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. In water, soil and air all around us lives a free-living, single-celled organism called Acanthamoeba. Most of the time, Acanthamoeba keeps to itself. On rare occasions, though, the amoeba infects humans and can cause severe infections of the eyes, skin and even the brain. What's more, doctors can struggle to diagnose and treat the eye infection caused by the organism, called Acanthamoeba keratitis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-eye-amoeba-resists-treatment-biochemistry.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Oct 2026 11:00:02 EDT news709919162 While talks on an international plastics treaty remain deadlocked, California is starting a process that could lead to microplastics regulation. On Oct. 1, the state will add microplastics to a list of substances that evidence suggests may be harmful to people or the environment and are candidates for increased regulation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-microplastics-law-california-plastic-policy.html Environment Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:40:01 EDT news709877881 Every year, birds migrate north and gather in a single location in the Arctic, and a team of University of Kentucky researchers is collaborating with Alaska Native communities to study how diseases spread and evolve at this gathering before they reach human populations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-track-emerging-pathogens-arctic-bird.html Plants & Animals Fri, 25 Sep 2026 11:40:17 EDT news709553221 Researchers have developed an organoid-on-a-chip technology that verifies the efficacy of Parkinson's disease treatments in real time. The technology combines a stem cell–derived "mini-brain" with a nanoplasmonic sensor engineered to maximize light–matter interaction. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-gold-nanoplasmonic-chip-tracks-dopa.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 22 Sep 2026 12:00:04 EDT news709290021 For two weeks in September, everyone wants to be Italian—at least judging by the crowds at the annual Feast of San Gennaro in New York City's Little Italy. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-story-italy-feast-san-gennaro.html Archaeology Sun, 20 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news708868542 A team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developed an approach that enabled them to directly observe how electrons interact with defects in advanced semiconductor devices in unprecedented detail. The team's methodology included an innovative simulation tool that enabled accurate theoretical interpretations of its experimental observations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-images-defects-electrons-stable-wigner.html Condensed Matter Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:00:01 EDT news708866221 Quantum computers are no longer theoretical concepts. Today, they are being developed to tackle a range of complex problems, including exploring financial risk, modeling complex molecules and optimizing massive logistics networks. However, until now, there has been no way to benchmark the computational power of different systems on the same scale to see how they compare. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-benchmark-quantum-reveals-limitations.html Quantum Physics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 13:10:02 EDT news708868060 A team of researchers from University of Toronto Engineering has created a new type of dye-sensitized nanoparticle that can detect target chemicals at very low concentrations while also distinguishing between molecules with very similar shapes. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-emitting-nanoparticles-subtle-chemical-differences.html Nanomaterials Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:40:01 EDT news708621481 When a virus mutates, the world usually finds out the hard way. Variants of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 can slip past vaccines and antibody drugs before scientists fully understand what has changed. A new study from Harvard's Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology (CCB) suggests the hard way may not be inevitable. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-antibody-cocktails-viruses-evolutionary-dead.html Evolution Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:40:16 EDT news708621658 A surge in Indonesia's wood pellet and chip production is driving a new wave of deforestation, threatening the vast archipelago's remaining tropical forests, vital biodiversity hot spots and the land of Indigenous peoples, according to new satellite analysis from environmental nongovernmental organizations. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-japan-biomass-energy-boom-threatens.html Environment Mon, 14 Sep 2026 03:53:33 EDT news708576785 In recent years, scientists have developed methods to measure a cell's transcriptome, or all the RNA produced by a cell, to study the cell's identity and genetic activity. However, these methods rely on killing the cell to access the bits of RNA within and offer only a one-time snapshot. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-virus-particles-enable-gene-tracking.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 04 Sep 2026 15:00:02 EDT news707739962 Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) has dominated the cultural landscape. Uptake across various sectors, including law enforcement, quickly followed, usually with minimal foresight and little to no guardrails, like effective policies or laws, to govern AI use. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-aipowered-policing-endangering-police.html Social Sciences Fri, 28 Aug 2026 20:40:02 EDT news707126222 For thousands of years, farmers in the Pacific have lived in harmony with their environment. But rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall and tired soils are testing even the most experienced hands. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pacific-farmers-reviving-traditional-knowledge.html Agriculture Fri, 14 Aug 2026 08:30:01 EDT news705910018 Some of Earth's oldest living organisms may be right beneath our feet: not ancient trees or coral reefs but fungi. Yet despite their ubiquity and importance, scientists still don't know how long most fungi can live—or even how to define their age. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fungal-age-elusive-underground-networks.html Ecology Thu, 13 Aug 2026 11:00:09 EDT news705656522 More than 100,000 people are awaiting an organ transplant in the United States, with a new candidate added to the list every 10 minutes. Even if the transplant is carried out successfully, recipients must take immunosuppressive medications, elevating their risk of broader infections, and adhere to a strict lifestyle for the rest of their lives—all while facing the possibility that their body could reject the donated organ at any time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hybrid-bioprinter-capillary-networks-narrower.html Biotechnology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 13:40:06 EDT news705752101 Signals ride on waves of one kind or another: light, sound, radio. But new carriers are needed to relay information in next-generation devices. Disturbances or waves in magnetic materials called magnons could be an efficient option—if scientists can tame them. