archaea in marine sponges are not strict specialists but true "flexitarians." A team led by microbiologists Bettina Glasl and Katharina Kitzinger from the University of Vienna, in collaboration with partners from Australia, has shown that, unlike their free-living relatives studied thus far, these microbes dine not only on ammonia but also on amino acids such as valine, leucine and isoleucine—and presumably do so to communicate with their animal host. The findings, published in the journal Science Advances , shed new light on one of the oldest animal-microbe symbiotic relationships on Earth and point to a previously underestimated role played by archaea. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-archaea-flexitarians-ammonia-oxidizing-microbes.html Ecology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 14:00:01 EDT news707587201 There are millions of species of bacteria and archaea on Earth, remarkably little is known about most of them. Now, researchers have mined the genomes of thousands of microorganisms preserved at the RIKEN BioResource Research Center (BRC) to find organisms that may be capable of capturing CO2. BRC, located in Tsukuba—one of Japan's largest centers of scientific research—is a unique, world-class research facility. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microbial-dark-yields-potential-carbon.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 03 Sep 2026 11:40:09 EDT news707649132 All living things have a fleet of tiny copy machines that turn instructions from DNA into RNA molecules responsible for helping build proteins that keep organisms alive. One of those nanoscale machines, called eukaryotic RNA polymerase II, performs a crucial early step required by nearly every biological process. It makes messages, copying and carrying instructions from the cell nucleus to make proteins. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-messy-life-cellular-caught-action.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 20 Aug 2026 18:00:03 EDT news706450202 A team of researchers reports that they may have found rock containing some of the earliest forms of microbial life on Earth. Their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes the biosignatures found in this 3.5-billion-year-old, carbon-rich, layered rock, called chert. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-layered-india-potential-microbial-life.html Earth Sciences Tue, 18 Aug 2026 12:30:02 EDT news706270423 A research team led by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory has developed a new material that combines inorganic material with biological components to produce hydrogen peroxide more efficiently. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-layered-nano-biohybrid-sunlight-air.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 19:20:02 EDT news705851881 Long before humans discovered biodegradable plastics, microorganisms had already invented their own. Many bacteria and archaea produce natural bioplastics called polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), storing them inside their cells as reserves of carbon and energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nature-bioplastic-fed-animals-hundreds.html Evolution Thu, 13 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news705655861 A study led by Professor Jimmy Jiujiu Jiao from the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Professor Meng Li from Shenzhen University has identified microbial fermentation as the likely main pathway for ammonium production in sediments beneath the Pearl River Delta, helping to explain the region's exceptionally high natural groundwater ammonium levels. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fermentation-emerges-key-pathway-ammonium.html Earth Sciences Mon, 10 Aug 2026 17:20:01 EDT news705593281 All living organisms need vitamin B12 to form red blood cells and DNA, as well as to build and support brain and nerve cells. But it's hard to come by: Humans don't make it. Animals don't make it. Plants don't make it. In fact, this essential nutrient is made exclusively by certain bacteria and archaea. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-phages-essential-vitamin-b12-gut.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 07 Aug 2026 13:40:06 EDT news705320644 How and where did the first forms of life arise? These are the main questions driving research at the Institute of Molecular Evolution at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). In a new publication in Science Advances, an international team led by Düsseldorf biologists uncovers pioneering insights into the network of chemical reactions that the very first cells used to make the building blocks of life and the energy sources they used to drive those reactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-life-free-cells-emerged-bacteria.html Evolution Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:00:13 EDT news705143582 A research group led by Tetsuhiro Hatakeyama from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo has revealed how a seemingly self-destructive survival strategy could persist in yeast for hundreds of millions of years. By combining population dynamics theory with comparative experimental observations, the team found that alternating periods of nutrient-rich conditions and starvation can stabilize this unusual behavior over evolutionary timescales. The findings were published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-environments-ancient-microbial-survival-strategy.html Evolution Mon, 27 Jul 2026 19:20:02 EDT news704384761 How do microorganisms orient themselves to find the optimal habitat? Scientists have thoroughly investigated so-called magnetotactic bacteria, which use the Earth's magnetic field as a biological compass. Some eukaryotic single-celled organisms—that is, more complex organisms like ciliates, which, unlike bacteria, have a cell nucleus—also possess this capability. But how they acquire it has largely remained a puzzle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unusual-bestows-magnetic-celled.html Evolution Mon, 20 Jul 2026 19:00:01 EDT news703784221 New research has uncovered the complex biological history preserved within DNA traces found on the Shroud of Turin, offering fresh insights into one of the world's most studied and debated historical artifacts. