/ 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. Several hundred bees in rural Pennsylvania and rural New York are sporting tiny QR codes on their backs. More than the latest in apiarian fashion, the little tags serve a scientific purpose: tracking when bees go in and out of their hives to better understand how long honey bees spend foraging for food outside of their hives. /news/2025-01-bees-itty-bitty-qr-codes.html Ecology Biotechnology Wed, 22 Jan 2025 12:48:37 EST news656772505 A new paper in Molecular Biology and Evolution indicates that while the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has collected annual data on areas of coca cultivation in South America for decades to monitor the establishment of illegal plantations and associated deforestation, scientists can't reliably distinguish among different types of coca plants. /news/2024-07-leaf-size-reliably-distinguish-wild.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 10 Jul 2024 00:10:01 EDT news639753486 The ocean is the world's largest habitat, yet much of its biodiversity is still unknown. A study published in Frontiers in Science marks a significant breakthrough, reporting the largest and most comprehensive database of marine microbes to date—matched with biological function, location, and habitat type. /news/2024-01-largest-ocean-dna-comprehensive-marine.html Ecology Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Jan 2024 05:00:01 EST news624544783 Microcombs can help us discover planets outside our solar system and track new diseases in our bodies. But current microcombs are inefficient and unable to reach their full potential. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have scored a world first with their solution to make microcombs 10 times more efficient. Their breakthrough opens the way to new discoveries in space and health care and paves the way for high-performance lasers in a range of other technologies. /news/2023-09-method-microcombs-efficient.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 20 Sep 2023 10:23:09 EDT news614424187 There are stark differences between metals, through which electrons flow freely, and electrical insulators, in which electrons are essentially immobile. And despite the obvious difficulties in finding a way to switch back and forth from a metal to an insulator within one material, physicists are trying to figure out how. /news/2023-02-elusive-transition-universal-quantum-signatures.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 14 Feb 2023 11:14:04 EST news595595641 Professors Hu Weida and Peng Hailin, two of researchers at Shanghai Institute of Technical Â鶹ÒùÔºics and Peking University, recently proposed momentum-matching and band-alignment van der Waals heterostructures to solve the low QE of 2D materials infrared photodetectors. The results were published in Science Advances, titled "Momentum-matching and band-alignment van der Waals heterostructures for high-efficiency infrared photodetection." /news/2022-08-van-der-waals-heterostructures-high-efficiency.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 12 Aug 2022 09:34:19 EDT news579515648 Think about people you know, and how you could tell they were around even if you couldn't see them: perhaps their voice, or a favored perfume. /news/2022-05-pee-pals-dolphins-urine-friends.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 18 May 2022 15:36:58 EDT news572107009 Most scientists would blanch at being labeled a spin doctor. But when it comes to Evgeny Tsymbal, Ding-Fu Shao and their colleagues, the lab coat fits. /news/2021-12-data-decoding-approach-faster-smaller-digital.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 28 Dec 2021 10:37:10 EST news559910225 Topological insulators are materials whose structure forces photons and electrons to move only along the material's boundary and only in one direction. These particles experience little resistance and travel freely past obstacles such as impurities, fabrication defects, a change of signal's trajectory within a circuit, or objects placed intentionally in the particles' path. That's because these particles, instead of being reflected by the obstacle, go around it "like river-water flowing past a rock," says Prof. Romain Fleury, head of EPFL's Laboratory of Wave Engineering, within the School of Engineering. /news/2021-10-photons.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 13 Oct 2021 11:00:01 EDT news553333940 Countless astrophysicists and astronomers are actively searching for unobserved celestial bodies in the universe, as detecting these bodies could improve our understanding of space and help to address unanswered astrophysical questions. Among these elusive objects are exoplanets, planets that orbit a star other than the sun, thus outside of the solar system. /news/2021-10-theory-methods-exoplanet.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 07 Oct 2021 09:40:01 EDT news552813532 Squids have long been a source of fascination for humans, providing the stuff of legend, superstition and myth. And it's no wonder—their odd appearances and strange intelligence, their mastery of the open ocean can inspire awe in those who see them. /news/2021-03-squids-ability-tune-brightness-iridescence.