/ en-us Â鶹ÒùÔº internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ÒùÔºics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. In the 17th century, astronomers Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini trained their telescopes on Saturn and uncovered a startling truth: the planet's luminous bands were not solid appendages, but vast, separate rings composed of countless nested arcs. /news/2025-09-simulations-saturn-moon-enceladus-ice.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 30 Sep 2025 15:52:04 EDT news678466322 The amino acid glycine is an important neurotransmitter that regulates memory, reflex, and brain development, and it may also be a biomarker for bacterial virulence. Of the 20 standard amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, glycine is the simplest, the only one lacking a side chain extending from its backbone. /news/2025-09-golden-broccoli-aptamer-enables-glycine.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:04:04 EDT news678452641 When you think of telescopes in space, you probably think of the Hubble Space Telescope and its younger, larger sibling, the James Webb Space Telescope. /news/2025-09-tiny-satellite-tracks-star-collisions.html Astronomy Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:30:06 EDT news678446925 For centuries, people have described strange blue balls of light floating around in marshes, wetlands, and even cemeteries. It's no surprise that these mysterious flames, termed "will-o'-the-wisps" or ignis fatuus, have spurred countless ghostly explanations, but even the more scientific theories were speculative in nature and lacked experimental support. /news/2025-09-microlightning-sought-explanation-wisps.html Earth Sciences Tue, 30 Sep 2025 10:30:01 EDT news678446905 Our Milky Way galaxy never sits still: it rotates and wobbles. And now, data from the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope reveal that our galaxy also has a giant wave rippling outwards from its center. /news/2025-09-gaia-telescope-galaxy-great.html Astronomy Tue, 30 Sep 2025 09:57:23 EDT news678445038 A recent study offers proof of feasibility for using cosmic radiation detectors to discover underground spaces. The detectors identify muons—particles created when cosmic radiation collides with Earth's atmosphere, which penetrate the ground before losing their energy and coming to a stop. Thus, by detecting muons, archaeologists can map hidden voids such as tunnels and channels. /news/2025-09-underground-spaces-muon-technology-3d.html Archaeology Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:10:06 EDT news678380785 Johns Hopkins applied mathematicians and astronomers have developed a new method to render images from ground-based telescopes as clear as those taken from space, a process that stands to expand the benefits of Earth-based instruments. /news/2025-09-sharper-algorithm-stars-greater-focus.html Astronomy Mon, 29 Sep 2025 15:12:54 EDT news678377564 Slices from the edge of Mars reveal a layered atmosphere of delicate complexity. A European spacecraft has captured a luminous mille-feuille of dust enveloping the red planet in unprecedented detail. /news/2025-09-mars-atmospheric-mille-feuille-high.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 29 Sep 2025 13:39:04 EDT news678371942 The SOAR Telescope, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, has received a major upgrade with the installation of the SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES). The long-awaited instrument achieved first light in August with observations of the binary star system Eta Carinae, along with 13 other targets. SOAR is part of U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. /news/2025-09-instrument-soar-remarkable-binary-star.html Astronomy Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:50:04 EDT news678368907 The terahertz (THz) band of the electromagnetic spectrum holds immense promise for next-generation technologies, including high-speed wireless communication, advanced encryption, and medical imaging. However, manipulating THz waves has long been a technical challenge, since these frequencies interact weakly with most natural materials. /news/2025-09-electrically-tunable-metasurface-real-thz.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 29 Sep 2025 12:21:04 EDT news678367261 One often-repeated example illustrates the mind-boggling potential of quantum computing: A machine with 300 quantum bits could simultaneously store more information than the number of particles in the known universe. /news/2025-09-physicists-quantum-bit-capable.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Sun, 28 Sep 2025 08:50:01 EDT news678095146 Scientists have sought to capture the first days of how a person comes to be, by recreating those early moments in a lab via models made up of induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPSCs. /news/2025-09-ai-reveals-hidden-features-embryo.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:57:04 EDT news678106622 In an archaeological achievement, researchers from Kumamoto University have successfully reconstructed the structure of prehistoric fishing nets from the Jomon period (ca. 14,000–900 BCE) by analyzing impressions preserved in ancient pottery using advanced X-ray computed tomography (CT). This marks the first time in the world that nets from over 6,000 years ago have been digitally and physically resurrected in such detail. The research is published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. /news/2025-09-ancient-fishing-nets-resurrected-pottery.html Archaeology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:39:03 EDT news678101942 Researchers led by Professor Yi-Tsu Chan at National Taiwan University have created a giant molecular cage that mimics nature's nested structures. This layered nanocage is remarkably stable and can serve as a miniature reactor for producing gold nanoparticles. /news/2025-09-nature-nanocage-gold-nanoparticle-reactor.html Nanomaterials Fri, 26 Sep 2025 10:19:03 EDT news678100741 Nearly every cell in your body depends on mitochondria to survive and function properly. Mitochondria provide 90% of our bodies' energy, but less well-known are their roles in cellular signaling and in eliminating defective cells, which is important for stopping cancer before it starts. /news/2025-09-molecular-mechanisms-reveal-physics-mitochondria.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:42:33 EDT news678098542 A digital reconstruction of a million-year-old skull suggests humans may have diverged from our ancient ancestors 400,000 years earlier than thought and in Asia not Africa, a study said Friday. /news/2025-09-million-year-skull-human-evolution.