https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from The Conversation By 2050, scientists estimate that antibiotic-resistant infections will be associated with more than 8 million deaths around the world every year. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-generative-ai-physics-antibiotics.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 03 Jul 2026 18:00:01 EDT news702290825 Tonight, as you close your eyes in bed, something strange will happen to you: Your mind will drift from an ordinary thought to a dream, but it will be impossible to say exactly when it happened. We tend to imagine that the boundary between being asleep and awake is clear: When we are awake, we think; when we are asleep, we dream. Yet, in our study, published in Cell Reports, we show that this boundary is more porous than you think. You can dream before falling asleep and plan your day ahead after drifting off. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-youre-boundary-lot-blurrier-youd.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:40:01 EDT news702130312 Museums are supposed to be havens for the collective cultural and scientific heritage of the planet, but specimens sometimes go missing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-megalodon-legendary-life-revealed-fossil.html Evolution Fri, 03 Jul 2026 17:20:02 EDT news702130302 Most of us have attended sex ed classes in school. If we're lucky, we'll learn about consent and how to roll a condom onto a banana. But the classroom rarely goes into the specifics of sexual health and well-being—including what to do when a condom breaks. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-online-platforms-content-sex-ed.html Social Sciences Fri, 03 Jul 2026 12:20:04 EDT news702290256 Every summer, communities across northern Australia brace for the tropical cyclone season. Tropical cyclones draw their power from the warm seas, extracting heat and moisture from ocean water. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sea-turtles-eye-storm-cyclone.html Earth Sciences Fri, 03 Jul 2026 09:00:02 EDT news702281162 Europe's summer heat wave has exposed tens of millions of people to temperatures above 35°C, broken records and claimed hundreds of lives. Early climate attribution studies suggest Europe's event would have been "virtually impossible" just 50 years ago without human-caused climate change. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-climate-severe-zealand-homes-ready.html Earth Sciences Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:40:07 EDT news702281041 Murder, suicide, spontaneous combustion, sleepwalking, ventriloquism: These are some of the sensational events in the novels of Charles Brockden Brown (1771–1810). As the United States' first professional author, Brown is the Founding Father of the nation's literature. He is, according to one biographer, "the most important American author no one has ever heard of." His fiction was deeply engaged with politics and culture after the American Revolution. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-founding-father-american-literature-charles.html Education Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:20:08 EDT news702280921 You've forgotten a few appointments lately, and you find yourself losing track of conversations. Close friends or family may have also noticed some changes in your memory or thinking. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-mild-cognitive-impairment-dementia.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:20:01 EDT news702280621 The moon is not the only natural object traveling through space alongside Earth. Several small asteroids travel around the sun in near lockstep with our planet. And just like Earth, these space rocks also take a year to complete a full orbit. Today, we know of eight such "quasi-moons" or quasi-satellites. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-asteroid-piece-moon-chinese-spacecraft.html Astronomy Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:00:08 EDT news702280682 Labubus, "dumpling squishies" and Lego minifigures are examples of small collectible toys sold in "blind boxes." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-game-chance-kids.html Fri, 03 Jul 2026 08:00:01 EDT news702280501 In March, Jensen Huang, chief executive of computer chip giant NVIDIA, declared the "ChatGPT moment" for self-driving cars had arrived. In Australia, Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) system is already available on public roads. Waymo is exploring robotaxi operations in Australia. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-days-queensland-roads-reveal-car.html Automotive Fri, 03 Jul 2026 07:00:03 EDT news702279841 Walk into any college library and you will likely see students wearing headphones and listening to music. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-students-music-focus-stay-doesnt.html Social Sciences Thu, 02 Jul 2026 22:40:01 EDT news702210178 Net overseas migration is declining. It peaked in 2023, and as of mid-2026 it has dropped by 45%. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-migration-climbing.html Political science Thu, 02 Jul 2026 18:40:05 EDT news702210309 Hidden beneath the water's surface is a botanical world that is among nature's most innovative and ecologically important. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-seaweeds-facts-aquatic-flora.html Plants & Animals Thu, 02 Jul 2026 17:20:03 EDT news702214262 In many cultures, the placenta is more than tissue left over after birth. It may be understood as spiritually linked to the baby, treated as a companion or sibling, and buried to protect the child or connect them to family and land. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-placenta-property-mother.