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. Computational biologist Christina Leslie, Ph.D., has spent nearly two decades at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) building computational tools that help make sense of some of the most complex data in biology. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-qa-decoding-cell-conversation-biologist.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:40:06 EDT news712425721 Nine out of 10 major transportation projects go over their initial budget. This isn't always because of incompetence. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-overruns-due-incompetence-bureaucracy-bad.html Economics & Business Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:20:01 EDT news712320326 Climate change is amplifying extreme weather conditions across southern Africa. Dry seasons are getting hotter and drier, while rains are becoming heavier and more concentrated. This means greater swings between production surplus and scarcity for rural communities that make their living from the land. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-drought-livestock-farmers-tough-decisions.html Ecology Mon, 26 Oct 2026 19:50:01 EDT news712235087 From 2010 to 2024, the Amazon rainforest—the largest tropical rainforest on the planet—released an average of 1.17 billion metric tons more carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the atmosphere than it absorbed each year. Wildfires were the main source, emitting approximately 1.47 billion metric tons of CO₂ per year—far exceeding the forest's absorption capacity of 300 million metric tons per year. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-wildfires-amazon-emit-billion-metric.html Earth Sciences Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:00:20 EDT news711890465 A new report by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency, has found a growing suite of promising options already available to reduce on-farm emissions, as well as further opportunities for practical solutions for Australian producers. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-investment-priorities-emissions-agriculture.html Agriculture Wed, 14 Oct 2026 23:00:01 EDT news711192671 For decades, researchers around the world have been working toward this goal—and now major advances are following in rapid succession. Vienna is now home to the world's first nuclear clock that stabilizes itself, as atomic clocks typically do. This system has been shown to remain stable for more than 24 hours without intervention, and the related findings are published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nuclear-clock-vienna.html General Physics Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:00:51 EDT news710523241 In optogenetics, scientists control neurons by stimulating them with light—potentially unlocking breakthroughs for conditions such as dementia, depression and blindness. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-brain-cells-nobel-science-optogenetics.html Other Tue, 06 Oct 2026 02:20:04 EDT news710469904 From a drone flying above the waves to a camera just inches from the seafloor, University of Miami researchers are transforming how scientists observe coral reefs and measure changes that were once difficult, costly or time-consuming to document. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-imaging-technologies-clearer-view-coral.html Ecology Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:01 EDT news709898082 Léa suggests postponing the launch by a week. The data speaks for itself, and the recommendation seems reasonable. However, at the last team meeting, Marc had defended sticking to the original date. Agreeing to the change now would mean admitting he was wrong. The issue gets resolved when management decides to side with Léa, but Marc feels rejected as a result, and his working relationship with Léa suffers. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-monkeys-conflicts.html Evolution Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:40:04 EDT news709908223 You might be among the 46 million people who've seen a video showing how wolves changed Yellowstone, or you may have heard another version of the story. Yellowstone, which covers nearly 3,500 square miles (9,100 square kilometers) of the western United States, was the world's first national park. Its pioneering reintroduction of wolves, which began in 1995, set a worldwide precedent for conservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-wolves-yellowstone-desperate.html Plants & Animals Tue, 29 Sep 2026 14:20:02 EDT news709896722 RNA vaccines and other nucleic acid therapeutics are typically packaged within fatty molecules known as lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). MIT researchers have now developed a way to produce these particles much more quickly and with more precise control over their size and shape. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-automated-lipid-nanoparticle-production-rna.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:20:07 EDT news709813443 Researchers often use antibodies to detect specific molecules or biological markers because they are remarkably precise at recognizing their targets. However, finding the faint signals of cancer in blood samples is a challenge even for the most reliable techniques. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-laser-enables-colorectal-cancer-biomarker.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 25 Sep 2026 15:00:01 EDT news709553761 Humans and domesticated animals have lived together for millennia, and this relationship has shaped their destinies in countless ways. Animals offered people food, companionship, traction (pulling plows), clothing and transportation. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ancient-virus-hunters-sheeppox-dna.html Archaeology Fri, 25 Sep 2026 09:00:01 EDT news709545241 A UK-led research collaboration has taken a significant step in the global effort to protect cereal crops from the devastating blast fungus. Researchers at the John Innes Centre explored a recently discovered class of plant defense receptors, showing at the molecular level how they limit blast pathogen attacks and how they might be bioengineered to provide broader, more durable immunity in wheat, barley and rice. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-biotech-halt-destructive-cereal-killer.html Biotechnology Wed, 23 Sep 2026 19:00:04 EDT news709400581 An international research team has developed microscopic particles that can make blind retinas respond to light. The particles act as tiny light receptors. Researchers inject them into the eye, where they settle close to nerve cells in the retina. When light hits the particles, it triggers electrical and chemical processes that can activate the nerve cells and prompt them to send signals toward the brain. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nanoparticles-retinas-preclinical.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 22 Sep 2026 18:40:02 EDT news709314961 Every new generation of phone display, television screen and solar panel is the result of precision optics experiments, which use lasers and other light sources to measure the optical properties of candidate materials. These experiments can take months to run, requiring scientists to meticulously angle and adjust delicate light sources, mirrors, cameras and other components in a process of careful, constant tuning that can be physically tedious and time-consuming. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-robotic-lab-optics-demand.