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 26 Sep 2025 04:56:24 EDT news678081354 Machine-learning models can speed up the discovery of new materials by making predictions and suggesting experiments. But most models today only consider a few specific types of data or variables. Compare that with human scientists who work in a collaborative environment and consider experimental results, the broader scientific literature, imaging and structural analysis, personal experience or intuition, and input from colleagues and peer reviewers. /news/2025-09-ai-driven-blends-literature-robotics.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:34:05 EDT news678029641 Humans have been making metal alloys for thousands of years, and most of us can conjure a rough mental image of the process—it involves red-hot molten metals being mixed, poured, and shaped in a sweltering workshop or factory. This approach still works perfectly well for the traditional metals we see every day, like steel. But advanced metals with special chemical and mechanical properties, ones that scientists are investigating to use in energy technologies like long-lasting batteries and extreme-temperature engines for aerospace vehicles, need a more refined approach. /news/2025-09-electron-microscopy-reveals-method-exotic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:39:05 EDT news677943542 Â鶹ÒùÔºicists in Australia and Britain have reshaped quantum uncertainty to sidestep the restriction imposed by the famous Heisenberg uncertainty principle—a result that could underpin future ultra-precise sensor technology used in navigation, medicine and astronomy. /news/2025-09-scientists-sidestep-heisenberg-uncertainty-principle.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 24 Sep 2025 14:00:03 EDT news677779261 A multinational research team has discovered a mysterious tubular structure—previously unknown in any organism—within Profftella, a symbiotic bacterium associated with a major global citrus pest. This discovery, made using advanced microscopy, may lead to breakthroughs in both pest control and the study of life's evolution. /news/2025-09-scientists-enigmatic-tubular-citrus-pest.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:57:04 EDT news677930222 Researchers have built on past studies and introduced new methods to explore the nature and role of subsurface fluids, including water, in the instances and behaviors of earthquakes and volcanoes. Their study suggests that water, even heavy rainfall, can play a role in or even trigger seismic events. This could potentially lead to better early warning systems. /news/2025-09-supercritical-subsurface-fluids-window-world.html Earth Sciences Wed, 24 Sep 2025 05:00:02 EDT news677773990 Membrane proteins are crucial for numerous biological processes and serve as important drug targets. For decades, scientists have relied on detergents to extract membrane proteins from cell membranes for structural studies. /news/2025-09-vesicle-based-method-sidesteps-detergents.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:46:04 EDT news677857562 Information on Earth's biodiversity is increasingly collected using DNA-, image- and audio-based sampling. At the same time, new statistical analysis methods are being developed to make more out of the collected data, providing detailed information on Earth's biodiversity and its status. Now, an international research group has developed a new statistical approach for jointly modeling the distributions of up to millions of species. The new approach improves predictions especially on rare species that have remained difficult to model with earlier approaches. /news/2025-09-rare-species-accurately-statistical-approach.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:15:03 EDT news677848501 Researchers with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have created an innovative method to visualize and analyze atomic structures within specially designed, ultrathin bilayer 2D materials. When precisely aligned at an angle, these materials exhibit unique properties that could lead to advancements in quantum computing, superconductors and ultraefficient electronics. /news/2025-09-scientists-visualize-atomic-moir-materials.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 11:21:04 EDT news677845261 The consortium running the European Space Agency's (ESA) Euclid mission has published the most extensive simulation of the cosmos to date. The modeling was based on algorithms developed by UZH professor Joachim Stadel. /news/2025-09-largest-cosmological-simulation-algorithms-euclid.html Astronomy Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:46:39 EDT news677843194 An Australian research team has achieved an advanced materials breakthrough that opens the door to a new generation of nanodrug applications. From drug delivery, to diagnostics, to gene editing and beyond, the breakthrough has the potential to improve outcomes for patients around the world in coming decades. /news/2025-09-lipid-nanoparticles-complex-options-generation.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 10:35:04 EDT news677842501 Every time a eukaryotic cell divides, it faces a monumental challenge: It must carefully duplicate and divide its genetic material (chromosomes) equally, and then rebuild the nuclear envelope around the separated halves. If this process goes wrong, the resulting nuclei can be misshapen or disorganized—features often seen in cancer and aging-related diseases. /news/2025-09-key-enzyme-nucleus-formation-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 23 Sep 2025 08:35:04 EDT news677835302 Manufacturers of infrared cameras face a growing problem: The toxic heavy metals in today's infrared detectors are increasingly banned under environmental regulations, forcing companies to choose between performance and compliance. /news/2025-09-eco-friendly-dark-colloidal-quantum.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:19:19 EDT news677765954 Australia's SpIRIT nanosatellite has successfully completed the initial phase of its mission, marking a milestone achievement for Australia's place and reputation in the global space industry. /news/2025-09-selfies-space-nanosatellite-phase-mission.html Space Exploration Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:15:42 EDT news677765739 A novel class of light-sensitive nanoparticles may one day enable new approaches to medical imaging. They were developed by a research team at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). The particles absorb laser light and convert them into heat, thereby changing their internal structure, similar to folded proteins. The research was published in the journal Communications Chemistry. /news/2025-09-sensitive-nanoparticles-contrast-agents-advanced.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 22 Sep 2025 12:43:03 EDT news677763781