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. 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 Scientists have created a new family of materials whose behavior can be tuned by changing their metallic "recipe"—opening new possibilities for uses including gas storage and sensing. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-material-properties-tuned-metallic-recipe.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 09 Oct 2026 14:00:09 EDT news710766722 Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common culprit in hospital-acquired bacterial infections and is growing more resistant to antibiotics. New findings from Aaron Smith, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at UMBC, and collaborators at Oklahoma State University show how a two-protein system inside the bacterium operates like a sensitive switch: The pair detects iron both outside and inside the cell and then rewrites large parts of the microbe's metabolism in response. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacterium-iron-infections.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:20:06 EDT news710605021 Scientists Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for untangling mysterious mirror images in molecules, a discovery that has been used to develop countless drugs and transformed modern medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nobel-prize-chemistry-awarded-kagan.html Other Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:12:46 EDT news710572334 Creating a quantum device often begins by intentionally damaging a crystal. Scientists fire an ultrafast laser pulse into a material, knocking atoms out of place and leaving behind tiny imperfections called vacancies. Far from being flaws, these vacancies can behave as qubits—the fundamental building blocks of quantum information. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ray-technique-reveals-quantum-materials.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:20:08 EDT news710508661 Researchers have developed a practical strategy for recovering biosynthetic information from fragmented metagenomic data. Through this work, the researchers identified and prioritized promising natural-product candidates with potential antibacterial or anticancer activity. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fragmented-microbial-dna-candidates-anticancer.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:20:01 EDT news710084401 A small protein known as p11 may play a much broader role in cellular signaling than previously thought. Researchers at Karolinska institutet have now shown that p11 interacts with numerous receptors targeted by commonly used medicines, opening new possibilities for treating conditions such as pain, inflammation and depression. The research is published in the journal Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-small-protein-amplify-cell-receptors.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 18:10:01 EDT news710091422 Whether in drug discovery, environmental analysis or metabolomics: anyone analyzing complex biological samples often needs to identify the small molecules they contain. Researchers at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, in collaboration with partners from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technical University of Munich, have developed a method that addresses a problem in analytical chemistry that has persisted for decades. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-method-retention-small-molecules.html Biochemistry Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:30:01 EDT news710091121 Extreme dry mouth, caused by radiation used to treat cancer and by autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's disease, radically affects quality of life for sufferers. It can hamper speaking, swallowing and eating, and for years has seemed an intractable problem. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-salivary-gland-mini-grown-pluripotent.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:00:16 EDT news710077441 In water, soil and air all around us lives a free-living, single-celled organism called Acanthamoeba. Most of the time, Acanthamoeba keeps to itself. On rare occasions, though, the amoeba infects humans and can cause severe infections of the eyes, skin and even the brain. What's more, doctors can struggle to diagnose and treat the eye infection caused by the organism, called Acanthamoeba keratitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eye-amoeba-resists-treatment-biochemistry.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:02 EDT news709919162 Researchers from the University of Bath have developed fluorescent molecular probes that can detect changes in glucose levels inside living animals, giving scientists new ways of visualizing sugar uptake and studying diabetes, cancer and other metabolic diseases in whole organisms in real time. The findings are published in the journal Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fluorescent-sensors-diabetes-action.html Biochemistry Wed, 30 Sep 2026 18:00:01 EDT news709992734 A Baylor College of Medicine-led team has developed a strategy that combines the analysis of thousands of proteins with artificial intelligence to accelerate the discovery of small molecules called molecular glues to treat disease. Their approach, published in Nature Communications, has uncovered a new class of molecular glues that could neutralize harmful proteins linked to blood cancers and autoimmune diseases. The work also shows how AI-based structural modeling can help chemists optimize compounds well before experiments reveal how they work. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-discovery-molecular-disease.html Biochemistry Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:30:01 EDT news709916821 A research team at the University of Vienna, led by pharmaceutical chemist Johannes Kirchmair, has developed a statistical method to identify hidden anomalies in scientific datasets. The method can be applied automatically to large datasets, making it easier for researchers to pinpoint those that need closer scrutiny. The approach improves the quality of data-driven research and supports the development of reliable AI applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-statistical-method-flag-hidden-anomalies.html Mathematics Tue, 29 Sep 2026 11:00:08 EDT news709895821 Instead of capturing a memory with an iPhone camera, Carnegie Mellon University's Nivedita Shyamsundar used hers to make a scientific discovery. A senior in the Department of Chemistry, Shyamsundar studies tiny particles that could help medicines and vaccines travel more effectively through the human body and reach their targets. Her work may one day lead to better cancer treatments and stronger vaccines. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticle-mystery-iphone-camera.