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. China's sweeping efforts to clean up its air have delivered one of the biggest public health success stories of recent decades. Since the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was launched in 2013, coal-fired power plants have been fitted with scrubbers, heavy industry has been modernized and pollution standards tightened, leading to an over 50% reduction in atmospheric particulate matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-china-emissions-policies-climate-problem.html Earth Sciences Tue, 10 Feb 2026 07:50:01 EST news689850775 Input. Output. Targets met. Value created. Performance delivered. Strip work down to its essentials and for many people, this is what remains: a machine-like focus on producing, performing and optimizing. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-workplace-wasnt-humans.html Economics & Business Mon, 09 Feb 2026 22:00:01 EST news689869370 Many ecologists hypothesize that, as global warming accelerates, change in nature must speed up. They assume that as temperatures rise and climatic zones shift, species will face local extinction and colonize new habitats at an ever-increasing rate, leading to a rapid reshuffling of ecological communities. A new study by researchers at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and published in Nature Communications shows this is emphatically not the case. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nature-halt-climate-gains-pace.html Plants & Animals Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:58:22 EST news689871482 A novel study uncovers how a subtle chemical tweak transforms the naturally occurring phytotoxin into a powerful molecular glue, 12-deoxyfusicoccin (12-dFC), that locks 14-3-3 proteins onto the intrinsically disordered translational repressor GIGYF2 in human cells. Through integrated proteomic, biochemical, and functional analyses, the work reveals an AMPK-driven stress pathway that 12-dFC exploits to shut down protein synthesis, rewire metabolism, and halt cell proliferation, pointing to an unexpected and promising strategy for targeting cancer cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-chemically-molecular-action-deoxyfusicoccin-repressor.html Biochemistry Mon, 09 Feb 2026 14:40:04 EST news689870099 In nature, molecules often show a strong preference for partnering with other molecules that share the same chirality or handedness. A behavior that is quite evident in the phenomenon known as homochirality-driven entanglement, where molecules that are all left-handed or all right-handed preferentially recognize and wrap around one another, forming complex and interlocked structures. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scientists-harness-nature-chirality-bias.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 09 Feb 2026 11:20:05 EST news689857447 Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is now a reality in higher education, with students and professors integrating chatbots into teaching, learning and assessment. But this isn't just a technical shift; it's reshaping how students and educators learn and evaluate knowledge. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-chatgpt-classrooms-student.html Education Sun, 08 Feb 2026 06:10:01 EST news689259838 In a study published in American Antiquity, Dr. David Madsen and his colleagues address the proposition that the lower Lahontan drainage basin (LLDB), located in the Intermountain West, is "unique" for the use of caves and rock shelters as burial locations. They found that, compared with the Bonneville Basin (BB), the Great Basin's other major lake basin, the LLDB is not unique, and burial beyond it is neither rare nor uncommon. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-lahontan-basin-cave-burials-rare.html Archaeology Sat, 07 Feb 2026 11:00:03 EST news689324617 Public sector organizations in emerging economies could improve their performance and resilience by taking a more systematic approach to knowledge management, according to a review in the International Journal of Business Excellence. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-knowledge-boosts-sector-emerging-economies.html Economics & Business Sat, 07 Feb 2026 08:30:07 EST news689349981 Climate change and worsening environmental conditions have brought into sharp relief how we must reconcile development with sustainability. This issue is nowhere more starkly relevant than among the fastest-growing economies. Research published in the International Journal of the Energy-Growth Nexus that examined the BRICS countries, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, suggests that investment in education and training might play a significant role in reducing environmental harm, a role that has often been overlooked. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-human-capital-brics-linked-emissions.html Economics & Business Thu, 05 Feb 2026 23:20:01 EST news689519997 When startups scale quickly, founders often make hurried hiring decisions that unintentionally disadvantage women, according to new study from the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden. The study shows how the pressures of rapid growth increase the likelihood that founders rely on mental shortcuts and make biased decisions. The study is published in the journal Human Resource Management. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-large-scaling-startups-gender-gaps.html Economics & Business Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:20:03 EST news689520238 Proteins are the molecular machines of cells. They are produced in protein factories called ribosomes based on their blueprint—the genetic information. Here, the basic building blocks of proteins, amino acids, are assembled into long protein chains. Like the building blocks of a machine, individual proteins must have a specific three-dimensional structure to properly fulfill their functions. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cell-tracking-reveals-dynamic-interaction.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:07:47 EST news689530022 Imagine an asteroid striking Earth and wiping out most of the human population. Even if some lucky people survived the impact, Homo sapiens might still face extinction, because the social networks humans rely on would collapse. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-deer-chickadees-social-encounters-extinction.html Plants & Animals Thu, 05 Feb 2026 16:00:01 EST news689520288 The evolution of the human species is marked by an increase in brain size. Now new research suggests that could be partly dependent on increases in prenatal estrogen—revealed by looking at the length of a person's fingers. Professor John Manning, of Swansea's Applied Sports, Technology, Exercise and Medicine (A-STEM) research team, is an expert in the field of digit ratio. His work examines the relationship between the length of index and ring fingers, known as the 2D:4D ratio, which is directly linked to the relative concentrations of estrogen and testosterone a baby receives during the first trimester of pregnancy. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-finger-length-vital-clue-human.html Evolution Thu, 05 Feb 2026 11:20:04 EST news689511891 Australian researchers have developed a high‑performance coating made from peppermint essential oil that can be applied to the surfaces of many commonly used medical devices, offering a safer way to protect patients from infection and inflammation. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-peppermint-oil-plasma-coating-catheter.