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-spontaneous-magnons-synchronize-external-room.html Condensed Matter Wed, 12 Aug 2026 12:00:05 EDT news705746821 Resolving a long-standing problem in semiconductor physics and optoelectronics, a team of researchers from Skoltech—a VEB.RF group institution—and their colleagues from ITMO University and HSE University have for the first time demonstrated direct electrical pumping of a polariton laser based on a solution-processed halide perovskite microcrystal. Published in Nature, this solution to a decades-long technological challenge ushers in inexpensive nonepitaxial laser diodes operating under continuous electric current. These could be used in optical sensing and spectroscopy, high-speed computing and energy-efficient neuromorphic computing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-electrically-perovskite-polariton-laser-diode.html Condensed Matter Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:20:06 EDT news704544242 Sand has a way of getting everywhere on a beach day—and for some, it can make or break the whole trip. There's the way it whips through the air just as sandwiches are being unwrapped, the way it turns blisteringly hot underfoot by midday, and the way it stubbornly clings to every piece of clothing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physics-beach-sand.html Materials Science Mon, 27 Jul 2026 13:00:15 EDT news704367519 For more than 25 years, lab-on-a-chip technology has allowed researchers to model human organs and blood vessels using real human cells in artificial microscopic environments. These microphysiological systems (MPS) may replicate human cells and mimic organs or even full organ systems under numerous conditions. They have become key to studying everything from heart disease to the effectiveness of new drugs. However, they have been held back by one major limitation: an inability to accurately re-create the blood flow waveforms generated by the human heart. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-recreates-human-heartbeat-blood-lab.html Biotechnology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news703410569 Driving an electric current through a molecule can create a magnetic field. Yet in practice, such fields are often too weak to be detected experimentally. Through theoretical modeling, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show how quantum effects can turn single molecules into effective magnets—including one shaped like a microscopic soccer ball, just in time for the FIFA World Cup final. The findings are published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-currents-nano-soccer-ball.html Nanophysics Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:20:10 EDT news703326458 There's growing interest in alternatives to traditional burials and in making the process more environmentally friendly in many countries. For many people, it's about the environmental impact of the funeral industry globally. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-composting-cremation-eco-credentials-alternatives.html Environment Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:20:02 EDT news703250161 Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin and other tissues. But there's been no reliable way to engineer precisely patterned networks of blood vessels, some of which can be finer than a human hair. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-precise-artificial-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:30:02 EDT news703241819 In the development of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cancer, Ebola and dengue, numerous chemical reactions take place within and between cells that contribute to disease progression. These changes can occur in less than the blink of an eye—within microseconds or faster—making them difficult to analyze. Quantum sensing offers a way to monitor these changes, helping researchers determine when, where and how rapid biological processes occur. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-biosensor-rapid-invisible-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:40:02 EDT news701338909 Silicon chips have powered computing for half a century. Increasingly, they are also becoming platforms to read and manipulate biology at scale—recording from many neurons, reading many DNA sequences and now synthesizing DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-semiconductor-chip-dna-sequences-enzymatic.html Biotechnology Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:47:12 EDT news700915316 Since NASA's Artemis II crew members safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 after their record-setting mission around the moon, science teams have been busy collecting more data and combing through observations collected on the test flight. Results from these science investigations will help support safe human exploration of deep space and provide a blueprint for how future missions will conduct science on the lunar surface as NASA builds a moon base and develops an enduring human presence there. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-artemis-ii-moon-mission-earth.html Space Exploration Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:00:03 EDT news700146841 A new chip-making technique exploits a material's crystal structure to create nanoscale patterns at room temperature directly onto hard materials used in devices, including silica. The method could make it easier to pattern chips relaying both electronic- and light-based signals, helping advance next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stressed-crystal-nanoscale-patterns-chip.html Nanophysics Fri, 22 May 2026 11:00:07 EDT news698662022 Scientists have created the first microlasers capable of detecting individual molecules and even single atomic ions, a breakthrough that could significantly advance early disease diagnosis and molecular-scale medical testing. Researchers at the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute have published their work in Nature Photonics. The paper opens up new possibilities for microlaser biosensing technology, including "lab-on-a-chip" technology capable of instant medical testing and diagnosis. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-microlasers-capable-individual-molecules-ions.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:00:05 EDT news693565580 Animal studies often fail to predict human tissue responses to new drugs or newly developed therapies. Besides generating tremendous costs for clinical studies, it also raises significant ethical concerns. Therefore, novel approaches to mimicking natural human environments like vascular system growth control, are broadly developed to deliver a reproducible model to test novel drugs. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-magnetic-fields-lab-grown-blood.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:50:02 EDT news693147081 The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dna-origami-vaccine-rivals-mrna.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:40:01 EDT news692459881 How do you make the complex reality of chips and electronics accessible to a broad audience? TU/e researcher Elles Raaijmakers believes an educational game can do just that. In the game I.C. Tycoon (working title), players take on the role of chip designer and manufacturer. They work for demanding clients and solve problems that are surprisingly close to reality. The project is led by postdoc Raaijmakers, under the guidance of experienced TU/e professor Peter Baltus. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-logic-science-tangible-classroom.html Education Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:54:21 EST news690713641