/ 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. The tongues of chameleons and salamanders might not seem like the inspiration for tomorrow's engineering breakthroughs, but inside the Deban Laboratory at the University of South Florida, biology and engineering are colliding to reveal how nature's designs could one day help solve challenges on Earth and beyond. /news/2025-09-videos-high-tongues-salamanders-chameleons.html Plants & Animals Biotechnology Mon, 08 Sep 2025 16:10:03 EDT news676566120 A team of researchers at the TechMed Center of the University of Twente has transformed real sperm cells into tiny, magnetically controlled microrobots. These sperm bots can now be tracked in real time using X-ray imaging, a breakthrough in medical microrobotics. /news/2025-09-sperm-bots-cells-coated-magnetic.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 03 Sep 2025 13:39:20 EDT news676125555 Remote-controlled microflow using light-controlled state transitions within DNA condensates has been reported by scientists from the Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan. By switching between ultraviolet light (UV) and visible light irradiation, the researchers demonstrated that the novel DNA motifs containing azobenzene can dissociate or reassemble. Furthermore, localized photo-switching within a DNA liquid condensate generated two distinct directional motions. This study can fuel the development of innovative fluid-based diagnostic chips and molecular computers. /news/2025-06-photo-switchable-dna-condensates-enable.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:40:03 EDT news669908401 Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a scalable, non-viral technology that efficiently delivers genetic material into human immune cells. The platform, called Nanostraw Electro-actuated Transfection (NExT), uses tiny hollow nanostructures and electrical pulses to insert a wide variety of biomolecules—proteins, mRNA and gene-editing tools—into immune cells with high efficiency and minimal disruption. /news/2025-05-gene-delivery-nanostraws-electrical-pulses.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 22 May 2025 11:35:05 EDT news667132501 In the effort to build superconducting quantum computers, researchers around the world are working to develop electrical circuits that operate in the microwave domain using individual particles of microwave radiation (microwave photons) as qubits—the basic building blocks of quantum computing. /news/2025-03-noise-transducers-bridge-gap-microwave.html Nanophysics Thu, 20 Mar 2025 10:41:35 EDT news661686091 The development of sustainable energy sources that can satisfy the world energy demand is one of the most challenging scientific problems. Nuclear fusion, the energy source of stars, is a clean and virtually unlimited energy source that appears as a promising candidate. /news/2025-01-energetic-particles-plasma-flares-edge.html Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 10 Jan 2025 04:59:01 EST news655707537 Soft polymers with the combined properties of electrolytes and traditional polymers offer some unique and desirable properties that can be drastically changed on demand. /news/2024-08-materials-scientists-road-responsive-gels.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 22 Aug 2024 11:19:05 EDT news643544342 In dim light a cat sees much better than you do, as do dogs and nocturnal animals. That's because the structure of a cat's eye has a tapetum lucidum, a mirror-like layer immediately behind the retina. Light entering the eye that is not focused by the lens onto the retina is reflected off the tapetum lucidum, where the retina gets another chance to receive the light, process it, and send impulses to the optic nerve. /news/2024-03-team-acoustic-crystal-smooth-elastic.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 23 Mar 2024 07:30:01 EDT news630322112 A West Virginia University mechanical engineer has developed a way to predict the neuron and muscle patterns controlling locomotion for animals of any size, moving at any speed. /news/2024-01-movement-animals-sizes.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:13:21 EST news625914796 Space coiling acoustic metamaterials are static and require manual reconfiguration for sound-field modulation. In a new report published in Communications Materials, Christabel Choi, and a team of scientists in computer science and engineering in the U.K., and Italy, developed an approach for active reconfiguration with standalone dynamics to space-coil unit cells known as dynamic meta-bricks. /news/2024-01-magnetically-actuated-acoustic-metamaterial.html Materials Science Wed, 10 Jan 2024 10:00:01 EST news624103021 Sharks in nature swim at high speeds in a deep ocean due to their high drag reduction ability. Water flows around the sharkskin become disrupted by staggered and overlapping microscale structures named denticles. In addition to this surface roughness, water slips at a fluid-solid interface with multiple groove-like microriblets on individual microdenticles. /news/2023-12-microfabrication-strategy-multifunctional-3d-artificial.html Nanomaterials Tue, 12 Dec 2023 10:06:32 EST news621597989 One of the main ways cells "talk" to each other to coordinate essential biological activities such as muscle contraction, hormone release, neuronal firing, digestion and immune activation is through calcium signaling. /news/2023-07-light-activated-molecular-machines-cells.