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 University of California San Diego have developed a large-scale screening approach that identifies proteins controlling a fundamental step in gene expression known as alternative polyadenylation (APA). APA determines where an RNA molecule is cut and finished before it is translated into protein, influencing the stability, localization and function of thousands of genes. The paper is published in the journal Molecular Cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-screen-reveals-proteins-rna.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Jun 2026 12:53:38 EDT news701697149 Genome editing lets scientists rewrite DNA, the instruction manual inside every living cell, with a precision that was unthinkable a generation ago. Technologies such as CRISPR have made this almost routine, and its uses now reach far beyond medicine, from engineering hardier crops and more productive microbes to creating sustainable biomaterials. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-cleanfinder-browser-based-genome-analysis.html Biotechnology Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:20:09 EDT news701528761 Researchers from the Biosciences Department at Durham University have discovered a previously unknown mechanism that helps plants control the formation of wood, a finding that could open new directions for research into plant growth, productivity and carbon storage. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals that two proteins on the surface of plant cells work together to regulate the cells that produce wood. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-protein-pair-reveals-wood-formation.html Plants & Animals Tue, 23 Jun 2026 16:10:04 EDT news701448302 At first glance, bat sea stars, the nubbly, orange, many-footed creatures often found on the seafloor, seem about as far from humans as one can get. Appearances can be deceiving, however. Scientists have found evidence showing human and sea star ovaries share similar genetics, cell types and signaling processes, despite their ancient evolutionary split. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-ovary-blueprint-ancient-sea-stars.html Evolution Tue, 23 Jun 2026 15:40:07 EDT news701438461 Researchers have produced the most detailed map yet of how stem cells in the growing tip of a plant begin their journey to form the many cell types that shape flowers and stems. They identified 18 distinct cell type clusters in the inflorescence meristem (the stem cell niche at the tip of the flowering shoot) that generates a plant's above-ground organs, such as stems and flowers. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-arabidopsis-meristem-uncovers-cell-clusters.html Plants & Animals Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:00:12 EDT news701011262 When H5N1 bird flu first began infecting U.S. cattle in early 2024, diagnosis was elusive because, in cows, the disease looked completely different. Instead of affecting the lungs, as H5N1 does in other mammalian species, it caused severe infection in the cows' udders, largely sparing the lungs. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-h5n1-bird-flu-hid-unrecognized.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 19 Jun 2026 14:00:05 EDT news700991161 An orange-colored yeast species isolated from a Baltimore sidewalk several years ago could be the basis of eco-friendly mosquito traps that reduce malaria transmission, according to a new study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-bread-beer-alluring-yeast-species.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 18 Jun 2026 09:00:01 EDT news700990343 A research team from the Technion's Wolfson Faculty of Chemical Engineering has developed an original technology for treating cancer using nanoparticles that carry no drugs at all and has demonstrated its effectiveness against particularly dangerous and stubborn tumors. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-drug-free-nanoparticles-tumor-growth.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 17 Jun 2026 12:00:06 EDT news700909131 A new study has created a detailed map of the pituitary gland, often called the body's "master gland" because it controls important functions such as growth, stress and reproduction. Researchers from the Center for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology combined data from many studies to build a single, clearer picture of how this gland works. They created the Consensus Pituitary Atlas, along with an easy-to-use website where scientists can explore the data and analyze their own. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-atlas-reveals-body-master-gland.html Cell & Microbiology Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:00:03 EDT news700147166 Similar to the way DNA damage can contribute to human diseases such as cancer, it can also disrupt growth, development and survival in plants. Every day, plants endure environmental stresses such as sunlight, radiation, drought and soil stress—all of which can damage their DNA. However, they cannot move away from danger. How do plants handle all that damage? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-survive-constant-dna-newly-protein.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 19:30:01 EDT news700157401 Scientists in Japan have developed a rat-mouse hybrid embryo from a single frozen rat chromosome transplanted into a mouse egg cell. The achievement is proof that genetic material can sometimes remain functional after cryopreservation and be expressed inside the cells of a completely different species. This is giving renewed hope to the idea that we may one day be able to partially resurrect extinct species and study lost traits. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-frozen-rat-chromosome-life-mouse.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:12:12 EDT news700143085 Many animals, including humans, rely on their eyes to detect changes in their surroundings. The eyes of vertebrates, animals with a backbone or a similar supporting structure, contain a transparent structure (i.e., the lens) that focuses incoming light onto a layer of light-sensitive cells, known as the retina. Cells in the retina then convert light into signals that are sent to the brain. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-hagfish-fossils-reveal-stepwise-eye.html Evolution Fri, 05 Jun 2026 15:20:01 EDT news699796418 A new study from the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE) helps explain how plants can lose track of their own disease warnings. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nitric-oxide-overload-immune.html Plants & Animals Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:20:01 EDT news699718802 Researchers from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FCMS) at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP) in Sorocaba, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, have developed a biomaterial containing jackfruit latex, pomegranate peel extract, and simvastatin (a statin-based medication) that shows promising efficacy in treating periodontitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-biomaterial-jackfruit-latex-treatment-periodontitis.html Biochemistry Tue, 02 Jun 2026 19:40:03 EDT news699632101 A key step in the origin of many pandemics occurs when an animal-borne virus infects humans and then evolves to spread more efficiently from person to person. That is why scientists and physicians keep a close watch on viruses that could jump from animals to humans, such as emerging strains of avian flu and bat coronaviruses, as well as viruses that have already crossed into humans but, for now, spread poorly among people, such as hantavirus and Ebola. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-lab-evolution-recreates-covid-path.html Evolution Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:40:02 EDT news699619681 How did life make the leap from single cells to coordinated, multicellular organisms? And how do genetically identical cells still perform a version of that feat every time an embryo begins to take shape? https://phys.org/news/2026-06-story-multicellular-life-physics-genes.html Evolution Tue, 02 Jun 2026 13:20:10 EDT news699616835 If plants had never learned to grow in multiple directions, our world would look very different. No trees, flowers, or other complex plants—and therefore no animals or humans. New research from the University of Copenhagen now suggests that a specific protein in moss may have been crucial for this key step in plant evolution—a step that made life on land possible. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-flat-moss-forests-protein-discovery.html Evolution Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:20:08 EDT news699614532 Stanford scientists have discovered a new type of immune cell that kills surrounding cells via explosion—a cellular detonation so fast and complete that the cell vanishes within minutes, leaving no trace behind. This discovery comes from an unlikely source: planarian flatworms. These aquatic, slithering pancake versions of worms are famous for their ability to survive dismemberment and grow whole new organisms from the sliced-up segments of their formerly unified body. Understanding how these flatworms' immune systems have managed to endure for hundreds of millions of years could hold important insights for modern medicine. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-flatworms-reveal-immune-cells-tissue.html Evolution Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:00:07 EDT news699543121 Spinal cord injuries can have devastating consequences for those affected. Nerve cells in the spinal cord rarely regenerate naturally, while scarring often prevents the regrowth of nerve fibers. Modern therapies attempt to influence implanted stem cells using electrical stimulation to promote the growth of new nerve cells. This approach has several drawbacks: it requires implanted electrodes, and the transplanted cells do not always survive or integrate properly into the existing tissue. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-biohybrid-microrobots-spinal-cord-combining.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 02 Jun 2026 09:40:01 EDT news699610321 A team of researchers led by Luigi Naldini at the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy (SR-Tiget) has developed a new strategy to significantly improve the precision and safety of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human blood stem cells, potentially overcoming one of the major barriers limiting broader clinical application of genome editing therapies. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-smart-platform-gene-hematopoietic-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 11:07:13 EDT news699530761 Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the nineties shooter game "Doom" and say they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-brain-cells-play-doom.html Biotechnology Sun, 31 May 2026 07:19:01 EDT news699430701 Highlights from the last week of May, 2026: A key climate tipping point is disrupting the Arctic Ocean food chain (more of a lowlight, I guess). Scuba-diving tourism may not be the benefit to coral reef systems that we once thought, and might actually be unsustainable. And an experimental mRNA vaccine showed promising results against strains of Ebola. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-failure-cellular-mortality.html Other Sat, 30 May 2026 09:20:02 EDT news699280662 The current practice of freezing embryos—used to assist reproduction in humans or animals or to conserve endangered species—routinely causes ice to form within the cells, ripping through cell membranes, changing the way proteins behave and ultimately leading to fewer viable embryos. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-embryo-technique-endangered-species.html Biotechnology Thu, 28 May 2026 15:40:04 EDT news699191668 A tiny sea creature might hold the secret to reversing the aging process. When treated with a brief series of electrical pulses, sea squirts experience dramatic and long-lasting health improvements that can significantly extend their lifespans, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford and other institutions. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-electrical-pulses-reverse-aging-sea.html Biotechnology Thu, 28 May 2026 14:20:06 EDT news699190473 Researchers in Spain have discovered that in collectives of moving fire ants, rippling "waves" of density and activity are likely triggered by local regions where ants collectively travel in the same direction as their neighbors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ripples-ant-motions-driven-neighbor.html General Physics Thu, 28 May 2026 10:00:07 EDT news699098891 Living cells cool much slower than our current understanding of heat conduction can explain, according to new research from the University of Tokyo. Researchers have used two techniques—high-speed temperature mapping and artificial heating—to observe how heat dissipates from living cells and similar-sized artificial, fluid-filled sacs (liposomes). While heat dispersed quickly from the artificial liposomes as expected, cells cooled significantly more slowly due to other biomolecules within the cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-cells-ways-standard-fluid-physics.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 28 May 2026 05:00:03 EDT news699117362 A core challenge in biology is understanding how processes in the body, such as cellular development and regeneration, unfold over long stretches of time, making them notoriously difficult to view at the molecular level. Now, a team led by researchers at Caltech has shown that a single snapshot of a mouse testis is enough to reconstruct the entire weeks-long cycle of sperm production, along with the cell-to-cell coordination that organizes it. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tissue-snapshot-reveals-biological-unfolding.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 27 May 2026 13:40:08 EDT news699105481 The outer regions of the brain, the cortex, have specific layers of different cells—neurons—that are similarly ordered among all mammals, from tiny mouse brains to huge elephant brains. However, the proportions of different cell layers vary widely among species, and little is known about how and why this variation happens. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-early-brain-growth-mammals-cortexes.html Evolution Tue, 26 May 2026 10:40:01 EDT news699003541 Early in development, a group of migrating cells called cranial neural crest cells go on to form many different parts of the face, including the nose, jaw, ears, and throat. To build these structures correctly, genes must switch on in the right cells at the right time. But many of the DNA switches that control those genes sit far away on the genome, and scientists still know little about how genes find and communicate with these distant switches during development. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genes-ready-early-genome-prime.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 20 May 2026 07:40:10 EDT news698479924 Researchers at the São Carlos Institute of Physics at the University of São Paulo (IFSC-USP) in Brazil, led by Paulo Augusto Raymundo-Pereira, have created biodegradable, "wearable" sensors for plants to monitor their health, including the presence of pesticides. The sensors are made from carbon ink and are screen-printed onto transparent cellulose acetate bioplastics. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-biodegradable-sensors-pesticides-minutes.html Biotechnology Thu, 14 May 2026 15:40:02 EDT news697991102