/ 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. Our lungs are fairly susceptible to diseases. Unlike most other organs, the lungs are in direct contact with the outside world. When we breathe in, our lungs can also take in things besides the oxygen we need, including irritants, pollutants, viruses and bacteria which may cause diseases like pneumonia, bronchitis and cancer. /news/2025-05-hard-meds-lungs-breathable-algae.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 06 May 2025 12:52:05 EDT news665754721 Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have developed a method that makes objects on a magnetic field invisible within a particle stream. Until now, this so-called cloaking had only been studied for waves such as light or sound. They report their results in Nature Communications. /news/2025-02-magnetic-invisibility-cloak-obstacles-particle.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Condensed Matter Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:06:05 EST news659354761 For the first time, scientists have demonstrated that negative refraction can be achieved using atomic arrays—without the need for artificially manufactured metamaterials. /news/2025-02-atomic-arrays-enable-negative-refraction.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 12 Feb 2025 05:00:04 EST news658488842 Surfers could be protected from future shark attacks following new discoveries about how to trick sharks' visual systems made by Professor Nathan Hart, head of Macquarie University's Neurobiology Lab, Dr. Laura Ryan and colleagues. /news/2024-11-strategy-deters-great-white-shark.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 11 Nov 2024 17:25:03 EST news650568302 In an innovative paper published today in the journal Plants, People, Planet, scientists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Huarango Nature and paramotorists from Forest Air, highlight the exciting potential of paramotoring as a means of aiding research and conservation efforts in some of the most fragile and challenging parts of the globe. /news/2024-09-extreme-botany-paramotorists-soar-remote.html Ecology Tue, 24 Sep 2024 19:00:01 EDT news646392664 A new software package developed by researchers at Macquarie University can accurately model the way waves—sound, water or light—are scattered when they meet complex configurations of particles. /news/2024-09-simulation-potential-metamaterials.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Thu, 12 Sep 2024 10:30:28 EDT news645355817 Bacteria have different strategies for protecting themselves. Some bacterial pathogens surround themselves with a shell made of many sugar chains that lie close together, also known as capsular polymers. This protects the bacteria from drying out and physical stress. In addition, the capsule makes the pathogens invisible to our body's own defenses, so to speak, and helps them to survive in the body. /news/2024-07-bacteria-cloaks-invisibility-immune-defenses.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 30 Jul 2024 09:58:49 EDT news641552320 Leafhoppers, a common backyard insect, secrete and coat themselves in tiny mysterious particles that could provide both the inspiration and the instructions for next-generation technology, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. /news/2024-03-backyard-insect-invisibility-devices-gen.html Nanomaterials Mon, 18 Mar 2024 15:00:01 EDT news629973358 The idea of objects seamlessly disappearing, not just in controlled laboratory environments but also in real-world scenarios, has long captured the popular imagination. This concept epitomizes the trajectory of human civilization, from primitive camouflage techniques to the sophisticated metamaterial-based cloaks of today. /news/2024-03-drone-invisibility-autonomous-sea-air.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Optics & Photonics Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:47:03 EST news628951621 In a paper published in Science Jan. 18, scientists Chad Mirkin and Sharon Glotzer and their teams at Northwestern University and University of Michigan, respectively, present findings in nanotechnology that could impact the way advanced materials are made. /news/2024-01-dna-advanced-polyhedral-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Thu, 18 Jan 2024 14:00:01 EST news624790954 Two-photon polymerization is a potential method for nanofabrication to integrate nanomaterials based on femtosecond laser-based methods. Challenges in the field of 3D nanoprinting include slow layer-by-layer printing and limited material options as a result of laser-matter interactions. /news/2023-10-free-space-nanoprinting-optical-limits-4d.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Sat, 07 Oct 2023 09:20:02 EDT news615809799 Researchers from University of Bristol and Diamond Light Source have uncovered how moths create a powerful stealth cloak preventing detection by biosonar. This work (Bio-Inspired Urban Adaptations: What Insects Can Teach Us About Dealing with Noise) was led by Professor Marc Holderied, Professor of Sensory Biology, a sensory ecologist and bio-acoustician. /news/2023-06-moths-invisibility-cloaks-predators-biosonar.html Ecology Biotechnology Thu, 22 Jun 2023 01:00:01 EDT news606571151 A study developed by researchers from the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), associated with the Nanophotonics Technology Center (NTC) and the company DAS Photonics, promises to revolutionize the design of so-called invisibility cloaks. With their proposal, these cloaks will no longer be so invisible. And the key is simple: applying diffraction tomography techniques to detect these devices. Their work has been published in the journal Laser & Photonics Reviews. /news/2023-06-technique-invisibility-cloaks.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 13 Jun 2023 12:53:46 EDT news605879621 Â鶹ÒùÔºicists at UC Santa Barbara, the University of Maryland, and the University of Washington have found an answer to the longstanding physics question: How do interparticle interactions affect dynamical localization? /news/2022-09-physicists-kind-chaos.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:33:08 EDT news583428785 In the 2001 "Amerithrax" attacks, anthrax-causing spores were sent through the mail to media outlets and members of Congress, sickening at least 22 people and killing five. Antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria are of growing concern, and researchers are preparing to fight back. Now, a team reporting in ACS Infectious Diseases has taken a step toward the development of a therapeutic that can treat the infection in mice without antibiotics. /news/2022-09-enzyme-antibiotic-resistant-anthrax.html Biochemistry Wed, 14 Sep 2022 08:00:01 EDT news582357010 The transport of substances across the membrane into the cell is linked to specific membrane transport proteins. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with an international team, have now succeeded in elucidating the molecular structure of a completely new class of such membrane transporters. In addition to the Bonn scientists, researchers from the University of York were also involved. The study has now been published in the journal Nature Communications. /news/2022-08-bacterial-membrane-pathogens-immune.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 04 Aug 2022 10:21:02 EDT news578827259 Acoustic camouflage, realized by controlling wave propagation, has attracted much attention in recent years. Aided by a reflecting surface, acoustic carpet cloak has become one of the most practically feasible invisibility devices. /news/2022-07-acoustics-underwater-carpet-cloak.html Soft Matter Thu, 28 Jul 2022 09:24:50 EDT news578219088 The James Webb Space Telescope's first images aren't just breathtaking—they contain a wealth of scientific insights and clues that researchers are eager to pursue. /news/2022-07-webb-telescope-scientists.html Astronomy Space Exploration Wed, 13 Jul 2022 03:49:32 EDT news576902963 Using multiple radio telescopes across the world, a team of astronomers from the Cosmic Dawn Center, Copenhagen, have discovered several galaxies in the early universe that, due to massive amounts of dust, were hidden from our sight. The observations allowed the team to measure the temperature and thickness of the dust, demonstrating that this type of galaxies contributed significantly to the total star formation when the universe was only 1/10 of its current age. /news/2022-07-radio-microwaves-reveal-true-nature.html Astronomy Mon, 11 Jul 2022 10:20:37 EDT news576753632 Space, the final frontier. The starship Enterprise pursues its mission to explore the galaxy, when all communication channels are suddenly cut off by an impenetrable nebula. In many episodes of the iconic TV series, the valiant crew must "tech the tech" and "science the science" within just 45 minutes of airtime in order to facilitate their escape from this or a similar predicament before the end credits roll. Despite spending a significantly longer time in their laboratories, a team of scientists from the University of Rostock has succeeded in developing an entirely new approach for the design of artificial materials that can transmit light signals without any distortions by means of precisely tuned flows of energy. They have published their results in Science Advances. /news/2022-05-transparency-demand-artificial-materials-transparent.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 31 May 2022 16:46:20 EDT news573234378 The left hand looks like the right hand in the mirror but the left-handed glove does not fit on the right hand. Chirality refers to this property where the object cannot be superimposed on to the mirror image. This property in molecules is an important factor in pharmaceutical research as it can turn drugs toxic. /news/2022-05-metamaterial-significantly-chiral-nanoparticle.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 03 May 2022 10:08:21 EDT news570791299 An international team of researchers led by Professor Min Seok Jang of KAIST and Professor Victor W. Brar of the University of Wisconsin-Madison has demonstrated a widely applicable methodology enabling a full 360° active phase modulation for metasurfaces while maintaining significant levels of uniform light amplitude. This strategy can be fundamentally applied to any spectral region with any structures and resonances that fit the bill. /news/2022-05-strategy-metasurface-full-degree-phase.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 02 May 2022 09:53:47 EDT news570704025 In physics, as in life, it's always good to look at things from different perspectives. /news/2022-04-zero-index-metamaterials-insights-foundations-quantum.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 27 Apr 2022 16:20:59 EDT news570295252 For "Star Wars" fans, the streaking stars seen from the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon as it jumps to hyperspace is a canonical image. But what would a pilot actually see if she could accelerate in an instant through the vacuum of space? According to a prediction known as the Unruh effect, she would more likely see a warm glow. /news/2022-04-physicists-embark-long-sought-quantum.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Tue, 26 Apr 2022 16:56:21 EDT news570210978 Â鶹ÒùÔºicists at the Australian National University have developed the most sensitive method ever for measuring the potential energy of an atom (within a hundredth of a decillionth of a joule—or 10-35 joule), and used it to validate one of the most tested theories in physics—quantum electrodynamics (QED). /news/2022-04-invisible-helium-atoms-exquisitely-sensitive.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 08 Apr 2022 02:40:46 EDT news568604427 When listening to music, we don't just hear the notes produced by the instruments, we are also immersed in its echoes from our surroundings. Sound waves bounce back off the walls and objects around us, forming a characteristic sound effect—a specific acoustic field. This explains why the same piece of music sounds different when played in an old church or a modern concrete building. /news/2021-09-acoustics-conceal-simulate.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 13 Sep 2021 10:44:51 EDT news550748688 Cornell researchers are proposing a new way to modulate both the absorptive and the refractive qualities of metamaterials in real time, and their findings open intriguing new opportunities to control, in time and space, the propagation and scattering of waves for applications in various areas of wave physics and engineering. /news/2021-08-metamaterials-fundamental-limits-photonics.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 10 Aug 2021 13:34:07 EDT news547821241 Optical cloaking allows objects to be hidden in plain sight or to become invisible by guiding light around anything placed inside the cloak. While cloaking has been popularized in fiction, like in the "Harry Potter" books, researchers in recent years have started realizing cloaks that shield objects from view by controlling the flow of electromagnetic radiation around them. /news/2021-06-safer-invisibility-cloaks.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 15 Jun 2021 11:00:03 EDT news542959035 Can you feel the heat? To a thermal camera, which measures infrared radiation, the heat that we can feel is visible, like the heat of a traveler in an airport with a fever or the cold of a leaky window or door in the winter. /news/2021-05-thermally-cloak.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 12 May 2021 03:13:22 EDT news540007994 University of Oregon physicists have developed a new method to manipulate sound—stop it, reverse it, store it and even use it later—in synthetic composite structures known as metamaterials. /news/2021-04-scientists-mechanism-precisely-soundwaves-metamaterials.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Optics & Photonics Fri, 16 Apr 2021 10:43:18 EDT news537788595