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:34:38 EDT news608207675 A Cornell-led collaboration harnessed chemical reactions to make microscale origami machines self-fold—freeing them from the liquids in which they usually function, so they can operate in dry environments and at room temperature. /news/2023-05-self-folding-origami-machines-powered-chemical.html Materials Science Tue, 02 May 2023 11:25:59 EDT news602245548 A team of researchers led by the University of Sydney's Associate Professor Niels Quack has developed a new technology to combine optics and micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS) in a microchip, paving the way for the creation of devices like micro-3D cameras and gas sensors for precision air quality measurement, including their use in mobile phones. /news/2023-03-team-silicon-photonic-mems-compatible.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Mar 2023 09:49:02 EDT news598697341 Rice University materials scientist Boris Yakobson and collaborators uncovered a property of ferroelectric 2D materials that could be exploited as a feature in future devices. /news/2023-03-2d-nanomaterial-future-technologies.html Nanomaterials Mon, 06 Mar 2023 11:47:03 EST news597325622 Let's say you needed to move an individual cell from one place to another. How would you do it? Maybe some special tweezers? A really tiny shovel? /news/2023-02-cells-ultrasound.html Biotechnology Fri, 24 Feb 2023 04:31:34 EST news596435486 In recent years, global digitalization has seen unprecedented acceleration. Video streaming and video conferencing in home office and remote learning settings has resulted in a spike in residential broadband usage. Emerging applications such as artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles will further accelerate the need for data communication in the future. Today's internet infrastructure is built on fiber-optic communications, but how can the fiber-optic communication systems be made more efficient to fulfill future digital communication needs? /news/2022-11-silicon-photonic-microelectromechanical.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 07 Nov 2022 16:26:03 EST news587060761 To make sure our buildings and infrastructure are earthquake-safe, we must understand how seismic activity affects different structures. Miniature models and historical observations are helpful, but they only scratch the surface of understanding and quantifying a geological event as powerful and far-reaching as a major earthquake. /news/2022-09-secrets-earthquake-safety-simulation.html Earth Sciences Thu, 15 Sep 2022 16:30:20 EDT news582478215 In the American action movie "Pacific Rim," giant robots called "Jaegers" fight against unknown monsters to save mankind. These robots are equipped with artificial muscles that mimic real living bodies and defeat monsters with power and speed. Research is being conducted on equipping real robots with artificial muscles like the ones shows in the movie. However, the powerful strength and high speed in artificial muscles cannot be actualized, since the mechanical strength (force) and conductivity (speed) of polymer electrolyte—the key materials driving the actuator—have conflicting characteristics. /news/2022-08-strong-fast-switching-artificial-muscle-feasible.html Polymers Materials Science Fri, 12 Aug 2022 13:27:02 EDT news579529621 "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," said Carl Sagan. This phrase is the standard that astronomers will be applying to a curious signal captured with China's "Sky Eye" telescope that might be a transmission from alien technology. /news/2022-06-giant-radio-telescope-china-aliens.html Astronomy Astrobiology Thu, 16 Jun 2022 12:45:33 EDT news574602324 Superconductors are materials that can enter a state of no electrical resistance, through which magnetic fields cannot penetrate. Due to their interesting properties, many material scientists and engineers have been exploring the potential of these materials for a wide range of electronics applications. /news/2022-03-superconductivity-superconductors.html Superconductivity Wed, 30 Mar 2022 09:28:05 EDT news567851275 Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) can undergo large, reversible in-plane deformation. In a new report now published in Science Advances, Junhong Pu and a team of scientists in soft materials research and polymer science at the University of California, Los Angeles, U.S., and Sichuan University, China, introduced an electrophoretic process to concentrate boron nitride nanosheet dispersion in a dielectric elastomer precursor solution onto a selected electrode surface. The team obtained a unimorph nanocomposite dielectric elastomer abbreviated UNDE with a seamless bilayer structure containing 13 times the modulus difference. The team could actuate the UNDE construct to large bending curvatures with enhanced durability compared to conventional nanocomposite dielectric elastomers. They arranged multiple UNDE units in a simple electrophoretic concentration process using patterned electrode areas; then, by using the actuator, they developed a high-speed lens motor with variable focal length to form a two-lens optical system. /news/2022-03-unimorph-nanocomposite-dielectric-elastomer-large-scale.html Nanomaterials Mon, 21 Mar 2022 09:50:02 EDT news567067556 For the first time, researchers have created a metasurface lens that uses a piezoelectric thin film to change focal length when a small voltage is applied. Because it is extremely compact and lightweight, the new lens could be useful for portable medical diagnostic instruments, drone-based 3D mapping and other applications where miniaturization can open new possibilities. /news/2022-02-combine-piezoelectric-thin-metasurfaces-lens.