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 MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) have developed a new way to make glowing biological reporters more accurate, allowing scientists to track gene activity in living plants over days, weeks and potentially even months and years. The approach could help researchers study how plants respond to disease, pests and environmental stress, while opening the door to similar applications in animal and human disease models. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-reveal-immune-responses-infection-sites.html Plants & Animals Fri, 23 Oct 2026 19:20:01 EDT news711982486 Researchers at AIST have directly observed magnetic flux quanta generated in a superconductor by photon absorption and demonstrated a new principle of photon detection that identifies the number of photons based on the number of these flux quanta. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-magnetic-flux-quanta-photon.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:20:02 EDT news711982021 The new RFD4-Proteina unified generative model for protein design—created by the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) in collaboration with NVIDIA—uses advanced AI to generate entirely new protein sequences and structures, achieving computational design success rates five to 10 times higher than previous models and generating candidates five to 10 times faster. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-ai-enzyme-drug-synthesis.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:00:13 EDT news711981643 Researchers at AIST have demonstrated the synthesis of nanoporous carbonaceous materials and carbonaceous materials with layered nanostructures through a simple process involving the chemical modification of common sugars such as sucrose and fructose. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemically-sugars-enable-nanostructure-formation.html Nanomaterials Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:40:08 EDT news711981001 In 1953, two physicists showed that an electron beam skimming past a grating emits light whose color depends only on the electron's speed and the grating's spacing. Known as Smith-Purcell radiation, this phenomenon has become a useful tool for building compact, tunable light sources and tracking particle beams without touching them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-plain-silicon-reveals-hidden-electron.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:20:08 EDT news711980881 Many of the most potent antibiotics originate from bacteria. A large proportion belong to a class of compounds known as nonribosomal peptides (NRP). They are produced by large bacterial enzyme machineries—the nonribosomal peptide synthetases, or NRPS for short. These function like molecular assembly lines: Similar to the stations in a car factory, where new parts are added to the car at each step, several specialized modules string together amino acid by amino acid to build a peptide. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacteria-reinvent-weapons-chance-gene.html Evolution Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:00:01 EDT news711980821 What if we could predict early in drug development which antibiotics bacteria are most likely to become resistant to? In a review published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, researchers from the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (HUN-REN BRC Szeged) and the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM) in Szeged propose a five-step decision-making framework that could help identify resistance risks early, refine promising drug candidates and prevent costly failures. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-antibiotic-resistance-drugs-patients.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news711979741 Establishing a long-term presence on the moon will require solving challenges that are easy to overlook on Earth. Lunar temperatures, for instance, can vary from hundreds of degrees below zero to boiling, making effective insulation essential for lunar habitats. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-everyday-mylar-insulator-lunar-habitats.html Space Exploration Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:20:01 EDT news711979621 The Orion Nebula is a large star-forming region visible to the naked eye. Some of the young stars in the nebula are surrounded by disks of gas and dust in which planets form. Radiation from the massive central star, 1 Ori C1 (Theta-1 Orionis C1), gradually strips material from these disks, giving them shapes that resemble tadpoles. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-stellar-collision-orion-nebula-planet.html Astronomy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:00:01 EDT news711977761 Mitochondria are the tiny powerpacks that supply most of the energy our cells need. Their ability to generate this energy relies on a distinctive architecture: two membranes, one tucked inside the other, separated by a narrow gap called the intermembrane space (IMS). This tiny space helps sustain the chemistry of energy production, making its organization critical to how these cellular powerpacks function. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-uncover-molecular-pillars-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:40:05 EDT news711976829 Whenever anything is written about the Denisovans, the word "mysterious" is almost guaranteed to appear. That is because we just don't know a lot about this extinct human group that may have lived in East Asia from at least 300,000 to 45,000 years ago and was closely related to the Neanderthals. The main reason for that is a sparse fossil record. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-rare-fossils-reveal-ancient-denisovans.html Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:30:01 EDT news711981796 Two black holes can collide and merge into one. But could the opposite happen: could a single black hole split into two smaller ones? That question is explored in a new theoretical study: "When Black Holes Admit Pair-of-pants Topologies," published in the journal Physical Review D. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-black-holes-maximum.html Astronomy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:20:12 EDT news711976082 Every egg cell and sperm cell depends on meiosis, a tightly choreographed process in which chromosomes find their partners, exchange genetic material and then divide. When meiosis goes awry in humans, the consequences can include infertility, miscarriage and birth defects. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-sea-anemone-human-fertility-meiosis.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:00:35 EDT news711978482 Humans and chimpanzees share almost all their genes. Despite this, our brains have developed in different ways. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that a viral pandemic dating back several million years is likely to be part of the explanation. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ancient-virus-chimpanzee-dna-gene.html Evolution Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:00:26 EDT news711900901 More than 30,000 years ago, people associated with one of Europe's major Paleolithic cultures (the Gravettian) were more interconnected than previously thought. An international research team led by the University of Vienna has uncovered new genetic evidence of long-distance connections between these populations. Published in Science Advances, the study combines genomic data from rare human remains with human DNA preserved in cave sediments. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-paleolithic-human-dna-reveals-east.html Archaeology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:00:11 EDT news711899701 Scientists have identified the conditions that make it possible to predict some El Niño and La Niña events up to a year in advance, potentially giving communities and decision-makers significantly more time to prepare for weather extremes. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-key-el-nio-events.html Earth Sciences Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:00:02 EDT news711899282 A few short years ago, asking AI to add two four-digit numbers together for a third-grade math assignment would have been a bad idea. Over half the time, the answer would be wrong, studies have shown. Long division or a "leaky tank" problem, an algebra class staple? Forget about it. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ai-math-problems-stumped-humans.html Mathematics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:40:14 EDT news711975424 A new study led by University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa researchers reveals how extreme ocean warming disrupts whale metabolism, nutrition and reproductive success and what the developing 2026–2027 El Niño could mean next. As climate change drives increasingly intense marine heat waves, scientists are uncovering how these extreme warming events disrupt the biology of humpback whales. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-marine-suppress-nutrient-reproductive-flexibility.html Plants & Animals Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:20:19 EDT news711972450 Protected areas have been set up to shield deep-sea life from the impacts of seabed mining in the Pacific Ocean. However, new research led by scientists at Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) and published in Nature Ecology & Evolution highlights an opportunity to make these protections even more effective. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-strategic-link-pacific-deep-sea.html Earth Sciences Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:00:14 EDT news711972286 Astronomers identified an exceptionally tiny core that may represent an early stage in the formation of a massive star. Located in an infrared-dark area called Dragon Cloud, the core is nicknamed the "dragon egg." The paper, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics, was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Oct. 5. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-alma-dragon-egg-earliest-stages.html Astronomy Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:50:01 EDT news711976208 Molecular machines are regarded as the next step in miniaturization. Their models can be found in living cells, where molecular motors convert energy and generate movement. Scientists have been working for decades to artificially replicate such systems. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for this research. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-archimedes-molecule-motor-powered-electric.html Nanophysics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:40:01 EDT news711972181 Fabian Coscia and his team have published in Nature Methods an open-source workflow that makes Deep Visual Proteomics easier to use, adapt and scale. OpenDVP enables scientists to spatially map thousands of proteins inside cells and their cellular environments, while preserving their tissue context. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-source-workflow-spatial-proteomics-easier.html Biotechnology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:20:10 EDT news711969422 In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from The University of Manchester and Lancaster University have isolated and characterized uranocenium, the positively charged form of a landmark uranium compound called uranocene. The work shows that this long-sought molecule is stable, and that it behaves in a way that challenges how chemists usually think about bonding in heavy elements. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-elusive-uranium-sandwich-molecule-isolated.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:12 EDT news711969002 Do cosmic radiation doses near the moon differ significantly from those received by astronauts in low Earth orbit? Experimental lithium fluoride detectors, installed aboard the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis I mission, have now made it possible to obtain preliminary estimates. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-artemis-crystals-experimental-detectors-doses.html Space Exploration Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:40:01 EDT news711967966 Researchers have created a material that manufactures the proteins responsible for cell movement, without needing intact living cells. By embedding cell-free gene expression into a thin sheet of protein filaments, they were able to make the material wrinkle, rise into blister-like shapes and break into bundles that flow around one another. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-dna-cell-free-material-motors.html Biotechnology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:20:15 EDT news711963752 Common ways of reporting perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—the man-made, so-called forever chemicals that pose environmental and health threats—could underestimate the concentration of PFAS in U.S. drinking water by as much as half, according to a study being published Oct. 23 in Cell Reports Sustainability. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-pfas.html Environment Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:00:04 EDT news711885685 After earning bachelor's and Ph.D. degrees in bioengineering with a focus on molecular biology, Will White, a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Computer Science at Tufts, was pretty certain his future research would involve things like DNA and proteins. What he didn't know was that alpacas would also be part of the equation. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-science-alpaca-immune.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:40:05 EDT news711967959 Glass can keep a drink safely contained, protect a smartphone screen, or serve as a foundation for electronic components. But when it comes to controlling heat, this familiar material still holds some scientific mysteries. Now, researchers have identified a key factor governing how efficiently heat travels through silicate glass, offering a new guideline for designing glass materials for next-generation electronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-glass-good-key.html General Physics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:20:25 EDT news711967502 The Kronshtadskiy subglacial lake near East Antarctica's Amery Ice Shelf was hidden beneath Antarctica's ice, but its drainage left a mark visible from space as a broad depression that deepened by more than 6 meters (20 feet) at its center. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-antarctic-ice-reveals-hidden-lake.html Earth Sciences Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:00:07 EDT news711808123 Human cells hold about two meters (6.6 feet) of DNA, folded and compacted to fit inside a nucleus. That packing is essential for life, but it creates a problem for scientists. Some of the genes that control a cell's identity are buried so deep in tightly packed DNA that gene-targeting tools such as CRISPR activation, or CRISPRa, struggle to reach them. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-quick-crispr-skin-cells-neurons.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 09:20:09 EDT news711963602