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Science News

Latest science news, discoveries and scientific developments.

Cosmic radiation at flight altitudes rises when the sun is less active
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Cosmic radiation at flight altitudes rises when the sun is less active

Radiation from space is constantly entering Earth's atmosphere, but how much of it reaches the altitudes used by commercial aircraft depends not only on height and location, but also on the activity of the sun. A new study based on high-altitude balloon measurements over southern Israel has mapped these changes through the atmosphere and found that radiation levels at aviation altitudes rise as solar activity falls.

📅 2026-09-08 21:40:03    •    Phys.org
Optimizing tomato plant growth with microbes
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Optimizing tomato plant growth with microbes

Plants are home to a diverse array of microorganisms that support their growth and help them adapt to environmental stress—of which there has been an abundance lately. High temperatures and drought caused by human-induced climate change have led to reduced crop yields and the use of biofertilizers such as rhizosphere microorganisms, which help plants absorb nutrients and increase their resistance to disease and stress.

📅 2026-09-08 21:40:01    •    Phys.org
Waterlogged seeds reveal melons' ancient journey
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Waterlogged seeds reveal melons' ancient journey

Melons produce many seeds, making the melon shape a traditional symbol of fertility and prosperity in Chinese culture. But the historical debate about how melons made their way to modern tables is as long and twisted as the vines they grow on.

📅 2026-09-08 21:30:01    •    Phys.org
NASA technique for manipulating satellite photos now reveals ancient images
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NASA technique for manipulating satellite photos now reveals ancient images

High in the central tower of Angkor Wat, an ancient Cambodian temple, paintings depict horseback riders and a traditional musical ensemble. Thousands of visitors pass these images daily without noticing them because they are faded to the point of invisibility.

📅 2026-09-08 21:20:10    •    Phys.org
A crystalline sponge reveals structures of large 'beyond rule of 5' molecules
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A crystalline sponge reveals structures of large 'beyond rule of 5' molecules

Drug discovery has traditionally followed the "rule of 5," which identifies chemical properties generally associated with good absorption of orally administered drugs, including a molecular weight below 500 daltons (Da). However, some pharmaceutical compounds fall outside these guidelines. Known as beyond rule of 5 (bRo5) molecules, these compounds can have larger, more complex structures while still exhibiting strong therapeutic activity and favorable pharmacological properties. Their size and structural complexity, however, make it difficult to characterize them using conventional methods, particularly when very small quantities are available.

📅 2026-09-08 21:00:07    •    Phys.org
Not all eggs are the same—uncovering a tropical parasite's secret weapons
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Not all eggs are the same—uncovering a tropical parasite's secret weapons

A team of scientists from the Faculty of Science at Charles University has achieved a major breakthrough in research into schistosomiasis, a serious tropical disease affecting more than 250 million people worldwide. Using advanced laser microdissection, the researchers have, for the first time, captured and analyzed proteins secreted by the eggs of the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni directly within infected tissues of a living organism, rather than under artificial laboratory conditions.

📅 2026-09-08 20:40:07    •    Phys.org
Physics-based AI unlocks first global predictions of carbon cycling in ocean sediments
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Physics-based AI unlocks first global predictions of carbon cycling in ocean sediments

Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new physics-based artificial intelligence approach that, for the first time, enables accurate global-scale predictions of how dissolved organic carbon moves between seawater and marine sediments, a crucial but previously unquantifiable component of the planet's carbon cycle.

📅 2026-09-08 20:40:03    •    Phys.org
Curved nanographene with five-, six- and seven-membered rings synthesized in two steps
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Curved nanographene with five-, six- and seven-membered rings synthesized in two steps

Nanographenes can be considered molecular fragments of graphene, a 2D conductive material in which carbon atoms are connected in a honeycomb pattern. Because their electronic and photophysical properties vary depending on the size and shape of the molecule, nanographenes are expected to find applications in OLEDs, organic solar cells, organic field-effect transistors and more.

📅 2026-09-08 20:20:10    •    Phys.org
Fast radio bursts could help disentangle galactic feedback from dark matter effects
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Fast radio bursts could help disentangle galactic feedback from dark matter effects

Intense, brief flashes of radio light called fast radio bursts (FRBs) travel across billions of light-years to reach Earth, passing through a fog of matter along the way. The bursts' origins are unclear but may originate from highly magnetized dead stars called magnetars. The denser the fog through which FRBs travel, the more dispersed their signals become—similar to the way a prism splits white light into a rainbow of colors.

📅 2026-09-08 20:00:10    •    Phys.org
From classrooms to careers, Black women describe lasting effects of racialized bias
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From classrooms to careers, Black women describe lasting effects of racialized bias

As a child, Nefatari excelled at advanced mathematics. But a teacher questioned her academic success in this area because the teacher believed Black girls were not good at math. Years later, as a research participant, Nefatari said the teacher's influence steered her away from her preferred field.

📅 2026-09-08 20:00:01    •    Phys.org
Giant impacts may strip small icy moons of subsurface oceans
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Giant impacts may strip small icy moons of subsurface oceans

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists used simulations to understand the role disruptive impacts play on icy moons with subsurface oceans in our solar system. A recent paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy concludes that disruptive impacts can affect the presence and persistence of subsurface oceans in these moons but do not seem to create new oceans.

📅 2026-09-08 19:40:10    •    Phys.org
The future of malaria control is … more mosquitoes?
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The future of malaria control is … more mosquitoes?

South Africa's malaria elimination teams could soon have backup from millions of decoy mosquitoes specially bred at Africa's first mosquito factory. These insects are part of South Africa's pioneering Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), developed through a joint partnership between the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) and Wits University.

📅 2026-09-08 19:20:05    •    Phys.org
Quebec wildfire smoke left forest moths with deformed wings, research finds
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Quebec wildfire smoke left forest moths with deformed wings, research finds

Over the course of the summer of 2023, Quebec experienced its worst wildfire season on record. By its end, some 4.5 million hectares (11.1 million acres) of the province's boreal forest had burned. While the effects of the toxic smoke on humans have been thoroughly studied, our knowledge of the impact on local fauna—including insects—is lacking.

📅 2026-09-08 19:00:13    •    Phys.org
Star-fingered toads use fingertip lobules to detect prey in murky water
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Star-fingered toads use fingertip lobules to detect prey in murky water

Surinam toads (Pipa pipa) are strange, flat frogs with minuscule eyes that live in the murky waters of the Amazon basin and carry their eggs on their backs. The way they catch prey is even weirder. They lie in wait with outstretched forelimbs until a small fish approaches, then snap open their jaws to create enough suction to draw the fish into their tongueless mouths and swallow it whole, all in a few hundredths of a second. But how do these frogs hunt in low visibility with poor vision?

📅 2026-09-08 19:00:09    •    Phys.org
New molecular magnet design boosts performance for ultrahigh-density data storage
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New molecular magnet design boosts performance for ultrahigh-density data storage

Researchers at The University of Manchester and the Australian National University have developed a new class of molecular magnets that combines the most successful features of previous designs, resulting in some of the strongest magnetic memory properties reported to date.

📅 2026-09-08 18:40:09    •    Phys.org