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 17 Feb 2022 12:31:00 EST news564323451 A team of researchers has discovered a jumping behavior that is entirely new to insect larvae, and there is evidence that it is occurring in a range of species—we just haven't noticed it before. /news/2022-01-scientists-previously-unknown-behavior-insects.html Plants & Animals Wed, 19 Jan 2022 14:00:05 EST news561804855 An international research team led by Kiel has developed a new method for the generation of controllable electrical explosions. Theoretically, it only takes 450 grams of this material to lift an elephant: "Aerographene" owes this ability to its unique structure at the nano level. Visually similar to a black foam, it actually consists of a finely-structured tubular network based on graphene with numerous cavities. This makes it extremely stable, conductive and almost as lightweight as air. An international research team led by materials scientists from Kiel University (CAU) has now taken a major step toward practical applications. They have succeeded in repeatedly heating and cooling aerograph and the air contained inside to very high temperatures in an extremely short period of time. This enables extremely powerful pumps, compressed air applications or sterilizing air filters in miniature. The article appeared as the cover story in the current issue of the renowned scientific journal Materials Today. /news/2021-11-nanomaterial-aerographene-extremely-powerful.html Nanomaterials Mon, 15 Nov 2021 09:36:05 EST news556191362 University of Houston researchers are reporting a breakthrough in the field of materials science and engineering with the development of an electrochemical actuator that uses specialized organic semiconductor nanotubes (OSNTs). /news/2021-09-semiconductor-nanotubes-electrochemical-actuator.html Nanomaterials Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:06:55 EDT news549911209 A joint team from China recently provided a sensitive, multiplexing, quantitative detection method for the early diagnosis and targeted therapy of myeloproliferative neoplasms, a type of chronic hematological tumor that is accompanied by bone marrow failure or leukemia. /news/2021-08-chip-based-digital-pcr-technology-instrument.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 20 Aug 2021 10:16:02 EDT news548673353 Squirting a jet of water through a drop of liquid may sound like idle fun, but if done precisely, and understood thoroughly, the splashy exercise could help scientists identify ways to inject fluids such as vaccines through skin without using needles. /news/2021-08-high-speed-camera-captures-jet-splashy.html Soft Matter Wed, 18 Aug 2021 09:55:45 EDT news548499329 Scientists seeking to bring to Earth the fusion energy that drives the sun and stars use radio frequency (RF) waves—the same waves that bring radio and television into homes—to heat and drive current in the plasma that fuels fusion reactions. Scientists now have developed a path-setting way to measure the waves that could be used to validate predictions of their impact, setting the stage for enhanced future experiments that could result in bringing energy from fusion to Earth. /news/2021-07-scientists-tool-radio-fusion-plasmas.html Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:36:03 EDT news545484960 Optical metasurfaces can unprecedently regulate versatile wavefronts at the subwavelength scale. Most well-established optical metasurfaces are, however, static and feature well-defined optical responses that are determined by optical metasurface configurations set during their development. The dynamic configurations of the materials investigated so far often show specific limitations and reduced reconfigurability. In a new report now published on Science Advances, Chao Meng and a research team in nanotechnology, nano-optics, and electronics in Denmark, Norway and China, combined a thin-film piezoelectric micromechanical system (MEMS) with a gap-surface plasmon-based optical metasurface (OMS). Using the setup, they developed an electrically driven, dynamic microelectromechanical system-optical metasurface platform to regulate phases alongside amplitude modulations of the reflected light by finely actuating the MEMS mirror. Using this platform, they showed how the components afforded polarization-independent beam steering and two-dimensional focusing with high modulation efficiencies and fast responses. The platform offers flexible solutions to realize complex dynamics of 2D wavefront regulations with applications in reconfigurable and adaptive optical networks and systems. /news/2021-07-piezoelectric-microelectromechanical-system-based-optical-metasurfaces.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 05 Jul 2021 08:00:01 EDT news544689983