/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Fungi are vital to natural ecosystems by breaking down dead organic material and cycling it back into the environment as nutrients. But new research from the University of Utah finds one species, Marquandomyces marquandii, a ubiquitous soil mold, shows promise as a potential building block for new biomedical materials. /news/2025-10-soil-fungus-durable-hydrogels-potential.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 01 Oct 2025 17:24:04 EDT news678558241 It is a fully biodegradable and eco-friendly system for hydroponic agriculture, made of hydrogel and capable of supporting plant growth with minimal water; in the future, it will be able to monitor plant health in real time. This innovation is the result of joint research between the Faculty of Engineering at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UniBz) and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa. The invention offers a zero-waste, low-environmental-impact solution for agriculture, a sector increasingly threatened by climate change, drought, pollution, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. /news/2025-09-super-absorbent-hydrogel-soilless-farming.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 26 Sep 2025 12:20:02 EDT news678107807 Researchers at Duke University used CRISPR technologies to discover previously unannotated stretches of DNA in the "dark genome" that are responsible for controlling how cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of their local environment. /news/2025-09-dark-regions-genome-illuminates-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 08:57:34 EDT news678095848 You might think that glass has no business acting as a replacement for bone, but it turns out the two materials have many similarities. For a new study published in ACS Nano, researchers developed a 3D printable bio-active glass that served as an effective bone replacement material. In rabbits, it sustained bone cell growth better than regular glass and a commercially available bone substitute. /news/2025-09-bone-substitute-3d-glass.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:07:44 EDT news677855261 Researchers have discovered a novel criterion for sorting particles in microfluidic channels, paving the way for advancements in disease diagnostics and liquid biopsies. Using the supercomputer "Fugaku," a joint team from the University of Osaka, Kansai University and Okayama University revealed that soft particles, like biological cells, exhibit unique focusing patterns compared to rigid particles. /news/2025-09-supercomputer-unveils-cell-principle-microfluidic.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 22 Sep 2025 15:31:30 EDT news677773881 Fearless bacteria have colonized extreme environments, adapted to vast temperatures and pH fluctuations, and acclimated to diverse hosts. Among these multitudes of species is the exclusive club of good bacteria that have enormous benefits to humans and can be exploited for therapeutic interventions. /news/2025-09-good-bacteria-free-hydrogel-homes.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:31:03 EDT news677244661 Taking medications on time, in the right dose and for the prescribed duration can be challenging for patients, and failure to do so comes with steep costs, causing 10% of hospitalizations and billions in avoidable spending in the United States alone, according to some estimates. A team of Rice University scientists has developed a new drug delivery platform that could make it easier to complete a therapeutic regimen and even boost drug efficacy. /news/2025-09-scientists-hydrogel-platform-precision-drug.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:04:05 EDT news676735441 Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel framework for understanding and controlling the flow behavior of granular hydrogels—a class of material made up of densely packed, microscopic gel particles with promising applications in medicine, 3D bioprinting, and tissue repair. /news/2025-09-advanced-granular-hydrogel-mechanics-biomedical.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:18:04 EDT news676052281 Hydrogels are soft, water-rich polymeric materials that can swell or shrink in response to environmental stimuli. This ability to change shape makes them valuable in miniaturized devices for flexible electronics, microrobotics, intelligent surfaces, and biomedical applications such as drug delivery. For example, hydrogel pores can be engineered to trap and release tiny drug particles on demand. /news/2025-08-origami-strategy-hydrogel-pores-enables.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:00:01 EDT news675517920 No matter whether it's crushed or cubed, ice eventually melts into a puddle—but an alternative called jelly ice doesn't. Researchers Jiahan Zou and Gang Sun developed a one-step process to create the reusable, compostable material from gelatin, the same ingredient in jiggly desserts. Because frozen jelly ice doesn't leak as it thaws, it's ideal for food supply chains and medication transport. /news/2025-08-reusable-jelly-ice-cold-meltwater.html Polymers Materials Science Mon, 18 Aug 2025 09:09:14 EDT news674726949 Hydrogels are a permeable soft material consisting of polymer networks and water with applications ranging from biomedical engineering to contact lenses. Intrinsic to hydrogels is the ability to endow diverse characteristics by modifying their polymer networks. /news/2025-08-immovable-rubber-ducks-highest-underwater.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:09 EDT news673602721 Caltech scientists have developed a method to create metallic objects of a precisely specified shape and composition, giving them unprecedented control of the metallic mixtures, or alloys, they create and the enhanced properties those creations will display. Want a stent that is biocompatible and mechanically robust? How about strong but lightweight satellite components that can operate in space for decades? /news/2025-08-metallurgy-21st-century-precisely-metal.html Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Aug 2025 11:39:04 EDT news673267142 A new collection of chemically diverse dome-celled ultralight aerogels with high porosity and very low density feature elasticity and mechanical properties that remain intact even under extreme temperatures from 4.2 kelvin (K) to 2273 K. /news/2025-07-dome-aerogel-architecture-superior-toughness.html Nanomaterials Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:44:02 EDT news673173837 Researchers have solved a mystery that has confounded scientists for 80 years: the crystal structure of the tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) hydrate TBAB·26H2O. This substance belongs to a class of crystalline materials called semiclathrate hydrates, which form from the combination of ions and water. /news/2025-07-year-mystery-crystal-bromide-hydrate.