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 17 Sep 2026 10:40:27 EDT news708854343 New cases of New World screwworm have recently surfaced in the United States, highlighting the critical need to track its paths to determine where future infestations may occur. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are employing predictive models as part of a forward-thinking approach to manage New World screwworm. This strategy allows USDA agencies to act earlier, respond faster and direct resources where they are most needed to protect U.S. livestock, pets and wildlife. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tracking-path-world-screwworm.html Plants & Animals Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:40:05 EDT news708698304 The catastrophic flood along the Nepal–China border that killed more than 1,400 people and left nearly 6,000 people missing devastated communities and infrastructure and renewed questions about how Himalayan countries prepare for environmental hazards that can unfold rapidly and cross-national borders. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-nepal-climate-communities.html Environment Tue, 08 Sep 2026 14:20:01 EDT news708090481 The scent of fresh laundry in a store encourages people to spend more on secondhand clothes than the scent of citrus or the typical scent of secondhand clothes does. This is according to research by psychologists Matteo Perini and Jasper de Groot of Radboud University. The researchers suggest that this effect is linked to people's tendency to avoid pathogens. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-fresh-laundry-scent-higher.html Social Sciences Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:00:01 EDT news708080401 Detecting radiation is key to technologies ranging from particle accelerators and scientific instruments to medical imaging and security screening. But current detectors must often make trade-offs, providing signals that are strong but slow or fast but weak. The trade-off between signal strength and speed can limit precision detection. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ultrafast-electrons-lasers-reveal-unexpectedly.html Condensed Matter Fri, 04 Sep 2026 12:40:06 EDT news707738641 For insurers and operators alike, what grows under a solar array is almost as important as what sits on top of it. Grass height, moisture and biomass all influence how a site is insured, maintained and grazed. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-kind-solar-farms-grazing.html Environment Thu, 03 Sep 2026 12:20:04 EDT news707642461 Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole have shown that the four core clock genes responsible for maintaining circadian rhythms in animals—Per, Cry2, Bmal1 and Clk—also regulate circatidal behavior in the crustacean P. hawaiensis. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-tiny-crustacean-scientists-genes-circatidal.html Plants & Animals Thu, 03 Sep 2026 10:40:01 EDT news707646781 Researchers at Constructor University and Constructor Labs have developed BiteNetI, a deep-learning model that locates the binding sites of 14 biologically important ion types directly in three-dimensional protein structures. The model needs only several seconds per structure and reaches two- to threefold higher accuracy than most existing predictors, including Google DeepMind's AlphaFold 3. The study, authored by Igor Kozlovskii and Petr Popov, has been published in the journal Communications Biology. The tool provides an open-access platform that could help accelerate drug discovery and the understanding of protein function. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-ai-ion-sites-proteins.html Biotechnology Tue, 01 Sep 2026 13:40:02 EDT news707481901 A research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative "one-pot" testing platform, known as TEMPO, that could transform highly sensitive nucleic acid testing from a laboratory-based procedure into a simple, single-step test that can be performed at home. With a single reaction tube, users can obtain results comparable to those of professional laboratory tests in as little as 30 minutes. The breakthrough has the potential to bridge the technological gap between existing rapid tests and laboratory-based nucleic acid diagnostics, offering a more convenient solution for future infectious disease surveillance and genetic screening. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-pot-crispr-platform-lab-sensitivity.html Biotechnology Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:40:03 EDT news707406541 Sweet, salty, crunchy or creamy—no matter how it's munched, the Virginia peanut has been a cash crop for the commonwealth for much of the past two centuries. But a fungal disease called Sclerotinia blight has decimated peanut plant populations in recent years, with severe outbreaks causing up to a 50% yield loss. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-peanut-sensors-fend-fungus.html Biotechnology Mon, 31 Aug 2026 14:20:07 EDT news707396761 In April 1917, the German submarine UC-30 sailed beneath the waves off the coast of Rømø. It had originally been on a mission in Ireland, but after suffering engine trouble, it turned around and was almost home in Germany. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-shipwrecks-wwi-wwii-polluting-north.html Environment Fri, 21 Aug 2026 13:40:13 EDT news706532941 "Students are funneled into echo chambers, lured into extremist content through innocent avenues such as gaming and workout videos, then exposed to extreme misogyny, racism, homophobia and transphobia." That's how one Australian teacher described what they're seeing in their classroom. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hostile-attitudes-women-extremism-young.html Social Sciences Mon, 17 Aug 2026 13:00:05 EDT news706180923 Adjusting to a new time zone or work schedule can leave the body's internal clock out of sync for days, contributing to sleep disruption, metabolic changes and other health consequences. Researchers at Rice University and Northwestern University have developed an implantable cell therapy that may help the body adapt more quickly to these disruptions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-jet-lag-cells-circadian-adjustment.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:00:02 EDT news705932281 The DNA of Asian elephants tells a concerning story. Although all four subspecies are under pressure, there are considerable differences in their genetic health. In an article published in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution, researchers show how whole-genome analyses can help identify more precisely which populations are most vulnerable and where conservation measures could have the greatest impact. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-dna-highlights-genetic-vulnerability-asian.html Ecology Wed, 12 Aug 2026 16:50:02 EDT news705755261 Epigenetic clocks are important tools in modern aging research. Typically, they use characteristic DNA methylation patterns in the genome to precisely predict a person's age and infer conclusions about the individual's biological aging processes. However, why this works so well and what biological mechanisms are behind it remain unclear. Researchers at the Leibniz Institute on Aging—Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) have now investigated the basis of established epigenetic clocks and developed a new model, TFMethyl clock, that combines predictive accuracy with improved biological interpretability. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-method-epigenetic-aging-clocks-accurate.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 17 Jul 2026 10:20:01 EDT news703497177