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. Scientists have engineered a nanoscale switch using DNA "origami." Inspired by macroscale mechanical switches, the device achieves long-term functionality without the continuous forcing mechanism that past versions required while remaining capable of fast switching. The paper is published in the journal Science Robotics. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-dna-based-nanoswitch-flip-milliseconds.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:40:09 EDT news702132276 NASA on Tuesday announced new uncrewed missions to aid in the future creation of a lunar surface base, a project beginning to take shape despite recent setbacks. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nasa-robotic-moon-missions-lunar.html Space Exploration Wed, 01 Jul 2026 02:20:02 EDT news702090550 When does a child begin to reason? When do they develop self-control? Are some mental abilities present from birth, while others are acquired through experience? Questions like these have fascinated philosophers, educators and scientists for centuries. Yet surprisingly little is known about how ordinary people think about the development of the mind itself. Do people across cultures think about the mind in similar ways? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-people-worldwide-mental-abilities-inborn.html Social Sciences Mon, 29 Jun 2026 12:31:35 EDT news701955070 NASA is racing to save an aging telescope from falling back to Earth with a daring rescue mission. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nasa-swift-telescope-falling-earth.html Space Exploration Sun, 28 Jun 2026 11:23:34 EDT news701864592 A mission to raise the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory is poised for launch no earlier than Tuesday, June 30, at 6:23 a.m. EDT (10:23 p.m. UTC+12), from Kwajalein Atoll, part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-pegasus-deploy-link-monthslong-orbit.html Astronomy Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:00:03 EDT news701700302 In September 2025, NASA announced that its Perseverance rover had discovered a potential biosignature, which is a substance or structure that might have a biological origin. A new paper, published in Science Advances, unambiguously confirms the detection of organic carbon, the building blocks of life, in the same two rocks from the Bright Angel formation, and describes in more detail exactly what we can say about that organic matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-carbon-bright-angel-formation-mars.html Astrobiology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:10:04 EDT news701538061 A research group led by Associate Professor Yoshihiro Nakata from the Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications, Japan, in collaboration with researchers from Doshisha University and Otemon Gakuin University, has developed an edible agent capable of social interaction through vocalizations and movement. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-edible-robot-deepens-human-perception.html Social Sciences Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:00:05 EDT news701528403 Over the past decade, Professor L. Mahadevan's Soft Math Lab at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has helped establish how the ancient Japanese paper arts of folding or cutting can be used to inversely design structures that transform dramatically in shape and function. Now, the researchers have created a new class of shape-changing matter, based not on folds or cuts, but linkages—networks of interconnected scissor mechanisms that collapse into lines and deploy into curved surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-collapsible-scissored-surfaces-trilogy-metamaterial.html General Physics Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:20:03 EDT news701524441 Researchers have developed a self-driving chemistry lab that can autonomously search through hundreds of catalyst recipes and reaction conditions to identify faster, more selective and more programmable ways to make important industrial chemicals. The work could accelerate catalyst discovery for industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and plastics to fuels and specialty chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-chemistry-lab-catalysts-products-demand.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 23 Jun 2026 18:50:01 EDT news701450462 Patterns reveal the individual: A novel AI algorithm equips researchers with a powerful new tool to accurately identify individual jaguars, zebras and giraffes in real time based on their unique coat patterns. Biologists and ecologists can now observe individual wild animals as they move from place to place, as well as their behavior and development over long periods, accurately, with much less effort and significantly faster than before—a major step forward for nature conservation. The scientists explain how this works in the journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ai-tool-wild-animals-unique.html Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2026 14:20:06 EDT news701436782 Some fish swim in synchrony. Others, it turns out, breathe in synchrony. This is true for arapaimas, an obligate air-breathing species living in the Amazon. A new study in Communications Biology, led by the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in collaboration with the Cluster of Excellence "Science of Intelligence," has demonstrated for the first time that arapaima juveniles gather by the hundreds to synchronize their trips to the water surface with split-second precision, most likely to avoid predators and maximize survival and efficiency. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-amazon-fish-reveal-synchronized-survival.html Ecology Tue, 23 Jun 2026 10:40:07 EDT news701426461 Tiny algae-based robots guided by magnets could improve bladder cancer treatment by boosting delivery of chemotherapy drugs into tumors, researchers say. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-algae-microbots-aim-bladder-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 22 Jun 2026 05:00:04 EDT news701090521 Bumblebees see the world differently under stress, processing visual information more sharply and making quicker decisions, new research from Newcastle University reveals. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-stress-bees-sharper-vision-faster.html Plants & Animals Sun, 21 Jun 2026 12:00:03 EDT news700831602 A biocontainment facility designed to protect Earth from potentially hazardous biotic contaminants from space should be part of a planned NASA base on the moon, a policy paper maintains. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nasa-biocontainment-facility-moon-earth.html Space Exploration Fri, 19 Jun 2026 11:20:04 EDT news701086270 Can technology really replace human relationships? As philosophy scholars who focus on human happiness and on artificial intelligence (AI), we tackle this question in a recent paper. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-people-holograms-friends-chatbots-ai.html Social Sciences Thu, 18 Jun 2026 13:40:02 EDT news701007661 Flocking birds and schools of fish are a familiar sight. While previous research has uncovered the broad dynamics driving these movements, their underlying intricacies remain a mystery. Now a study by a team of New York University mathematicians offers new insights into these phenomena. It reveals that flocks and schools behave in ways similar to a soft crystalline material, with individual birds and fish serving as "atoms" that are evenly spaced in a lattice-like formation. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-flocking-birds-schools-fish-crystal.html Soft Matter Thu, 18 Jun 2026 11:00:07 EDT news700932527 A new technology allows metal circuits floating on water to be transferred directly onto any desired surface. A South Korean research team has introduced a novel technique capable of transferring ultra-fine nanocircuits onto plant leaves and fruits, as well as curved automotive surfaces and robot exteriors, all without causing any damage. This technology could be widely used across industries, including smart agriculture, wearable health care and bioelectronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-based-nanoprinting-metal-delicate-3d.html Nanomaterials Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:40:06 EDT news700735801 In a first, a large, international team led by multiple labs at Harvard Medical School and Princeton University has published a complete wiring diagram of all the connections between neurons in the central nervous system of an adult fruit fly. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-publish-connectome-fruit-fly-brain.html Cell & Microbiology Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:00:05 EDT news700146657 This week's notable citations: Astronomers believe collapsing stars could spawn mini universes. Chimpanzees do not like unfairness. And a single dose of psilocybin temporarily restored function in an 80-year-old with Alzheimer's disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-saturday-citations-jaxa-collaboration-toy.html Other Sat, 13 Jun 2026 08:20:01 EDT news700486404 Mycorrhizal fungi form underground networks that sustain plant life and help regulate Earth's climate by drawing carbon into soils. In a study published in Science, an international team of researchers produced the first global maps estimating the distribution and mass of the Earth's arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal networks. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-global-mycorrhizal-fungi-reveals-true.html Ecology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 14:00:09 EDT news700398301 The integration of biological organisms into synthetic structures offers a radical new pathway for developing intelligent, self-powered materials. Researchers have pioneered an innovative approach to biomanufacturing by using light-based 3D printing to engineer living material systems capable of localized environmental processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ocean-3d-gels-mechanical.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:40:04 EDT news700395422 Moon missions come in all shapes and sizes, from car-sized rovers packed with scientific equipment to towering rocket payloads—and now, a small, shape-shifting machine that is about the size of the average palm. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-shifting-tiny-rover-japanese-toys.html Space Exploration Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:08 EDT news700393361 Aeron Tynes Hammack, a physicist by training and currently interim facility director of the Nanofabrication Facility at the Molecular Foundry, likes to work with nanoscale objects to better understand the world and solve problems—but he doesn't restrict himself to one category of tiny stuff. He helps develop qubits for quantum computers and viral therapies to combat infectious diseases. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-qa-combating-antibiotic-resistance-nanotechnology.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:20:06 EDT news700241042 Ocean currents are not just horizontal motions that flow from side to side. There are also vertical currents that act like deep-sea elevators, pushing heat and carbon down into the deep, while bringing up vital nutrients and dissolved gases to the surface. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-satellite-reveal-southern-ocean-vertical.html Earth Sciences Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:50:02 EDT news700230994 The words "tick-tock," "hiss" and "screech" are examples of onomatopoeia because they imitate the sounds they represent: the rhythmic ticking of a clock; an angry cat, or a slowly deflating bike tire; a high-pitched scream. Onomatopoeia is a type of sound symbolism. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-gleam-glum-effect-reveals-emotional.html Social Sciences Mon, 08 Jun 2026 11:15:20 EDT news700135917 DNA is the blueprint of the human body. However, tens of thousands of DNA lesions occur in our bodies every day. In particular, if "apurinic/apyrimidinic sites" (AP sites, damaged sites where one letter of DNA information has been erased) are not properly repaired, they can lead to cancer and aging. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-dna-enzyme-dimensional-key-sites.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:40:05 EDT news699789361 In the region where the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will search for signs of life, clay deposits extend beyond previous estimates, a new study finds. One hypothesis even suggests a vast ocean once covered the landing site. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-exomars-rover-vast-bed-clay.html Astrobiology Thu, 04 Jun 2026 09:40:05 EDT news699783180 Florida State University research published in Science Advances demonstrates a new framework for predicting the motion of kilometer-scale underwater waves that complicate satellite readings of the ocean. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-swot-satellite-clearer-ocean-hidden.html Earth Sciences Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:00:11 EDT news699703741 Networks of protein fibers play important roles in living cells. To understand the dynamical behavior of these networks, model networks are needed to perform in vitro studies. However, fabrication of protein networks similar to those in cells has proved difficult, as current methods could affect the biological function of these proteins—ultimately impacting our understanding of any findings. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-laser-cell-protein-networks-chemical.html Biotechnology Tue, 02 Jun 2026 18:40:02 EDT news699629221 When you think of Antarctica, you might imagine a stark, otherworldly continent of endless, white ice, with the only sound being the wind punctuated by the crack of a glacier calving in the distance. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-extreme-weather-antarctic-harder-technology.html Earth Sciences Tue, 02 Jun 2026 14:40:05 EDT news699618121