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. It's easy to take our eyes for granted. But our recent research shows they took an incredible evolutionary journey to reach their current familiar form. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-modern-vision-evolved-ancient-oneeyed.html Evolution Sat, 04 Apr 2026 09:00:03 EDT news694354806 By comparing osteoarthritis pain pathways known to be active in dogs and humans to those in cats with degenerative joint disease (DJD), researchers found that elevation of a particular molecule, artemin, could serve as a marker of disease (and possibly pain) as well as a potential therapeutic target. The findings offer the most comprehensive evidence to date that naturally occurring osteoarthritis (OA) in cats mirrors important biological features of human disease. The study appears in Frontiers in Pain Research. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-potential-disease-marker-therapeutic-cats.html Veterinary medicine Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:40:02 EDT news694089715 A University of California, Riverside team of scientists has found that Toxoplasma gondii, a common parasite affecting up to one-third of the global population, is far more complex than previously believed. The findings, published in Nature Communications, offer new insight into how T. gondii causes disease and why it has been so difficult to treat. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-parasite-toxoplasmosis-multiple-distinct-subtypes.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:10:01 EST news688744841 From the moment an embryo starts to take shape, two-way communication is critical for making sure tissues and organs develop correctly. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-uncovering-early-embryonic-communications-stem.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:50:29 EST news685111801 A new study, led by the University of Vienna and the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, shows how the eyes of adult marine bristleworms continue to grow throughout life—driven by a ring of neural stem cells reminiscent of vertebrate eyes. What's more, these stem cells respond to environmental light. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-functional-principles-eye-evolution-sensitive.html Evolution Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:32:19 EST news683821921 Past psychology and behavioral science studies have identified various ways in which people's acquisition of new knowledge can be disrupted. One of these, known as interference, occurs when humans are learning new information and this makes it harder for them to correctly recall knowledge that they had acquired earlier. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-humans-artificial-neural-networks-similar.html General Physics Sat, 29 Nov 2025 07:50:01 EST news683388766 What is the evolutionary advantage of our consciousness? And what can we learn about this from observing birds? Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum published two articles on this topic. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-species-consciousness-conscious.html Evolution Mon, 24 Nov 2025 16:49:04 EST news683225342 Spin glasses are physical systems in which the small magnetic moments of particles (i.e., spins) interact with each other in a random way. These random interactions between spins make it impossible for all spins to satisfy their preferred alignments; a condition known as 'frustration." https://phys.org/news/2025-10-driven-dissipative-ising-glass-cavity.html Quantum Physics Fri, 31 Oct 2025 08:00:01 EDT news681061214 When Darwin Quiroz first started working with optics as an undergraduate, he was developing atomic magnetometers. That experience sparked a growing curiosity about how light interacts with matter, an interest that has now led him to a new technique in optical imaging. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-fluid-based-laser-scanning-brain.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 15 Oct 2025 11:59:03 EDT news679748341 Modern humans have existed for more than 200,000 years, and each new generation has begun with a single cell—dividing, changing shape and function, organizing into tissues, organs, and limbs. With slight variations, the process has repeated billions of times with remarkable fidelity to the same body plan. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-cells-anthrobots-biologically-younger.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 18 Jun 2025 10:20:01 EDT news669460515 During his most recent appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast, Elon Musk leveled a critique at empathy, calling it "the fundamental weakness of western civilization." https://phys.org/news/2025-05-maga-war-empathy-dangerous.html Social Sciences Thu, 08 May 2025 09:08:05 EDT news665914081 When a fruit fly is navigating straight forward at high speed, why does it know that it's not straying off course? Because as long as the fly moves directly forward, the visual scene shifts from front to back in a near-perfect mirror image across both retinas—generating, in other words, a symmetrical visual motion pattern. This pattern, known as "optic flow," provides a powerful cue for detecting self-motion and maintaining direction. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-fruit-flies-neurons-tiny-visual.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 May 2025 09:56:02 EDT news665312156 In developing hearts, cells shuffle around, bumping into each other to find their place, and the stakes are high: pairing with the wrong cell could mean the difference between a beating heart and one that falters. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-cells-date-neighbors-tissues.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:00:05 EDT news660900901 Ibogaine—a psychoactive plant derivative—has attracted attention for its anti-addictive and anti-depressant properties. But ibogaine is a finite resource, extracted from plants native to Africa like the iboga shrub (Tabernanthe iboga) and the small-fruited voacanga tree (Voacanga africana). Further, its use can lead to irregular heartbeats, introducing safety risks and an overall need to better understand how its molecular structure leads to its biological effects. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-total-synthesis-ibogaine-opportunities-psychoactive.html Biochemistry Fri, 07 Feb 2025 10:14:41 EST news658145678 We named him Squirt—not because he was the smallest of the 16 cuttlefish in the pool, but because anyone with the audacity to scoop him into a separate tank to study him was likely to get soaked. Squirt had notoriously accurate aim. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-octopuses-animal-welfare-frontier-scientists.html Plants & Animals Wed, 25 Dec 2024 11:50:02 EST news654167779 Microgravity is known to alter the muscles, bones, the immune system and cognition, but little is known about its specific impact on the brain. To discover how brain cells respond to microgravity, Scripps Research scientists, in collaboration with the New York Stem Cell Foundation, sent tiny clumps of stem-cell derived brain cells called "organoids" to the International Space Station (ISS). https://phys.org/news/2024-12-brain-cells-mature-faster-space.html Space Exploration Tue, 17 Dec 2024 16:47:48 EST news653676463 University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified evidence of H5N1 adaptation in domestic cats. Work centered on a rural outbreak in South Dakota, where multiple cats died after showing neurological and respiratory symptoms. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-south-dakota-outbreak-reveals-potential.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 12 Dec 2024 15:34:11 EST news653240044 Blue-throated macaws, a critically endangered parrot species, have demonstrated automatic imitation of intransitive (goal-less) actions—a phenomenon previously documented only in humans. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-blue-throated-macaws-advanced-motor.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Dec 2024 08:58:04 EST news652957081 The brain is a marvel of efficiency, honed by thousands of years of evolution so it can adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world. Yet, despite decades of research, the mystery of how the brain achieves this has remained elusive. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-brains-fruit-flies-monkeys-scientists.html Evolution Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:34:29 EST news650194465 We all imitate one another in conversation. We use similar gestures, our accents converge, our tones of voice align, and we mirror each other's facial expressions. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-middle-class-british-people-alike.html Social Sciences Sun, 01 Sep 2024 12:10:01 EDT news644152186 Researchers have developed a new two-photon fluorescence microscope that captures high-speed images of neural activity at cellular resolution. By imaging much faster and with less harm to brain tissue than traditional two-photon microscopy, the new approach could provide a clearer view of how neurons communicate in real time, leading to new insights into brain function and neurological diseases. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-photon-microscopy-method-reveal-insights.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 15 Aug 2024 10:00:02 EDT news642929641 Theoretical physicists at Utrecht University, together with experimental physicists at Sogang University in South Korea, have succeeded in building an artificial synapse. This synapse works with water and salt and provides the first evidence that a system using the same medium as our brains can process complex information. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-experimental-proof-brain-salt.html General Physics Thu, 25 Apr 2024 10:03:37 EDT news633258212 Social interaction is key to survival and reproductive success in primates, including humans. Optimizing outcomes from these encounters requires a calculated approach to cooperation and competition—knowing whom to trust, whom to avoid, or whom to confront confers an evolutionary advantage. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-uncovers-neural-pathways-primate-reciprocity.html Plants & Animals Wed, 27 Mar 2024 09:34:05 EDT news630750841 Researchers at Ruhr University Bochum explain how it is possible for the small brains of pigeons, parrots and corvids to perform equally well as those of mammals, despite their significant differences. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-birds-smart.html Plants & Animals Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:26:03 EST news628946761 Research groups led by Prof. Bi Guoqiang, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), and Prof. Zhou Pengcheng from Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of Chinese Academy of Chinese proposed a design for ultra-compact head-mounted fluorescence microscopes, which were applied to neuro observations. The study was published in National Science Review. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ultra-compact-mounted-fluorescence-microscopes.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 29 Feb 2024 17:07:03 EST news628448822 Researchers report December 5 in the journal Neuron that mice display behavior that resembles self-recognition when they see themselves in the mirror. When the researchers marked the foreheads of black-furred mice with a spot of white ink, the mice spent more time grooming their heads in front of the mirror—presumably to try and wash away the ink spot. However, the mice only showed this self-recognition-like behavior if they were already accustomed to mirrors, if they had socialized with other mice who looked like them, and if the ink spot was relatively large. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-mice-mirror-classic-indicator-self-recognition.html Plants & Animals Tue, 05 Dec 2023 11:00:01 EST news620987711 Artificial intelligence (AI) may attempt to mimic the human brain, but it has yet to fully grasp the complexity of what it means to be human. While it may not truly understand feelings or original creativity, it can help us better understand ourselves—especially our physical bodies in health and in disease, according to a series of articles published by the journal Quantitative Biology. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-artificial-intelligence-life-science-ai.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:11:54 EST news620644310 They look like storm clouds that could fit on the head of a pin: Organoids are three-dimensional cell cultures that play a key role in medical and clinical research. This is thanks to their ability to replicate tissue structures and organ functions in the petri dish. Scientists can use organoids to understand how diseases occur, how organs develop, and how drugs work. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-organoids-combining-spatial-transcriptomics-optogenetics.html Biotechnology Mon, 30 Oct 2023 12:59:35 EDT news617889572 Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have used fruit flies to study how daily eating patterns are regulated. They found that the quasimodo (qsm) gene helped sync feeding to light/dark cycles, but not in constant darkness: instead, the genes clock (clk) and cycle (cyc) keep eating/fasting cycles, while other "clocks" in nerve cells help sync it to days. Deciphering the molecular mechanism behind eating cycles helps us understand animal behavior, including our own. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-fruit-fly-feedingfasting.html Plants & Animals Mon, 30 Oct 2023 09:42:03 EDT news617877721 Science fiction has long described sophisticated technology that can temporarily put humans into a suspended state, permitting characters to awaken far into the future, often after extended journeys through space. In reality, the basis for suspended animation could potentially rely on a far simpler technology—one used routinely in clinics for decades. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-ultrasound-briefly-hibernation-like-state-animals.html Plants & Animals Sun, 20 Aug 2023 01:40:01 EDT news611541658