/ 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. Waiting is the hardest part. Especially in the case of testing for water or food contamination, which can take days or even a week in some cases for the results, leaving the possibility that people have been unknowingly exposed. /news/2025-08-nanoparticle-methods-viruses-food.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 22 Aug 2025 13:00:01 EDT news675086156 Polymers are essential in modern food packaging thanks to their low cost, light weight, flexibility, and chemical stability. They provide a crucial barrier to protect food from moisture, oxygen, sunlight, and microorganisms that cause spoilage and health risks. Among them, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is especially valued for its transparency, stability, and strong mechanical properties. /news/2025-08-pet-plastic-antimicrobial-boost-plasma.html Nanomaterials Thu, 21 Aug 2025 14:18:03 EDT news675004681 A research team has developed upconversion nanoparticles to assist in powering molecular motors. The nanoparticles can convert near-infrared radiation, which is capable of penetrating bulk material, into blue or UV light that can efficiently power the motors. As a result, these motors can now be effectively used to make bulk materials responsive or act as molecular switches in biological applications. The results were published last month in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. /news/2025-08-upconversion-nanoparticles-aid-application-molecular.html Nanomaterials Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:53:18 EDT news674999589 Researchers can use a metric called the particle number concentration (PNC) to calculate the number of particles in a sample, such as the number of marbles in a jar. /news/2025-08-formula-accuracy-particle-diverse-samples.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 21 Aug 2025 01:57:34 EDT news674960249 A typical morning hair-care routine can expose you to as much immediate nanoparticle pollution as standing in dense highway traffic, report Purdue University engineers. /news/2025-08-styling-hair-products-billions-nanoparticles.html Environment Wed, 20 Aug 2025 16:28:05 EDT news674926081 For decades, researchers around the world have searched for alternatives to iridium, an extremely rare, incredibly expensive metal used in the production of clean hydrogen fuels. /news/2025-08-hydrogen-iridium-problem-afternoon-megalibrary.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 19 Aug 2025 13:29:22 EDT news674828952 Using machine learning, MIT chemical engineers have created a computational model that can predict how well any given molecule will dissolve in an organic solvent—a key step in the synthesis of nearly any pharmaceutical. This type of prediction could make it much easier to develop new ways to produce drugs and other useful molecules. /news/2025-08-freely-molecules-dissolve-solvents.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 19 Aug 2025 09:50:42 EDT news674815837 The trouble with many drugs is that they go where they shouldn't, producing unwanted side effects. Psychiatric drugs might cause dissociation, painkillers can induce nausea and chemotherapy often damages healthy cells. Now a team of Stanford Medicine researchers are closing in on a novel solution: a noninvasive system that can deliver drugs anywhere in the body with precision down to a few millimeters. /news/2025-08-sugar-stabilized-nanoparticles-drugs-side.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 18 Aug 2025 09:55:51 EDT news674729746 Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a method to more precisely heat up gold nanoparticles to target and destroy cancerous tumors. Using imaging methods that combine light and sound to peer deeper into tissue, the team was better able to track and heat up nanoparticles to destroy a bladder cancer tumor in an animal model. The research is published in the journal Science Advances. /news/2025-08-based-thermometer-gold-nanoparticles-destroy.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 18 Aug 2025 09:09:19 EDT news674726954 Using artificial intelligence, MIT researchers have come up with a new way to design nanoparticles that can more efficiently deliver RNA vaccines and other types of RNA therapies. /news/2025-08-ai-nanoparticles-efficient-rna-vaccine.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 15 Aug 2025 05:00:01 EDT news674411341 Scientists at the University of Alabama have developed a bio-engineered molecule that uses a natural compound to both target and treat inflammation. /news/2025-08-custom-nanoparticle-anti-inflammatory-potential.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 14 Aug 2025 15:05:00 EDT news674402694 Exosomes, naturally derived vesicles responsible for intercellular communication, are emerging as next-generation drug delivery systems capable of transporting therapeutics to specific cells. However, their tightly packed, cholesterol-rich membranes make it extremely difficult to encapsulate large molecules such as mRNA or proteins. /news/2025-08-drug-technique-cubosome-based-method.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:53:03 EDT news674304781 Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are tiny fat bubbles that are used to deliver medicines, genes, and RNA into cells. However, in some cases LNPs can cause harmful inflammation as a result of the process of RNA delivery. /news/2025-08-solutions-safer-rna-therapies-inflammatory.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:50:04 EDT news674142601 Research led by a Swansea University academic has revealed a synthetic glycosystem—a sugar-coated polymer nanoparticle—that can block COVID-19 from infecting human cells, reducing infection rates by nearly 99%. /news/2025-08-lab-sugar-coated-particle-covid.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 11 Aug 2025 13:13:03 EDT news674136781 A new breakthrough in the field of physics led by doctoral student Yueming Yan could allow for the creation of small, thin, low-power optical devices to be used in both medical imaging and environmental sensing. /news/2025-08-ultrathin-metal-semiconductor-emit-multicolor.