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. When the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 turned our world upside down, mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 brought a breakthrough. Their success established modified mRNA as a powerful foundation for vaccines and opened the way for new mRNA-based technologies, with potential applications ranging from vaccines against other infectious diseases to cancer immunotherapy. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sequence-mrna-protein-errors-vaccine.html Biotechnology Tue, 13 Oct 2026 16:40:07 EDT news711120361 An international research team led by TU Darmstadt Professor Beatrix Süß, working in close collaboration with partners in Germany and Denmark, has elucidated how an RNA switch newly developed at TU Darmstadt recognizes the antibiotic doxycycline and thereby selectively activates or deactivates gene expression. This makes doxycycline a promising basis for synthetic biology and, potentially, for gene therapies as well. The team recently published its findings in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-small-rna-huge-potential-possibilities.html Biotechnology Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:02:08 EDT news711110941 MIT engineers have developed a new way to program natural killer (NK) immune cells to target cancerous T cells or T cells that have become autoreactive, leading to diseases such as lymphoma and autoimmune hepatitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanoparticle-reprograms-nk-immune-cells.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:20:16 EDT news711107494 The cells of higher organisms such as mammals, flies and fungi enclose their genetic material in a nucleus. A nuclear envelope, consisting of two stacked membranes, protects it. For the cell to survive, the nucleus must constantly exchange molecules with the rest of the cell. This exchange relies on channels called nuclear pores, which act as selective gates that transport proteins or messenger RNA in or out. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-cells-center-accessible.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 13 Oct 2026 09:20:08 EDT news711099061 When a person falls and gets a cut or a scrape, they often use hydrogen peroxide to clean the wound. This molecular compound is also produced within our cells, helping our immune system build its defenses against harmful bacteria or other pathogens. Hydrogen peroxide is produced inside plants, too, where it acts as a messenger, telling cells to beef up a plant's defenses when it is stressed, wounded or under attack. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-tiny-channels-cells-wound-hydrogen.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:50:01 EDT news710514961 Francis Halzen won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for his efforts to demystify a rare group of neutrinos, tiny cosmic particles that scientists believe offer clues to how the universe evolved. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-francis-halzen-nobel-prize-physics.html General Physics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 06:12:06 EDT news710485847 When you walk into a bakery and smell fresh cookies, the enticing smell draws you in. After you eat a handful of cookies, though, the same smell likely doesn't send you back for more. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis sought to determine the biological mechanisms in the brain that controllably alters odor-evoked behavior by using an unlikely model—a locust. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-locust-neuromodulators-odor.html Plants & Animals Mon, 05 Oct 2026 18:40:10 EDT news710440622 Recently, spatial omics has become a powerful tool, enabling researchers to see not only what molecules are present in a tissue, but also where they are located and how they are organized across cells, tissue structures and local microenvironments. This spatial context has deepened our understanding of cancer, neurobiology and immunology. Yet as the field advances, an important question remains: How many of these powerful technologies are ready for routine clinical use? https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoneedle-arrays-rna-fresh-tissue.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 04 Oct 2026 17:00:06 EDT news709827261 Scientists at Cornell University have found a human genetic element in a poxvirus and discovered that it is both an important gene for brain function and a jumping gene capable of moving and inserting itself into genomes. A study published in Science reports that the gene, called BC200, combines characteristics never before seen together. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-human-gene-poxvirus.html Evolution Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:40:01 EDT news709544957 A study conducted by the University of Liège and Rockefeller University reveals, with near-atomic precision, the three-dimensional structure and function of a gigantic molecular machine essential to the survival of trypanosomatid parasites, which cause serious diseases in humans, animals and plants. The work has been published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-snapshots-reveal-key-molecular-machine.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 05:00:05 EDT news709292041 A synthetic biology technology has been developed that converts easily degraded messenger RNA (mRNA) into a ring-shaped form inside microbial cells, increasing protein production. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-circular-mrna-cell-factories-protein.html Biotechnology Mon, 21 Sep 2026 19:40:06 EDT news709221963 During infection, bacteria encounter rapidly changing and stressful environments inside the body. To understand how they adapt, researchers often measure messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries information from genes that can be translated into proteins. While mRNA levels are widely used to monitor bacterial responses, proteins carry out much of the work inside the cell and are influenced by processes that occur after RNA has been produced. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-stress-bacterial-rna-proteins-stories.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 21 Sep 2026 13:00:12 EDT news709212121 Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is best known for carrying genetic instructions from DNA to the cellular machinery that makes proteins. But all RNA molecules have another, less appreciated property: They are naturally sticky. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-sticky-situation-cells-messenger-rnas.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 15 Sep 2026 13:40:10 EDT news708691081 Research underway in the lab of Rebecca Alexander, a professor in Wake Forest University's Department of Chemistry, is shedding light on an unusual human bacterium, Mycoplasma penetrans. Alexander's work to understand how and why this unique pathogen acts as it does could one day lead to new classes of drugs that better target illnesses associated with this particular pathogen, as well as others that act similarly. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-unusual-bacterium-penetrates-human-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 16:20:01 EDT news708262168 Mercury's surface is riddled with wrinkles, evidence of a once-larger planet that has shrunk over time. A new study finds that Mercury may have contracted 10% to 30% more than previously thought—a loss of nearly 12 miles (19 kilometers) of total diameter since the planet formed—due to debris from impact craters obscuring signs of the planet's shrinking. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mercury-thought.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 10 Sep 2026 09:00:05 EDT news707736901 Every cell relies on ribosomes, the molecular machines that read genetic instructions and use them to assemble proteins. A cell needs thousands of types of proteins at any one time, so ribosomes must be generalists, capable of using instructions to produce any protein. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rewire-ribosomes-specialize-protein.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 08 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news708105962 As the BepiColombo mission prepares to enter the final phase of its journey to Mercury, a series of studies conducted by researchers at the University of Liège and KU Leuven sheds new light on the early stages of the evolution of the planet closest to the sun. Using experimental petrology, the researchers are reconstructing in the laboratory the formation of Mercury's core, the crystallization of its magma ocean and the formation of its mantle. The studies are published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Nature Communications and Advances in Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-mercury-graphite-crust-core.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 04 Sep 2026 16:00:01 EDT news707746443 Two Mercury-bound spacecraft left their mother ship behind on Thursday and headed down the home stretch of their nearly decade-long voyage to the solar system's smallest and closest-to-the-sun planet. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-pair-spacecraft-closer-mercury-decade.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:30:02 EDT news707656831 When plants are attacked by herbivores or pathogens, they must respond rapidly while also preparing for potential future attacks. Calcium, a cellular second messenger, and the plant hormone jasmonic acid play important roles in this response. Within seconds of an injury, the plant generates calcium waves that relay information about the attack. At the same time, the synthesis of jasmonic acid is initiated in the chloroplast, triggering, through several intermediate steps, the expression of defense genes in the cell nucleus. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-important-role-plastid-ion-channels.html Plants & Animals Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:40:04 EDT news707408983 While quantum computing could be the future, it is currently plagued by finicky hardware. To make the technology practical, researchers must demonstrate that it consistently and continuously works and performs at scale. In a new study, published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and the Ion Storage Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colorado, created a robust process for entangling trapped-ion qubits. The result means better building blocks for ion-based quantum computers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ramped-fields-robust-entanglement-ion.html Quantum Physics Wed, 26 Aug 2026 18:20:06 EDT news706969261 When a cell gets ready to divide, it shuts down its gene-reading machinery almost entirely. For decades, the mechanism behind that shutdown was only partially understood. A new study co-led by Alarcón and Lilian Kabeche, associate professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale School of Medicine, identifies a missing piece: an enzyme best known for tagging RNA molecules that turns out to be wired into the cell division machinery itself. The findings, recently published in Molecular Cell, may point toward new cancer therapies. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-cell-division-cancer-treatments.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 17:20:05 EDT news706966931 Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have identified a potential new target to prevent the spread of Chagas disease. The parasitic infection is transmitted through the bite of the kissing bug in Central and South America and, more recently, in the United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-chagas-parasite-survival-antimalarial-style.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:40:06 EDT news706961281 In a new research report, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have developed a technology that allows them to capture a 3D molecular "snapshot" of hundreds of hair follicles as they develop and then reconstruct the fourth dimension—time—to create a stop-motion animation of how this organ forms. The research was published in the journal Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-scientists-hair-follicle-formation-spacetime.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 21 Aug 2026 16:20:01 EDT news706536422 A new study from researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has uncovered a previously unknown consequence of viral infection: Too much RNA inside a cell can disrupt its ability to produce energy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-rna-starve-cells-energy.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 19 Aug 2026 18:30:03 EDT news706379761 A research team led by Director Kim V. Narry at the Center for RNA Research within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has discovered compact viral RNA elements that can make mRNA more stable and increase protein production. These elements could provide a simple way to develop longer-lasting and more efficient mRNA technologies for vaccines and other RNA-based therapeutics. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-stable-rna-elements-possibilities-mrna.html Biotechnology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 13:20:04 EDT news705931142 Mitochondria are often called the powerhouses of the cell. But their ancient origins may also make them drivers of inflammation. Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have discovered that proteins released from mitochondria can activate the immune system in a similar way to invading bacteria. The findings suggest that remnants of mitochondria's evolutionary past may contribute to inflammation in infections and autoimmune disorders. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-mitochondrial-proteins-trigger-inflammation-mimicking.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 11 Aug 2026 15:50:01 EDT news705680101 Verheij syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by the impairment of splicing, a critical process in RNA processing. Using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging have demonstrated that this disruption affects metabolic pathways that rely on vitamin B12. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-vitamin-b12-developmental-defects-verheij.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:20:04 EDT news705581641 If you ask Vijay Parashar, associate professor of medical and molecular sciences (MMSC) at the University of Delaware College of Health Sciences, human bodies are bags of bacteria. "It sounds gross, but not all bacteria are bad; most of them are good. The trouble starts when the bad bacteria learn how to outsmart antibiotics." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bacterial-enzyme-weaken-antibiotic-defenses.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 19:20:01 EDT news705254041 The human genome contains more than 20,000 genes. However, at any given time and in a given cell, only a fraction are active. Researchers from EMBL Heidelberg's Krebs Group have developed an innovative experimental approach to understand how cells determine which genes to turn on and when. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-genetic-tool-uncover-logic-gene.html Biotechnology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:00:02 EDT news704723655 Poxviruses have a long history in human disease as well as medicine: The first-ever vaccine was developed to protect against smallpox, which has since been eradicated. Despite this, scientists still don't fully understand how poxviruses infect and replicate inside our cells. Recent outbreaks of mpox highlight an urgent need to better understand poxvirus biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncovering-poxvirus-portal-complex.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:00:01 EDT news704643481