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 08 Mar 2021 14:44:03 EST news534437032 Fiber-shaped supercapacitors are a desirable high-performance energy storage technology for wearable electronics. The traditional method for device fabrication is based on a multistep approach to construct energy devices, which can present challenges during fabrication, scalability and durability. To overcome these restrictions, Jingxin Zhao and a team of scientists in physics, electrochemical energy, nanoscience, materials, and chemical engineering in China, the U.S., and Singapore, developed an all-in-one coaxial fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC) device. The team used direct coherent multi-ink writing, three-dimensional (3-D) printing technology by designing the internal structure of the coaxial needles and regulating the rheological property and feed rates of the multi-ink. The device delivered a superior areal energy and power density with outstanding mechanical stability. The team integrated the fiber-shaped asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC) with mechanical units and pressure sensors to realize high performance and self-powered mechanical devices to monitor systems. The work is now published on Science Advances. /news/2021-01-coherent-multi-ink-fabric-supercapacitors.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 29 Jan 2021 09:30:02 EST news531129094 Large fish develop respiratory distress more quickly in warm water than smaller species, according to a new study involving researchers at Radboud University in collaboration with international researchers from McGill University (Canada) and the University of Montana (U.S.). This means that ocean warming triggered by climate change will have an impact on the respiratory physiology of larger fish, which may eventually affect physiological performance, survival and size-structure of fish populations. The researchers have come to this conclusion with the aid of a new model that can more accurately calculate the effect of body temperature, activity and size on oxygen uptake. Their findings will be published in PNAS in the week of 30 November. /news/2020-12-larger-fish-respiratory-distress-sooner.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 01 Dec 2020 11:20:01 EST news526043745 Impedance matching is a concept that can maximize energy transmission from a source through a media, and is established across electrical, acoustic and optical engineering. It is frequently necessary to match a load impedance to the source or internal impedance of a driving source. The existing design to facilitate acoustic impedance matching is fundamentally limited by narrowband transmission (data transfer with a slow or small transfer rate). In a new report now published on Science Advances, Erqian Dong and a research team in China and the U.S. detailed a previously unknown class of bioinspired metagel impedance transformers to bypass the existing limits, by developing a transformer embedded in a metamaterial matrix of steel cylinders within hydrogel. The team then theoretically analyzed broadband transmission after introducing bioinspired acoustic impedance (the product of the density of porous media through which a sound wave travels and the velocity of the sound wave) and conducted experiments with the device to show efficient implementation of the metagel during underwater ultrasound detection experiments. The experimental construct maintained a soft, tunable composition and will pave a new and unexpected way to design next-generation broadband impedance matching devices for diverse wave-engineering applications. /news/2020-11-bioinspired-metagel-broadband-tunable-impedance.html Condensed Matter Tue, 10 Nov 2020 09:30:01 EST news524134521 When clogs and corrosion threaten residential water and heating systems, homeowners can simply call a plumber to snake a drain or replace a pipe. Operators of nuclear power plants aren't nearly so lucky. Metallic oxide particles, collectively known as CRUD in the nuclear energy world, build up directly on reactor fuel rods, impeding the plant's ability to generate heat. These foulants cost the nuclear energy industry millions of dollars annually. /news/2020-08-solution-corrosive-buildup-nuclear.html Materials Science Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:00:01 EDT news516614325 Reducing resistance to the flow of ions in solid electrolytes can improve the efficiency of fuel cells and batteries, but first, scientists must understand the material properties responsible for the resistance. /news/2020-04-scientists-uncover-major-resistance-solid.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 22 Apr 2020 10:16:21 EDT news506769378 A good indicator of dysregulation in live cells is a change in their RNA expression. MicroRNA (miRNA), a special type of RNA, is considered a biomarker for carcinogenic cells. A team of scientists from China has found a way to amplify miRNA in live tumor cells for bioimaging. As they report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, their assay is based on a robust cellular autocatalytic biocircuit triggered by synthetic DNA and nanoparticles. /news/2020-03-amplification-imaging-microrna-biomarker-tumor.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 16 Mar 2020 12:34:07 EDT news503580844 It becomes annoyingly easy to knock over a shampoo bottle when it's nearly empty. This is an easily observed and curiosity-provoking phenomenon that, according to Lehigh University physics professor Jerome Licini, yields insights into center-of-mass and impacts. /news/2020-03-shampoo-bottle-easy.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 02 Mar 2020 07:53:44 EST news502358009 Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have new experimental evidence and a predictive theory that solves a long-standing materials science mystery: why certain crystalline materials shrink when heated. Their work, just published in Science Advances, could have widespread application for matching material properties to specific applications in medicine, electronics, and other fields, and may even provide fresh insight into unconventional superconductors (materials that carry electric current with no energy loss). /news/2019-11-secret-crystals.html Materials Science Fri, 01 Nov 2019 14:00:02 EDT news491824214 Diversity is good, especially when it comes to antibodies. It's long been known that a gene assembly process called V(D)J recombination allows our immune system to mix and match bits of genetic code, generating new antibodies to conquer newly encountered threats. But how these gene segments come together to be spliced has been a mystery. A new study in Scientific Reports provides the answer. /news/2019-09-loops-dna-packaging-diverse-antibodies.