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 08 Aug 2025 09:14:03 EDT news673863241 In a discovery that could broaden access to next-generation biologic medicines and vaccines, researchers at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) have engineered polymer-based nanoparticles that form with a simple temperature shift—no harsh chemicals, no specialized equipment, and no processing needed. /news/2025-08-nanoparticles-room-temperature-vaccine-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 07 Aug 2025 08:25:04 EDT news673773901 Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered that the size of catalytic nanoparticles determines how their shape and structure transform during chemical reactions. With insights into the nanoparticles' atomic-scale behavior as they convert carbon dioxide into useful fuel—and a better understanding of how structural changes impact catalytic performance—researchers are newly positioned to design more effective catalysts for industrial applications. /news/2025-08-tiny-catalytic-particles-carbon-dioxide.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 07 Aug 2025 07:46:06 EDT news673771558 Analysis of ocean sediments has surfaced geochemical clues in line with the possibility that an encounter with a disintegrating comet 12,800 years ago in the Northern Hemisphere triggered rapid cooling of Earth's air and ocean. Christopher Moore of the University of South Carolina, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in the journal PLOS One on August 6, 2025. /news/2025-08-ocean-sediments-theory-comet-impact.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 06 Aug 2025 14:00:05 EDT news673613402 Today, approximately 1,800,000 acres of land in the United States is used for landfill waste disposal. In terms of volume, the U.S alone generated more than 290 million tons of solid waste in 2018, an amount equivalent to about 235,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, assuming an average solid waste density of a half ton per cubic meter. /news/2025-08-iron-nanoparticles-expired-supplements-contaminated.html Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:05:05 EDT news673700696 Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay have developed an innovative, cost-effective method to produce high-quality metal nanoparticles, as detailed in a study published in the journal Small Methods. /news/2025-08-confined-dewetting-yields-uniform-metal.html Nanomaterials Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:20:03 EDT news673690801 As a chronic condition, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can't be cured, so treatment focuses on managing the disease and controlling its progression. Although current treatments help control RA symptoms in most people, they cannot prevent the onset of RA or painful flare-ups. /news/2025-08-nanoparticles-potential-rheumatoid-arthritis-flare.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 06 Aug 2025 08:00:02 EDT news673605039 Three nano-glass spheres cling to one another. They form a tower-like cluster, similar to when you pile three scoops of ice cream on top of one another—only much smaller. The diameter of the nano cluster is ten times smaller than that of a human hair. /news/2025-08-pure-quantum-state-cooling.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 06 Aug 2025 05:00:03 EDT news673543434 Researchers have developed a simple yet highly effective method for delivering mRNA to target cells, opening up new possibilities for future non-vaccine mRNA medicines for a broad range of diseases. /news/2025-08-scientists-method-optimize-delivery-mrna.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 05 Aug 2025 07:13:15 EDT news673596789 A research team from Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) and Seoul National University has developed a new method to activate water-splitting catalysts at an oven temperature of just 300°C—much lower than the conventional furnace temperature of 800°C. This low-temperature process also boosts the catalyst's oxygen evolution efficiency by nearly sixfold. /news/2025-08-temperature-boosts-catalyst-sixfold.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Mon, 04 Aug 2025 11:21:10 EDT news673525261 A team from the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Hokkaido University, and Osaka University has discovered that subtle differences in molecular structure can have a major impact on the performance of mRNA-based drugs. Their findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, open the door to the development of safer and more effective vaccines and therapies. /news/2025-08-lipid-nanoparticle-stereochemistry-mrna-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 01 Aug 2025 10:30:04 EDT news673263002 Cryo-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) allows us to observe samples in a preserved state that is close to their native form, making it a highly effective way to examine biological samples. This technique provides information on the size, shape, and dispersion of samples within a frozen solvent. However, there is another crucial piece of information that has not been accurately visualized in organic samples using this technique yet: elemental composition. /news/2025-08-cool-imaging-method-elemental-nanomaterials.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 01 Aug 2025 09:15:01 EDT news673258499 Light can behave in very unexpected ways when you squeeze it into small spaces. In a paper in the journal Science, Mark Brongersma, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stanford University, and doctoral candidate Skyler Selvin describe the novel way they have used sound to manipulate light that has been confined to gaps only a few nanometers across—allowing the researchers exquisite control over the color and intensity of light mechanically. /news/2025-07-nanodevice-sculpt-paving-displays-imaging.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:00:05 EDT news673170541 A new study shows that the way amyloid proteins—implicated in Alzheimer's disease—assemble into fibrils can be significantly influenced by the spin orientation of electrons on magnetized surfaces. Depending on the direction of the magnetization and the chirality of the protein building blocks, researchers observed major differences in the number, length, and structure of the resulting fibrils. /news/2025-07-magnetic-surfaces-alzheimer-linked-protein.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 31 Jul 2025 08:58:03 EDT news673171081 A breakthrough in our understanding of mRNA delivery systems in the body may allow for more direct treatments for pancreas-related diseases, including cancer and diabetes. /news/2025-07-nanoparticles-mrna-pancreas.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 31 Jul 2025 06:30:02 EDT news673161932 Researchers have developed a novel laser-assisted synthesis method to fabricate platinum (Pt) colloidosomes (Cs) with promising applications in near-infrared (NIR) photocatalytic and enzyme-mimicking cancer therapy. /news/2025-07-laser-platinum-colloidosomes-enable-efficient.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Jul 2025 09:47:18 EDT news673087631