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. Adjusting to a new time zone or work schedule can leave the body's internal clock out of sync for days, contributing to sleep disruption, metabolic changes and other health consequences. Researchers at Rice University and Northwestern University have developed an implantable cell therapy that may help the body adapt more quickly to these disruptions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jet-lag-cells-circadian-adjustment.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:00:02 EDT news705932281 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 A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exposure to a specific pathogen. To develop a vaccine that offers long-term protection from HIV, it's essential to promote a long-lasting immune response in which immune cells and antibodies prepared to combat the virus persist within the body. This has inspired scientists to find ways to alter vaccine structure to increase the duration and persistence of the immune response. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fine-tune-molecular-vaccines-immune.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:10:02 EDT news705858421 Researchers have developed a potential new approach against the highly drug-resistant hospital fungus Candida auris. They discovered that a synthetic sugar molecule that is a natural part of the fungus's cell wall, but is not present in humans, could underpin a future vaccine, develop protective antibodies and form the basis of a prototype rapid diagnostic test. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sugar-molecule-dangerous-hospital-fungus.html Biochemistry Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news705835595 Some cynodonts may have been giving birth to live young much sooner in evolutionary history than previously assumed. A new Frontiers in Mammal Science study has offered the first compelling evidence that cynodonts may have been viviparous—a reproductive mode characterized by live birth. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-million-year-fossil-story-mammalian.html Evolution Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:02 EDT news705656222 Venous malformations are abnormally shaped veins that develop when the cells lining blood vessels grow too fast when they aren't supposed to. Children can be born with them, and as the child grows, the venous malformations can get bigger. Venous malformations are a type of vascular malformation that can range from small and superficial to disfiguring, debilitating or even life-threatening. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-drug-nanoparticles-venous-malformations-mice.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 12 Aug 2026 19:20:01 EDT news705763561 It's common to see images of astronauts on the International Space Station exercising, running on special treadmills and pedaling cycles designed for tight quarters. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-space-doesnt-affect-strength-heart.html Space Exploration Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:20:03 EDT news705759301 Toxoplasma gondii, or Toxoplasma, is a parasite that infects hundreds of millions of people around the world. Although cases are often mild, it can cause severe symptoms in people with weakened immune systems and developing fetuses. It can also persist for years by forming long-lived cysts in tissues, allowing infection to become chronic. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-toxoplasma-parasite-reveals-unusual-strategy.html Evolution Tue, 11 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news705586262 Researchers led by Sa Kan Yoo at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) in Japan have discovered that the natural turnover of gut cells in fruit flies depends on how much food the flies get, rather than on any specific nutrient. They found that gut cells were replaced more frequently when nutrient levels were low and the insides of gut cells were fluid and watery. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-gut-cells-hunger-watery-insides.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:00:01 EDT news705328524 A protein known as interleukin 10 (IL-10) is the lynchpin of a new method to protect transplanted cells from host immune system attacks. Rice University researchers engineered a living factory to produce a localized biochemical halo of IL-10 to suppress immune rejection of pancreatic beta cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-bioengineers-biochemical-halo-cloak-insulin.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 10:31:17 EDT news705231049 Cancer cells have a voracious appetite for sugar—using it to fuel their rapid growth. This is why many scientists have tried to develop drugs that block cancer cells' metabolism by cutting off their sugar supply. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-experimental-drug-cancer-favorite-fuel.html Biochemistry Wed, 05 Aug 2026 18:20:06 EDT news705160922 The signals that cells use to switch genes on have remained almost unchanged across 2 billion years of evolution, but the ones used to switch genes off vary dramatically from one branch of life to another, according to a new study from the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-life-universal-language-genes-silence.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Aug 2026 05:00:01 EDT news704706301 Xenophagocytosis is a natural immune process that limits interspecies organ generation by eliminating living donor cells, researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan, report. By uncovering how embryonic macrophages eliminate living donor cells, the researchers developed strategies to block this response. Using this strategy, they significantly improved donor cell survival and the generation of rat pancreas in mice, bringing us one step closer to producing transplantable human organs in animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-immune-blocking-strategy-interspecies-generation.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news704718992 The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted severe consequences of unchecked respiratory disease, including cytokine storms. This phenomenon affected many COVID-19 patients and is a potential side effect of many other diseases involving significant inflammation, but approaches to treating these symptoms remain unclear. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cell-vesicles-trigger-lipid-counterstorm.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:00:04 EDT news704554321 It is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for years. How can the world's only winged mammals carry viruses that cause severe disease while rarely becoming seriously ill themselves? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antibody-gene-vesper-unusual-viral.html Plants & Animals Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:04 EDT news704473621 Scientists at Imperial College London and the University of Manchester have developed a promising new way to create safer and more effective treatments for life-threatening fungal infections. The research, published today in Nature, describes a new family of antifungal agents that—when tested in mice—were more potent and less toxic than existing treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-antimicrobials-tackle-deadly-drug-resistant.