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:00:09 EDT news702214202 New Zealand First leader Winston Peters is known for targeting immigrants with inflammatory comments about their place in their new country. He made headlines last year when he urged immigrants who "come here with their ideas, foreign to our country" to "show some gratitude." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-gratitude-rhetoric-views-immigration-migrants.html Social Sciences Thu, 02 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news702208201 A star called TOI-2155 lies around 1,350 light-years (839 trillion miles) from Earth. It is a little bigger, heavier and hotter than the sun, and it is not particularly interesting or unusual in itself. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-star-strange-inbetween-celestial-astronomers.html Astronomy Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:40:08 EDT news702209042 Australia has a mental health crisis. The Productivity Commission has found mental health issues cost Australia up to A$200 billion to A$220 billion per year—one-tenth of annual economic output. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-workplace-depression-common-worse.html Economics & Business Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:40:07 EDT news702208022 Few substances are as deeply woven into everyday life as alcohol. It is a fixture at holiday celebrations, work-related social gatherings, sporting events, airports and brunch or dinner tables. A raised glass for a toast, the ubiquitous wedding open bar or drinks shared during a Fourth of July celebration all demonstrate how deeply alcohol has become embedded in social customs and cultural traditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-alcohol-dangerous-drugs-presence-ubiquitous.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:40:03 EDT news702213122 If you have ever hiked in the high peaks of Colorado, the Wasatch Range in Utah or the Tetons in Wyoming, you've almost certainly seen a rock glacier, perhaps without even knowing it. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-glaciers-critical-climate-havens-america.html Earth Sciences Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:20:05 EDT news702207782 Astronomers have revealed new details about the makeup and age of a visiting comet that was born around a distant star. They conclude that the composition of 3I/Atlas is strikingly different from any object found in our solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-comet-star-composition-solar.html Astronomy Thu, 02 Jul 2026 12:00:03 EDT news702207542 I recently volunteered to teach some lessons in finance to pupils at a primary school. Over six sessions, I spoke to a group of 10- and 11-year-olds about things like value, savings, cost and risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-schools-children-money.html Economics & Business Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:40:08 EDT news702207482 During adolescence, young people become especially sensitive to peer influence—more so than at any other time in life. So how does this affect their mental health? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-friends-teens-mental-health.html Social Sciences Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:26:05 EDT news702210297 For decades, lung disease has been the most visible and life-threatening part of cystic fibrosis. People might picture chronic (long-term) cough, breathlessness, recurrent chest infections and oxygen therapy. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-cystic-fibrosis-doesnt-affect-lungs.html Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:20:03 EDT news702208082 Millions of Americans are facing heat advisories ahead of the July Fourth holiday as a major heat wave spreads across large parts of the central and eastern United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-major-eastern-stay-safe.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:20:05 EDT news702130681 A wave of unregulated peptides is sweeping the wellness world, sold online with bold promises about muscle gain, anti-aging and fat loss. But concern is growing about side effects, and almost nobody is asking whether these substances affect men and women in the same way. The evidence suggests they do not. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-07-hidden-graymarket-peptides-women-greater.html Wed, 01 Jul 2026 15:00:06 EDT news702130296 Imagine a piece of space debris the size of a hockey puck slams into a Starlink satellite at about 10 kilometers per second. The kinetic energy is equivalent to 2 kilograms of TNT, or a fully loaded semitruck traveling at 100 kilometers an hour. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-clock-chance-satellite-collisions-fast.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:40:10 EDT news702128224 The challenges and consequences surrounding children's screen use are a leading concern for UK families. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-screens-hard-children-easier.html Social Sciences Wed, 01 Jul 2026 14:20:04 EDT news702128221 Do the world's religions and contemplative traditions send people to the same place—compassion, bliss, awe, a sense of God, awareness or the universe? https://phys.org/news/2026-07-meditation-tongues-similarities-spiritual.html Social Sciences Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:40:08 EDT news702131521 Data center projects continue to generate controversy around the country. In part, that's because a variety of groups have competing interests—some in favor, some opposed and others with no direct view on data centers themselves but with concerns related to aspects of data center operations and effects. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-center-pit-social-values-democracy.html Business Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:40:05 EDT news702130742