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:33:37 EST news689488395 When the International Space Station comes back to Earth in 2030, it will mark the end of three decades of peaceful international cooperation—and an era when space became central to our daily lives. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-iss-era-global-cooperation.html Space Exploration Thu, 05 Feb 2026 04:30:01 EST news689487659 One of the most enduring goals in regenerative medicine is deceptively simple: replace a person's damaged or dying cells with healthy new ones grown in the laboratory. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ai-foundation-aims-stem-cell.html Biotechnology Wed, 04 Feb 2026 21:40:01 EST news689437868 Humans' exposure to high temperature burn injuries may have played an important role in our evolutionary development, shaping how our bodies heal, fight infection, and sometimes fail under extreme injury, according to new research. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-exposure-injuries-played-key-role.html Evolution Wed, 04 Feb 2026 19:10:06 EST news689446742 Chronic exposure to pollution from wildfires has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths annually in the United States, according to a new study. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-particle-pollution-wildfire-deaths-year.html Environment Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:57:42 EST news689442989 Scientists at Rutgers University–Newark have developed a first-of-its-kind RNA-based nanotechnology that assembles itself inside living human cells and can be programmed to stop propagation of harmful cells. The findings, recently published in Nature Communications, represent a major breakthrough in biomedical research. The researchers are now in the midst of testing the technology on human cancer cells as a potential cure for the disease but have not yet finished the study or published results. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-scientists-rna-nanotechnology-cells-path.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 04 Feb 2026 12:02:13 EST news689428861 New research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA) shows how many tropical cities are predicted to warm faster than expected under 2°C of global warming. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-temperature-cities-faster-2c.html Environment Wed, 04 Feb 2026 11:40:02 EST news689421866 A new study led by the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Kirill Martemyanov, Ph.D., and international collaborators highlights a new approach to treating depression that bypasses many limitations of traditional antidepressants. The team has developed a highly selective protein-based biologic called a nanobody that targets a newly discovered brain receptor implicated in depression. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nanobodies-treatment-resistant-depression.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:00:01 EST news689419865 Chemicals brought in to help protect our ozone layer have had the unintended consequences of spreading vast quantities of a potentially toxic "forever chemical" around the globe, a new study shows. Atmospheric scientists, led by researchers at Lancaster University, have for the first time calculated that CFC replacement chemicals and anesthetics are behind around a third of a million metric tons (335,500) of a persistent forever chemical called trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) being deposited from the atmosphere across Earth's surface between the years 2000 and 2022. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cfc-vast-quantities-global-chemical.html Earth Sciences Wed, 04 Feb 2026 09:00:02 EST news689320202 Born on the same day, Bill and Ben both grew up to have high status. But in every other way they were polar opposites. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-human-tendency-expertise-sheer-power.html Social Sciences Tue, 03 Feb 2026 22:00:01 EST news689342192 As commercial spaceflight draws ever closer and time spent in space continues to extend, the question of reproductive health beyond the bounds of planet Earth is no longer theoretical but now "urgently practical," according to a new study published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine Online. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-reproduction-space-environment-hostile-human.html Space Exploration Tue, 03 Feb 2026 19:00:01 EST news689324729 In South and West Dallas, initiatives like Restorative Farms have turned vacant lots into hubs for fresh produce, job training, and sustainable practices such as hydroponics—helping combat food deserts and build local food networks. More complex than small community gardens, urban farms can help tackle food insecurity and create jobs, especially in underserved areas. But systemic challenges, such as funding gaps and overcoming environmental and soil contamination, can make sustainability challenging. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-term-partnerships-sustainable-urban-farming.html Environment Tue, 03 Feb 2026 18:10:01 EST news689338656 More than 2,500 plant species have the potential to invade the Arctic at the expense of the species that belong there. Norway is one of the areas that is particularly at risk. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-thousands-alien-species-invade-arctic.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:50:01 EST news689336150 Keck Medicine of USC radiologists use computed tomography (CT) scanners to diagnose and treat patients' diseases and injuries. Recently, however, this advanced technology was put to a far more novel use: examining the bodies of two ancient Egyptian mummies. Radiologists conducted full-body CT scans of two Egyptian priests, Nes-Min, circa 330 BCE, and Nes-Hor, circa 190 BCE, whose bodies had been preserved for more than 2,200 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-ct-scans-unwrap-secrets-ancient.html Archaeology Tue, 03 Feb 2026 10:20:01 EST news689335852 Researchers led by Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1357 Microplastics at the University of Bayreuth have overturned a common scientific assumption in a new study: Microplastic particles do not all exhibit similar transport behavior regardless of their shape. Instead, microplastics behave differently in aquatic environments depending on whether they occur as fragments or fibers. This insight reshapes our understanding of how strongly organisms are exposed to microplastics—an assessment that is crucial for evaluating the environmental risks posed by microplastic pollution. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-microplastics-differently-aquatic-environments-fragments.html Environment Tue, 03 Feb 2026 08:46:44 EST news689330761 International labor migration plays a vital role in supporting families across low- and middle-income countries, often providing a critical source of income for families back home. However, when mothers migrate abroad for work, young children may be left without steady parental care during important developmental stages. While this concern is widely discussed, there has been limited real-world evidence showing how policies that restrict maternal migration affect children's outcomes. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-policy-restricting-mothers-overseas-migration.html Social Sciences Tue, 03 Feb 2026 07:32:17 EST news689326321 Cats—unlike humans—are true carnivores: they must eat meat to survive because their bodies can't draw some essential nutrients from plants. By looking at tissues, researchers can get a good understanding of what foods animals ate. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cats-vegan-meat-eaters-isotopic.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:01 EST news689244061