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-shroud-turin-dna-biological-history.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 20 Jul 2026 13:00:06 EDT news703770901 A research team at Marburg University has investigated one of the largest enzyme complexes found in nature to date and deciphered its remarkable structure. Under the supervision of Dr. Jan Schuller, Ph.D. student Sophia Paul from the Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) was able to characterize the so-called heterodisulfide reductase super-assembly in detail. The results of the study are now published in the journal Nature. They show how a molecular "giant" comprising hundreds of building blocks enables energy production in microorganisms. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-decoding-nature-largest-enzymes-reveals.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 08 Jul 2026 17:40:09 EDT news702737667 Scientists discovered a protein secreted by a deep-sea extremophile—an organism adapted to extreme environmental conditions—that self-assembles into a biofilm and is highly stable, boosting its potential for biomedical applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-deep-sea-extremophile-yields-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:50:01 EDT news701968261 Genes are not passed on exclusively from parents to their offspring. Some are mobile and can also jump to other species, as researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen have now shown. The direct observation of a jumping gene provides the first evidence that such genes can transfer from one species to another—from predator to prey. The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-gene-caught-species.html Evolution Sat, 20 Jun 2026 16:00:01 EDT news701017584 New antibiotic candidates for drug-resistant bacteria may reside inside prions, misfolded proteins in the brain best known for rare and fatal degenerative brain diseases. Prion and prion-like proteins may hide short peptides, called "prionins," that can kill bacteria, suggesting proteins best known for their role in neurodegeneration may contain molecular features linked to immune defense, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-reveals-unexpected-source-antibiotic.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 19 Jun 2026 15:00:04 EDT news701091662 Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered 45 new toxins produced by Salmonella bacteria, some of which are associated with foodborne infections. The study was conducted at the Center for Research in Bacterial and Bacteriophage Biology (B3 RIDC) and was published in the journal PLOS Biology. It shows that these substances primarily act in competition among microorganisms for space and resources. The study also suggests that these substances may inspire the development of new antibiotics, in-depth studies in humans and biotechnological applications in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-salmonella-genomes-reveal-previously-unknown.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:40:06 EDT news700401841 Living in the Dead Sea would be a very unpleasant experience for most creatures. With salt concentration above 30% and temperatures ranging from 10–50°C, it takes unique environmental adaptations to survive in such harsh conditions. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dead-sea-archaea-sport-tail.html Evolution Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:40:01 EDT news699696781 How did life make the leap from single cells to coordinated, multicellular organisms? And how do genetically identical cells still perform a version of that feat every time an embryo begins to take shape? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-story-multicellular-life-physics-genes.html Evolution Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:20:10 EDT news699616835 Advances in DNA sequencing have expanded our view of the microbial world, but the inability to cultivate most microbes has been a major constraint. Now, a systematic, predictive framework that combines existing genomic and computational modeling approaches to accelerate the discovery and cultivation of novel prokaryotic taxa has been proposed by KAUST researchers, in collaboration with an international team of scientists. The work is published in The ISME Journal. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-metagenomics-ai-uncultivated-bacteria-archaea.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 11 May 2026 18:20:07 EDT news697735861 In a new paper, an international team led by scientists from Charles University, Czechia, has brought evidence linking widespread release of methane (CH₄)—a strong greenhouse gas—from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) to a warmer period 9–4 thousand years ago. CH₄ has been detected at retreating glacier margins worldwide, raising concerns about potential climate feedbacks associated with their widespread retreat, but this is the first time that a study has systematically investigated the whole margin of an entire ice sheet. The study is published in the journal Nature Geoscience. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-subglacial-ch-export-greenland-ice.html Earth Sciences Tue, 05 May 2026 18:50:01 EDT news697217762 A study conducted in the Brazilian state of Amazonas has demonstrated that small amounts of Amazonian dark earth (ADE)—an anthropogenic soil created by ancient Amazonian populations—can increase the height and diameter of the pink trumpet tree (Handroanthus avellanedae) by up to 55% and 88%, respectively. This tree also occurs in the Atlantic Forest. The research is published in the journal BMC Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-soil-fertilization-amazonian-dark-earth.html Plants & Animals Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:40:06 EDT news696612241