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 11:00:19 EDT news704447461 Many viruses can infect both humans and animals, including hepatitis E virus. This virus is often transmitted to humans via contaminated meat products, such as by ingesting raw or undercooked pork or wild game. However, mouse liver cells are not a suitable host for hepatitis E viruses. Researchers have now discovered why. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hepatitis-virus-infect-mice.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 10:00:03 EDT news704533621 Cancer cells survive by hiding from the immune system's surveillance. A KAIST research team has developed a new anticancer platform that makes cancer cells send out their own danger signals—prompting immune cells to attack—while simultaneously delivering gene therapy. The approach is expected to offer a new treatment strategy that combines cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy in a single nanoparticle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-helical-nanoparticles-trigger-cancer-alarms.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704448901 All cells in the human body—and the motions they enable, from our beating hearts to our wiggling toes—use energy generated by a molecule called ATP. Its energy is thought to be released to fuel cellular processes in only one way: when ATP's decomposition is initiated by an enzyme, a specific type of protein. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-natural-molecule-cellular-energy.html Biotechnology Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news704032756 Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, found a way to optimize how cells bind to small packages they release called extracellular vesicles. By coating the vesicles with metal ions, they made cells and their corresponding vesicles stick together more strongly than they would naturally. This reduced the time needed for cells to capture their own vesicles, even in mixtures containing billions of other vesicles. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-metal-ion-coating-extracellular-vesicles.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 24 Jul 2026 11:00:02 EDT news704109301 In a promising development for cancer treatment, a collaborative research team has overcome two issues that have prevented photothermal therapy, a much less invasive treatment option than surgery and/or radiation, from becoming more common. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-combined-nanoparticle-internal-laser-method.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:20:07 EDT news703935118 An international research team led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen and the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) investigated how the shape of black corals influences the functions of their cilia. The findings are published in the journal Communications Biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-black-coral-microscopic-cilia-food.html Ecology Wed, 22 Jul 2026 10:00:02 EDT news703931701 The immune system, the body's defense network against infections and injuries, can sometimes become too active. In these cases, it can produce too many immune mediators, fragments of genetic material or proteins that regulate immune responses. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanoparticles-immune-molecules-blood.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 18 Jul 2026 13:40:01 EDT news703402994 The "red tide" algal blooms that are becoming more frequent along the Pacific coast produce one of the most potent neurotoxins known: saxitoxin, or STX. The toxin accumulates in shellfish and causes paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) when consumed. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-frog-protein-antidote-deadly-red.html Ecology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 05:00:01 EDT news703314889 Tiny particles made from the membranes of human immune cells could offer a promising new way to fight fungal infections that are becoming harder to treat. Engineers at the University of California San Diego created antifungal nanoparticles that target Candida albicans, a fungus responsible for oral and vaginal yeast infections as well as life-threatening bloodstream infections. In mice with severe Candida infections, the nanoparticles greatly reduced the amount of fungus in major organs and significantly improved survival. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-immune-cells-fungus-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 11 Jul 2026 16:00:04 EDT news702808902 A new Northwestern Medicine study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has explored the impacts of aging on essential cellular processes, findings that could shape the development of future anti-aging therapeutic strategies. Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., the chair and Robert Francis Furchgott Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, was the senior author of the study. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-aging-rewires-rna-production-favoring.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:30:01 EDT news702822032 A tiny mouse living nearly 7,000 meters (23,000 feet) above sea level in the Andes is helping scientists rethink the limits of life on Earth. The animal, a leaf-eared mouse, is the focus of a new international study co-authored by McMaster University researchers, revealing how mammals can survive in conditions once thought uninhabitable. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-uncover-mouse-survives-earth-harshest.html Evolution Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:01 EDT news702801820 A Cornell-led study is challenging a decades-old explanation for how chromosomes exchange genetic material within the biological process that forms eggs and sperm in mammals. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-genetic-crossovers-defy-chromosome-length.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:00:04 EDT news702807040 Long before the dawn of modern parenting, animals laid eggs and moved on, leaving their progeny to fend for themselves. Now, a study published in Nature uncovers one of the elegant ways evolution transformed neglect into nurture. Working with clonal raider ants, a surprisingly parental insect, researchers found that rather than evolving entirely new brain circuits for caregiving, evolution repurposed ancient neural systems for regulating hunger into triggers for social behaviors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-neuron-ant-brains-reveal.html Evolution Wed, 08 Jul 2026 12:10:01 EDT news702729697 In mammals, hair follicles emerge during embryonic development, forming geometric patterns that vary from one species to another. But how is the position of each hair determined? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has shown that a simple mechanism based on the movement of cells in response to chemical signals can reproduce the formation of hair follicles in two mammalian species. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-simple-cell-migration-mechanism-hair.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 07 Jul 2026 12:40:06 EDT news702638986