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. Unexpectedly, a kind of protein that is usually linked with diseases in the brain may play a vital role in semen, helping shepherd genetic material into sperm cells, scientists at Columbia's Zuckerman Institute report in the journal Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-protein-fibers-hallmark-alzheimer-genetic.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 26 Oct 2026 11:00:04 EDT news712223761 Nearly all metabolic processes require protons—positively charged hydrogen atoms. Although these are abundant in the cellular fluid, the biocatalysts involved depend on mechanisms for efficiently capturing protons and transporting them to the site where catalysis occurs. Enzymes from microorganisms can produce hydrogen (H₂) by combining electrons with protons. These so-called hydrogenases are so efficient that one biocatalyst can capture nearly 10,000 protons per second. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-molecular-pendulum-shuttles-protons-enable.html Biochemistry Mon, 19 Oct 2026 15:40:02 EDT news711642301 How do bacteria adapt when resources run low? ISTA researchers have found that, under starvation stress, E. coli can use bacteriophages and CRISPR-Cas immunity to transfer and incorporate DNA, accelerating genetic reshuffling. The process resembles a primitive form of sexual reproduction and may help bacterial populations adapt to changing conditions. The findings were published in Molecular Biology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sex-dna-exchange-starving-bacteria.html Evolution Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:24 EDT news710066761 For decades, scientists assumed that order drives efficiency. Yet in the bustling machinery of mitochondria—the organelles that crank out adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the universal "energy currency" of cells—one of the most enigmatic components is a protein that appears anything but orderly. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-power-tiny-disordered-protein-mitochondrial.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:29:24 EST news689606941 Every time a shuttle docks with the International Space Station (ISS), a delicate dance unfolds between the shuttle's docking system and its counterpart on the station. Thanks to international standards, these mechanisms are universally compatible, ensuring astronauts and cargo can safely and seamlessly enter the station. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-endosome-lipids-lnp-mrna-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jan 2025 10:58:05 EST news657284281 Cells are highly controlled spaces that rely on every protein being in the right place. Many diseases, including cancers and neurodegenerative disorders, are associated with misplaced proteins. In some cancers, for instance, a protein that normally stands watch over DNA replicating in the nucleus is sent far from the DNA it is meant to monitor, allowing cancers to grow. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-method-relocate-misplaced-proteins-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 21 Sep 2024 11:20:01 EDT news646135971 Hubble has run into more trouble. The space telescope slipped into a hibernating state more than a week ago when one of its three remaining gyroscopes—part of the pointing system—malfunctioned. The same device had been acting up for months and disrupting scientific operations. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-nasa-hubble-space-telescope-temporarily.html Astronomy Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:12:00 EDT news636718314 After a nearly two-year hiatus, Blue Origin flew adventurers to space on Sunday, including a former Air Force pilot who was denied the chance to be the United States' first Black astronaut decades ago. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-blue-flies-thrill-seekers-space-1.html Space Exploration Sun, 19 May 2024 15:46:22 EDT news635352375 The stage is set for some space history to be made tonight as two veteran NASA astronauts aim to launch in a spacecraft that has never flown with humans before. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-boeing-starliner-mission-humans-historic.html Space Exploration Mon, 06 May 2024 15:10:46 EDT news634227041 The rise of RNA viruses like SARS-CoV-2 highlights the need for new ways to fight them. RNA-targeting tools like CRISPR/Cas13 are powerful but inefficient in the cytoplasm of cells, where many RNA viruses replicate. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-crispr-tool-orchestrates-antiviral-defense.html Biotechnology Fri, 12 Apr 2024 09:26:04 EDT news632132762 The generation and manipulation of high-repetition pulses hold great promise across various applications, including high-speed photography, laser processing, and acoustic wave generation. Gigahertz (GHz) burst pulses, with intervals ranging from ~0.01 to ~10 nanoseconds, are particularly valued for visualizing ultrafast phenomena and improving laser processing efficiency. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-team-optical-technique-simultaneously-gigahertz.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 19 Dec 2023 13:14:02 EST news622214041 When targeting problem proteins involved in causing or spreading disease, a drug will often clog up a protein's active site so it can't function and wreak havoc. New strategies for dealing with these proteins can send these proteins to different types of cellular protein degradation machinery such as a cell's lysosomes, which act like a protein wood chipper. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-pathways-problem-proteins-treatment-opportunities.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 25 Oct 2023 17:29:05 EDT news617473742 Scientists have discovered sugar-based molecules can be used to block activity of a receptor in cells that are involved in the development a range of viral infections and cancer. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-sweet-discovery-potential-effective-virus.html Biochemistry Wed, 11 Jan 2023 10:15:03 EST news592654501 A large section of the destroyed space shuttle Challenger has been found buried in sand at the bottom of the Atlantic, more than three decades after the tragedy that killed a schoolteacher and six others. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-section-destroyed-shuttle-ocean-floor.html Space Exploration Thu, 10 Nov 2022 14:21:18 EST news587312474 For over a century, cancer cell metabolism has been viewed as something of a paradox. New work from researchers at Washington University in St. Louis shows that it might not be such an anomaly after all. The study is published Aug. 15 in Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-sugar-metabolism-surprisingly-conventional-cancer.html Biochemistry Mon, 15 Aug 2022 11:27:57 EDT news579781674 Infectious microbes have evolved sophisticated means to invade host cells, outwit the body's defenses and cause disease. While researchers have tried to puzzle out the complicated interactions between microorganisms and the host cells they infect, one facet of the disease process has often been overlooked—the physical forces that impact host-pathogen interactions and disease outcomes. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-microgravity-analog-culture-profoundly-affects.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 01 Jun 2022 04:12:07 EDT news573275519 The world's largest and most powerful space telescope rocketed away Saturday on a high-stakes quest to behold light from the first stars and galaxies and scour the universe for hints of life. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-space-telescope-quest-1st-stars.html Astronomy Sat, 25 Dec 2021 07:30:49 EST news559639843 Don't ask astronomers to choose between the Hubble Space Telescope and the new kid on the cosmic block, the James Webb Space Telescope. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-veteran-hubble-webb-space-telescope.html Astronomy Thu, 23 Dec 2021 14:12:04 EST news559491119 An 18-year-old is about to become the youngest person in space, rocketing away with an aviation pioneer who will become the oldest at age 82. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-blue-year-old-space-july.html Space Exploration Thu, 15 Jul 2021 11:18:10 EDT news545566688 If you didn't have a brain, could you still figure out where you were and navigate your surroundings? Thanks to new research on slime molds, the answer may be "yes." Scientists from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and the Allen Discovery Center at Tufts University have discovered that a brainless slime mold called Physarum polycephalum uses its body to sense mechanical cues in its surrounding environment, and performs computations similar to what we call "thinking" to decide in which direction to grow based on that information. Unlike previous studies with Physarum, these results were obtained without giving the organism any food or chemical signals to influence its behavior. The study is published in Advanced Materials. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-brain-brainless-slime-molds-reveal.html Plants & Animals Thu, 15 Jul 2021 06:00:01 EDT news545539478 Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-richard-branson-space-jeff-bezos.html Space Exploration Fri, 02 Jul 2021 04:02:57 EDT news544417366 In a world-first, Monash University scientists have developed a new, environmentally friendly process that could drive the future production of green ammonia. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-world-first-discovery-fuel-green-ammonia.html Materials Science Thu, 10 Jun 2021 14:00:01 EDT news542524728 Sixty years after he became the first person in space, there are few figures more universally admired in Russia today than Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-russia-legend-cosmonaut-gagarin.html Space Exploration Wed, 07 Apr 2021 04:03:58 EDT news536987016 A piece of the Wright brothers' first airplane is on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-wright-brothers-1st-airplane-nasa.html Space Exploration Wed, 24 Mar 2021 03:34:51 EDT news535775659 Analytical chemistry aims to efficiently discriminate between two amino acids. In a new report in Science Advances, Zihao Liu and a research team in Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science in China and Japan, used a single-molecule electrical method based on molecular nanocircuits to form stable graphene-molecule-graphene single-molecule junctions. The team developed these molecular junctions by covalently bonding a molecular machine. Then they used pH to vary the type and charge of the amino acids to find distinct multimodal current fluctuations originating from diverse host guest interactions relative to theoretical calculations. The conductance data produced characteristic leveling times and shuttling rates for each amino acid to allow accurate and real-time in situ measurements. The scientists tested four amino acids and their enantiomers (chiral molecules that are mirror images of one another) to show the ability to distinguish between them in a few microseconds to provide a simple and precise method for amino acid identification as well as single-molecule protein sequencing. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-single-molecule-electrical-approach-amino-acid.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 19 Mar 2021 12:56:38 EDT news535377391 New research reveals an essential step in scientists' quest to create targeted, more eco-friendly fungicides that protect food crops. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-protein-discovery-enable-ecofriendly-fungicides.html Biotechnology Thu, 04 Mar 2021 10:01:26 EST news534074483 When scientists complete an experiment aboard the International Space Station, the ramifications of that work have just begun. NASA carries on a legacy of decades of biological research data, fueling new discoveries long after studies wrap up in space. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-international-space-station-archives-fuel.html Astrobiology Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:56:17 EST news533818572 More than halfway to the Red Planet, NASA's Perseverance Mars rover isn't just shuttling sophisticated science instruments and tubes to be filled with Earth-bound rock samples. It's carrying symbols, mottos, and objects that range from practical to playful—everything from meteorite fragments to chips carrying the names of 10.9 million people. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-hidden-gems-aboard-nasa-perseverance.html Space Exploration Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:30:40 EST news526725036 The International Space Station was a cramped, humid, puny three rooms when the first crew moved in. Twenty years and 241 visitors later, the complex has a lookout tower, three toilets, six sleeping compartments and 12 rooms, depending on how you count. https://phys.org/news/2020-11-space-station-years-people-orbit.html Space Exploration Sun, 01 Nov 2020 05:20:26 EST news523430419 Plants are factories that manufacture yield from light and carbon dioxide—but parts of this complex process, called photosynthesis, are hindered by a lack of raw materials and machinery. To optimize production, scientists from the University of Essex have resolved two major photosynthetic bottlenecks to boost plant productivity by 27 percent in real-world field conditions, according to a new study published in Nature Plants. This is the third breakthrough for the research project Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE); however, this photosynthetic hack has also been shown to conserve water. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-breakthrough-photosynthetic-hacks-boost-yield.html Plants & Animals Mon, 10 Aug 2020 11:00:06 EDT news516259652