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:10:07 EDT news672051198 Excessive nutrients in wastewater can lead to detrimental discharges into natural water bodies, prompting harmful algal blooms with severe environmental and economic repercussions. To address this pressing issue, a team of engineers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has developed an innovative solution. Their novel composite nanotechnology removes and recovers nutrients from wastewater, subsequently upcycling them as agricultural fertilizers or as biorefinery feedstocks while simultaneously mitigating the occurrence of harmful algal blooms. /news/2025-06-nanotechnology-fertilizer.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 11 Jun 2025 14:34:43 EDT news668871279 Researchers have created an inexpensive hydrogel that can filter phosphorus from contaminated surface waters, drinking water supplies or wastewater streams to reduce phosphorus pollution and reuse the phosphorus for agricultural and industrial applications. In addition to efficiently capturing and releasing phosphorus, the hydrogels can be reused multiple times—making them cost-effective. /news/2025-06-inexpensive-hydrogel-contaminated-source-reusable.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:46:59 EDT news668864815 A research team at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel degradable silicone-hydrogel coating, delivering impressive synergistic anti-biofouling performance for marine applications. The study was published in Small. /news/2025-05-degradable-silicone-hydrogel-coating-efficient.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 29 May 2025 10:10:03 EDT news667731934 Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a technique that could help advance treatments in tissue engineering. The study, published in the journal Small, introduces a technique for producing tissues with precise cellular organization designed to mimic the natural structure of human tissue. /news/2025-05-3d-hydrogels-cell-growth-functional.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 13 May 2025 12:27:02 EDT news666358021 Researchers at McGill University, in collaboration with Polytechnique MontrĂ©al, pioneered a new way to create hydrogels using ultrasound, eliminating the need for toxic chemical initiators. This breakthrough offers a faster, cleaner and more sustainable approach to hydrogel fabrication, and produces hydrogels that are stronger, more flexible and highly resistant to freezing and dehydration. /news/2025-05-ultrasound-safer-greener-hydrogels.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 08 May 2025 13:20:07 EDT news665928650 Our brain is a complex organ. Billions of nerve cells are wired in an intricate network, constantly processing signals, enabling us to recall memories or to move our bodies. /news/2025-05-microscopy-method-reconstruct-mammalian-brain.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 07 May 2025 11:38:29 EDT news665836703 Bio-batteries constructed by electroactive microorganisms have unique advantages in physiological monitoring, tissue integration, and powering implantable devices due to their superior adaptability and biocompatibility. However, the development of miniaturized and portable bio-batteries that are plug and play and compatible with existing devices remains a challenge. /news/2025-04-portable-bio-battery-hydrogels-nerve.html Biotechnology Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:18:03 EDT news665252282 Directive 2010/63/EU laid down restrictions on animal testing for the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients throughout the EU. Therefore, there is an intense search for alternatives to test the absorption and toxicity of nanoparticles from cosmetics such as sun creams. /news/2025-04-3d-skin-imitation-equipped-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:20:03 EDT news662890801 Researchers from the Institute of Polymer Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, have developed a smart gel that responds to multiple stimuli for precise drug release. /news/2025-03-nanocomposite-hydrogel-multiple-stimuli-drug.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 27 Mar 2025 10:55:19 EDT news662291716 We all encounter gels in daily life—from the soft, sticky substances you put in your hair to the jelly-like components in various foodstuffs. While human skin shares gel-like characteristics, it has unique qualities that are very hard to replicate. It combines high stiffness with flexibility, and it has remarkable self-healing capabilities, often healing completely within 24 hours of an injury. /news/2025-03-entangled-polymers-nanosheets-skin-hydrogel.html Polymers Materials Science Fri, 07 Mar 2025 05:00:01 EST news660495721 A Chinese research team has developed a single-step femtosecond laser 4D printing technology that enables rapid and precise micro-scale deformation of smart hydrogels. This innovation, inspired by the hierarchical structure of butterfly wings, holds significant promise for applications in flexible electronics and minimally invasive medicine. /news/2025-03-butterfly-4d-smart-hydrogels-enables.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:28:02 EST news660385681 Xolography is a novel light printing technique that has been explored for dental products and in-space manufacturing. At Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), this technique has now been adapted to 3D print living cells. This research can pave the way for 3D-printed kidneys and muscle tissue. The team pioneered the Xolography-based method to produce tiny structures with features as small as 20 µm—approximately the size of a human cell. /news/2025-02-xolography-based-method-enables-3d.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:55:28 EST news659894124 Researchers at Hokkaido University and Duke University have developed a hydrogel that heals and strengthens itself as it is overloaded and damaged. The proof-of-concept demonstration could lead to improved performance for situations where soft but durable materials are required, such as load-bearing connections and joints within machines, robots and even people. /news/2025-02-network-hydrogel-polymers-feature-rapid.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 26 Feb 2025 12:51:49 EST news659796697 Discarded food scraps, stray branches, seashells and many other natural materials are key ingredients in a new system that can pull drinkable water out of thin air developed by researchers from The University of Texas at Austin. /news/2025-02-scraps-biomass-based-hydrogel-thin.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 25 Feb 2025 15:43:04 EST news659720582 Within the animal kingdom, mussels are masters of underwater adhesion. The marine mollusks cluster atop rocks and along the bottoms of ships, and hold fast against the ocean's waves thanks to a gluey plaque they secrete through their foot. These tenacious adhesive structures have prompted scientists in recent years to design similar bioinspired, waterproof adhesives. /news/2025-02-mimics-mussels-mucus-bacterial-buildup.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 17 Feb 2025 15:47:58 EST news659029672 A nut used in herbal tea has become a hydrogel perfect for a variety of biomedical uses in new research from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Engineering (UChicago PME) and UChicago Chemistry Department. /news/2025-02-material-tree-nuts-broad-medical.html Biochemistry Materials Science Mon, 17 Feb 2025 11:00:07 EST news659003222