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. Researchers at the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw (IIMCB), led by Prof. Gracjan Michlewski, have shown that a subtle difference at the very beginning of an RNA molecule can influence how strongly a cell activates innate immune antiviral responses. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-rna-letter-antiviral-alarms-outpacing.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 15 May 2026 18:20:01 EDT news698071986 The production of many products used in everyday life and in industry, such as pharmaceuticals, plastics, and coatings, requires chemical catalysts, often expensive noble metals with limited availability. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are now presenting the first air-stable iron compound, which enables the direct use of iron(I) for catalysis and, unlike previous methods, does not require strong reducing agents. A first test yielded active iron catalysts. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sustainable-chemistry-iron-substitutes-noble.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 15 May 2026 16:20:01 EDT news698071973 All cells, whether big or small, short or long, rely on proteins to function properly. In most cells, transporting these proteins is relatively simple. Neurons in the brain, however, face a significant logistical challenge because their axons, the thread-like structures that carry electrical impulses, can extend for meters. As a result, essential materials produced in the cell body must travel enormous distances to reach the ends of axon terminals. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-neuron-imaging-captures-unconventional-receptor.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 15 May 2026 15:20:03 EDT news698059304 Liquid crystals are an integral part of modern technology, ranging from displays to advanced sensory systems. In a study published in Scientific Reports, researchers from the Institute of Experimental Physics of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (IEP SAS) in Košice, in collaboration with international partners, have demonstrated how minute changes in material composition can achieve precise control over behavior in electric and magnetic fields. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-hidden-threshold-enables-tunable-liquid.html Soft Matter Fri, 15 May 2026 15:00:04 EDT news698072581 For years, scientists have warned that melting Antarctic ice could push sea levels dangerously higher by the end of this century. But a new study led by University of Maryland scientist Madeleine Youngs suggests those warnings may still be too conservative because they leave out a crucial factor: the ocean's own complex circulatory system. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scientists-hidden-antarctic-ice-loss.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 14:40:01 EDT news698071801 Researchers from A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR GIS) have developed a new method to study individual RNA molecules and reveal how their structures influence gene regulation, a fundamental process that affects how cells function in health and disease. Their work was published in Nature Methods. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-molecule-rna-reveal-shifts-health.html Biotechnology Fri, 15 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news698071081 If you have ever warped a cheap plastic cup by pouring coffee into it, then you have witnessed thermoplasticity in action. Thermoplasticity is the ability of a material to become pliable under heating. In industry, thermoplasticity is exploited to form materials into complex shapes using heat. However, some materials, such as aggregates of nanoparticles, are not thermoplastic and cannot be easily processed without affecting their particle morphology and properties. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-exploiting-interfacial-ionic-mobility-moldable.html Nanophysics Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:09 EDT news698068921 A computerized matching system can be designed to be fair and still produce unequal outcomes if the people using it do not understand how it works, according to new research published in Organization Science that shows that disparities can emerge even when a matching system is designed to reduce bias, discourage gaming and reward honest decision-making. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fair-unequal-outcomes.html Mathematics Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:07 EDT news698069461 According to a study published in Science Advances on May 15, global rivers are undergoing widespread and sustained deoxygenation driven by climate warming, among which tropical rivers are the most vulnerable ecosystems, with an urgent need to combat oxygen loss. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-tropical-rivers-emerge-biggest-oxygen.html Environment Fri, 15 May 2026 14:00:02 EDT news698070781 Pairs of correlated or entangled photons are a foundational resource in quantum optics. They are most commonly produced through spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC), a nonlinear optical process that typically relies on a stable, coherent laser to pump a nonlinear crystal. Because of this requirement, SPDC has long been viewed as impractical without laboratory-grade laser systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sunlight-powered-generation-photon-pairs.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 15 May 2026 13:40:05 EDT news698069042 Long-term climate warming is causing a bleaching effect in a key Arctic lichen species, according to new research led by researchers in the School of GeoSciences and British Antarctic Survey. Their study shows how rising temperatures are disrupting one of the Arctic's most important and widespread organisms, with potential consequences for fragile tundra ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-key-arctic-lichen.html Ecology Fri, 15 May 2026 13:20:03 EDT news698068502 Researchers have long known that bacteria could potentially be used to deliver therapeutic drugs inside the human body. However, safely and successfully carrying out such a feat in humans has been a challenge. But now, researchers from Harvard have made another step forward toward the goal of using microbes as medicine. Their recent study, published in Science, details a novel method for containing engineered bacteria to keep them from infecting their host while still successfully delivering potentially life-saving medications. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-implantable-bacteria-safely-major-hurdle.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 15 May 2026 13:01:47 EDT news698068840 It is one of the strangest puzzles in human evolution. About 90% of people across every human culture favor their right hand—with no other primate species showing a population-level preference on this scale. Despite decades of research into the brains, genes and development behind handedness, why humans ended up so overwhelmingly right-handed has remained an evolutionary enigma. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-why-is-almost-everyone-right.html Evolution Fri, 15 May 2026 13:00:06 EDT news698068021 Researchers at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) have identified how a key enzyme called ATR protects DNA from breaking when cells copy damaged genetic material, a discovery that could affect how certain cancer drugs are developed. Published in Genes & Development, the study shows how ATR helps stabilize the cell's DNA-copying machinery during replication stalls, preventing chromosomes from breaking. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-enzyme-chromosome-dna.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 15 May 2026 13:00:05 EDT news698068081 As tropical cyclones (TCs) are among the most destructive natural hazards worldwide, understanding how TCs change under climate warming is of critical importance. While substantial progress has been made in projecting changes in TC intensity and precipitation, much less is known about how their vertical structure will respond to a warmer climate. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-favors-shallower-cyclones-current.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 12:26:26 EDT news698066625 Eighty years ago, Penn researchers J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly launched the age of electronic computing by harnessing electrons to solve complex numerical problems with ENIAC, the world's first general-purpose electronic computer. Today, that same architecture still underlies general computing, but electrons are beginning to show their limits. Because they carry a charge, they lose energy as heat, encounter resistance as they move through materials, and become harder to manage as chips incorporate more transistors and handle larger volumes of data. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-physicists-hybrid-particles-interact-strongly.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 15 May 2026 12:24:39 EDT news698066591 Earthquakes can visibly and permanently crack the ground apart in dramatic and unpredictable surface fault rupture, but new research led by University of Michigan Engineering revealed that soil density strongly influences how and where they occur. The paper is published in the Journal of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-dense-soils-earthquake-surface-ruptures.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 12:20:04 EDT news698064759 The Na+-NQR enzyme is vital for energy production in pathogenic bacteria like the one that causes cholera, making it a highly promising target for new antibiotics. Researchers combined modified artificial intelligence techniques with extensive supercomputer simulations to visualize the hidden, dynamic movements of this enzyme during sodium transport. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bacterial-energy-enzyme-reveals-dual.html Biotechnology Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:03 EDT news698064602 Over the past decade, cities around the world have increasingly turned to nature-based infrastructure to become more resilient in the face of a changing climate. Urban forests provide shade during heat waves and improve air quality; wetlands filter stormwater and reduce flooding; and restored oyster reefs filter water, create habitat and reduce wave energy along shorelines. When carefully designed and managed, these "nature-based solutions" can support climate adaptation, biodiversity and public health. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qa-evolution-reshape-urban-forests.html Evolution Fri, 15 May 2026 11:40:05 EDT news698061664 Environmental conservation is one of the most pressing debates across the world. For decades, it has often been viewed as a choice between strict government regulation and voluntary community action. However, a new research study on the conservation of Tokyo's Zushi-Onoji satoyama introduces a more effective approach that combines both. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-gentle-power-successful-environmental.html Environment Fri, 15 May 2026 11:23:48 EDT news698062983 Climate change is widely understood as an environmental and economic threat, but new research from the University of Sydney shows it is also a growing social crisis, weakening the relationships people rely on to survive. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-social.html Social Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 11:20:01 EDT news698061421 Scientists, including those working with the Earth Commission, are calling for a fundamental rethink of how the world imagines its future, arguing that today's dominant climate and biodiversity models are too narrow to deal with the scale and complexity of the crises ahead. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-scenarios-climate-crisis-scientists.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 11:00:03 EDT news697976281 Every human cell is surrounded by a sugar coating known as the glycocalyx. It not only interacts with its environment but also reveals a great deal about cells' internal states. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) have mapped sugar structures on cell surfaces using high-resolution microscopy. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nanometer-scale-cell-sugar-reveals.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 15 May 2026 10:55:05 EDT news698061234 University of Delaware geologist Jessica Warren has contributed to research that brings us one step closer to better understanding how earthquakes operate. Situated along a stretch of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, between Indonesia and Central America, the Gofar transform fault is one of the fastest moving faults on Earth—cruising along the seafloor at about 140 millimeters per year. This is over four times faster than the San Andreas fault is moving in California. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-fast-gofar-fault-reveals-quiet.html Earth Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 10:40:03 EDT news698060101 Ultrasonic tracking in Hiroshima Bay shows that male and female black sea bream move differently during the spawning season, offering a novel discovery into the reproductive behavior of a broadcast-spawning sparid fish in the wild. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-patrolling-males-females-reproductive-behavior.html Plants & Animals Fri, 15 May 2026 09:39:28 EDT news698056741 Controlling heat flow is a major challenge for many technologies. In electronic and photonic devices, for example, heat dissipation can limit the performance and efficiency, as well as their potential for further miniaturization. At the same time, two-dimensional (2D) materials, which are made of layers just a few atoms thick, have emerged as a promising platform in these fields. For example, 2D semiconductors are expected to be used in conduction channels of future transistors. However, their thermal behavior remains difficult to predict and control. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-honey-regime-ultrathin-semiconductors.html Nanophysics Fri, 15 May 2026 09:20:01 EDT news698054064 Guide dogs help thousands of people with visual disabilities navigate daily life. While guide dogs provide tremendous benefits, the current training program faces serious inefficiencies, since a large percentage never actually assist an owner. Only 60% of dogs evaluated for assistance work graduate from their training programs. This means a loss of more than $12,000 per dog unable to complete training. A dog that has completed the program costs up to $50,000, and people can wait years for a trained animal. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-genomic-analysis-dog-success.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 15 May 2026 09:17:36 EDT news698055421 How do sea squirts stay attached to rocks amid crashing waves and strong currents? Recent research has revealed that sea squirts do not simply secrete adhesive substances. Instead, they possess a unique system where they package these materials into nano-sized (nm) condensates, deliver them to the destination, and then unpack them for use onsite. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-sea-squirts-nano-packaging-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 15 May 2026 09:07:46 EDT news698054822 The fresh air, picturesque vistas and pristine bush of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney draw millions of visitors a year. Unfortunately, the Blue Mountains are also the site of a controversial investigation into water contamination with "forever chemicals," also called PFAS. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chemicals-longer-decades.html Environment Fri, 15 May 2026 09:04:43 EDT news698054581 A few years ago, I had just moved into a house. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-friendship-loneliness.html Social Sciences Fri, 15 May 2026 08:59:31 EDT news698054342