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 13 Sep 2019 11:51:18 EDT news487594269 MIT researchers have demonstrated a new way to store unused heat from car engines, industrial machinery, and even sunshine until it's needed. Central to their system is what the researchers refer to as a "phase-change" material that absorbs a large amount of heat as it melts and releases it as it resolidifies. /news/2018-12-thermal-energy-storage-material-absorbs.html Materials Science Thu, 20 Dec 2018 07:03:49 EST news464511815 Miniaturized semiconductor devices with energy harvesting features have paved the way to wearable technologies and sensors. Although thermoelectric systems have attractive features in this context, the ability to maintain large temperature differences across device terminals remains increasingly difficult to achieve with accelerated trends in device miniaturization. As a result, a group of scientists in applied sciences and engineering has developed and demonstrated a proposal on an architectural solution to the problem in which engineered thin-film active materials are integrated into flexible three-dimensional (3-D) forms. /news/2018-11-stretchable-thermoelectric-energy-harvesting-miniature.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 14 Nov 2018 09:30:05 EST news461401048 The research focus on 2-D materials has intensified with its potential to modulate light for superior performance and realize applications that can enhance existing technologies. Graphene, the best known 2-D material, derived from 3-D graphite, constitutes a monolayer of carbon atoms arranged in a 2-D hexagonal lattice, exhibiting strong ultra-wideband light-matter interactions, able to operate at an extremely broad spectral range, suited for next-generation photonics and optoelectronic devices. The unique electronic properties of graphene originate from Dirac cones, features in electronic band structures that host charge carriers of zero effective mass, so-called massless Dirac fermions that occur in 2-D materials. Materials scientists are currently at a stage of experimental infancy to realize many interesting properties of the nonlinear optical responses of graphene, to aid its promise to disrupt existing technology and facilitate wide-ranging applications. /news/2018-08-electrically-tunable-third-order-nonlinear-optical.html Nanophysics Wed, 01 Aug 2018 09:30:03 EDT news452330749 The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. About 20,000 deaths—nearly 30 percent of the total—resulted not from the ground shaking itself but from the landslides that it triggered. /news/2018-07-landslides-earthquakes.html Earth Sciences Tue, 24 Jul 2018 11:51:39 EDT news451651886 A new discovery suggests that bacteria's ability to transfer genes, like those associated with antibiotic resistance, are governed by a previously unknown set of rules that are written in the DNA of the recipient. /news/2018-06-road-gene-written-dna.html Biotechnology Tue, 19 Jun 2018 10:31:22 EDT news448623051 Bolometers, devices that monitor electromagnetic radiation through heating of an absorbing material, are used by astronomers and homeowners alike. But most such devices have limited bandwidth and must be operated at ultralow temperatures. Now, researchers say they've found a ultrafast yet highly sensitive alternative that can work at room temperature—and may be much less expensive. /news/2018-06-bolometer-faster-simpler-wavelengths.html Nanophysics Mon, 11 Jun 2018 12:06:50 EDT news447937601 It's great in the lab, but will it actually work? That's the million-dollar question perpetually leveled at engineering researchers. For a family of layered nanomaterials, developed and studied at Drexel University—and heralded as the future of energy storage—that answer is now, yes. /news/2018-05-soft-solution-hard-problem-energy.html Nanomaterials Fri, 18 May 2018 08:22:07 EDT news445850491 The global refugee crisis has ignited debate in nearly every country that has seen an influx of refugees and asylum seekers. In most countries, the conversation surrounding refugees has tended to focus on whether or not they should be allowed to enter. As policymakers and the press spar over quotas and security concerns, they have less often considered what happens to refugees after they arrive. /news/2018-01-algorithm-refugee-resettlement-boost-employment.html Social Sciences Thu, 18 Jan 2018 14:00:12 EST news435501264 Using electrodes made of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can significantly improve the performance of devices ranging from capacitors and batteries to water desalination systems. But figuring out the physical characteristics of vertically aligned CNT arrays that yield the most benefit has been difficult. /news/2018-01-characteristics-carbon-nanotube-energy-storage.html Materials Science Mon, 08 Jan 2018 06:54:08 EST news434616833 Like toddlers, robots can use a little help as they learn to function in the physical world. That's the purpose of a Rice University program that gently guides robots toward the most helpful, human-like ways to collaborate on tasks. /news/2017-12-refine-method-robots-collaborate.html Robotics Mon, 04 Dec 2017 09:48:00 EST news431603270