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:20:14 EDT news709887062 RNA vaccines, which have proved effective against COVID-19, are now being developed for many other diseases, including cancer. One drawback is that they require ultracold storage, but MIT researchers have found a promising way to overcome that limitation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-rna-vaccines-high-temperatures.html Biotechnology Mon, 28 Sep 2026 05:00:01 EDT news709558561 Medical researchers, clinicians and pharmaceutical scientists often study small molecules called metabolites, which are produced in living cells through a variety of processes, including the breakdown of food, chemicals or drugs. This area of study is known as metabolomics, and it can be used to identify new signs of disease, measure the effectiveness of medical treatment or study how diet and nutrition affect the body. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-molecular-network-resource-unknown-compounds.html Biotechnology Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:20:12 EDT news709550401 Many liver and lung cancers arise in tissue that's already been scarred by chronic disease, such as hepatitis, cirrhosis or long-term lung damage. That scarring creates an environment that suppresses nearby immune cells, so by the time a tumor takes hold, it's often already shielded from the immune system and immunotherapy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-tumor-scarring-enable-immunotherapy.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 12:00:20 EDT news709548841 A cell's ability to repair its damaged DNA is one of the most fundamental processes in biology, helping protect us from diseases like cancer. Over the years, researchers have unraveled many of the mechanisms cells use to repair DNA, ultimately leading to precision cancer treatments. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cells-machinery-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 24 Sep 2026 16:40:11 EDT news709467781 Tuberculosis, or TB, is a contagious bacterial infection that primarily affects the lungs. While curative treatments exist, more than 80% of cases occur in low- and middle-income nations, where drug-resistant strains are on the rise and the cost of medications is a burden. A new class of antibiotics has shown promise against multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant TB, but its manufacturing cost is a barrier to access in poorer countries that need the treatments most. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-evolved-enzymes-tuberculosis-antibiotic-ingredient.html Biochemistry Wed, 23 Sep 2026 17:00:05 EDT news709394222 New York University researchers have trained an AI model to learn chemical patterns associated with stability in drug-like molecules and accurately predict where their hydrogen atoms should be positioned. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-scans-million-compounds-hours.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Sep 2026 05:00:02 EDT news709220221 Swimming in the blood, sweat, cells and tears of every human are small proteins known as peptides. Many peptides can kill bacteria on contact, yet the bacteria never seem to evolve resistance to them. Mass-produced peptides could become a new type of antibiotic that evades resistance, but they are challenging to work with. They are short-lived and expensive to synthesize. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-bacteria-polymers-class-antibiotic.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:06 EDT news709285562 Mitochondria—tiny structures that convert nutrients into energy—are often depicted as discrete kidney bean-shaped objects. But in reality, they form a dynamic, interconnected network throughout the entire cell, rapidly splitting and fusing as they're transported to where energy is needed most. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-virtual-cells-built-4d-ai.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:00:05 EDT news708876106 The latest company to spin out of a Stanford Medicine lab is a biotech undertaking with 37,000 employees—and none of them are human. There's no lab space, no lunch breaks and no payroll. It's an artificial intelligence-powered virtual biotech company that's the brainchild of associate professor of biomedical data science James Zou, Ph.D., who is also the principal investigator of a virtual lab that launched in 2025, and graduate student Harrison Zhang. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-virtual-biotech-company-thousands-ai.html Biotechnology Thu, 17 Sep 2026 14:00:10 EDT news708781621 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 For more than a century, pharmaceutical companies have relied on flat structures called aromatic rings, which can help drugs bind to target sites in the body. They include benzene rings and other flat, nitrogen-containing rings. But there are limits to their usefulness. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-blue-chemistry-3d-drug-blocks.html Biochemistry Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:40:01 EDT news708267421 For decades, scientists have understood proteins primarily through two defining features: their amino acid sequence and their three-dimensional structure. This framework has driven major advances in biology, biotechnology and medicine, culminating in recent artificial intelligence tools capable of predicting protein structures with remarkable accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-scientists-visualize-proteins-hidden-architecture.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:00:01 EDT news708252668 Even highly antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more vulnerable when their cell wall transport system is disrupted, according to a new study from Umeå University. The discovery reveals a previously overlooked weakness that could help researchers develop new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cell-wall-disruption-exposes-weakness.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 10 Sep 2026 18:00:01 EDT news708263461 Researchers from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research & Technology's (SMART) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) interdisciplinary research group, alongside collaborators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore), and institutions in the United States, Poland and France, have discovered aminovaleramididine synthetase (AvaS), the first identified pyridoxal phosphate (PLP)-dependent enzyme responsible for producing a chemical modification linked to how bacteria respond to metabolic stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-plp-enzyme-bacterial-protein-production.html Biochemistry Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:20:04 EDT news708258422 So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-faster-reliable-quantum-closer.html Quantum Physics Thu, 10 Sep 2026 13:40:10 EDT news708256741 University of Missouri researchers are paving the way as artificial intelligence transforms biomedical research. A team from the College of Engineering and collaborators recently published one of the most comprehensive reviews to date of an emerging AI approach for biology known as flow matching. The work, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, provides scientists around the world with a roadmap for applying the technology to accelerate drug discovery, precision medicine and other biomedical advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-powered-biomedical-discoveries.html Biotechnology Wed, 09 Sep 2026 16:40:05 EDT news708177607