/ 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. Ice cream comes in many different flavors. But even pure ice, which consists only of water molecules, has been discovered to exist in more than 20 different solid forms or phases that differ in the arrangement of the molecules. The phases are named with Roman numerals, like ice I, ice II or ice III. Now, researchers led by scientists from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) have identified and described a new phase called ice XXI. The results are published in the journal Nature Materials. /news/2025-10-ice-xxi-scientists-ray-laser.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:44:04 EDT news679315441 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, together with international collaborators, have developed a new electron microscopy method that has enabled the first-ever imaging of vibrations, or phonons, in specific directions at the atomic scale. /news/2025-09-image-atomic-vibrations.html Condensed Matter Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:11:57 EDT news677502711 The ground-shaking that an earthquake generates is only a fraction of the total energy that a quake releases. A quake can also generate a flash of heat, along with a domino-like fracturing of underground rocks. But exactly how much energy goes into each of these three processes is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to measure in the field. /news/2025-09-geologists-energy-earthquake.html Earth Sciences Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:55:04 EDT news677238901 A study co-led by ICN2 reveals that ice is a flexoelectric material, meaning it can produce electricity when unevenly deformed. Published in Nature Â鶹ÒùÔºics, this discovery could have major technological implications while also shedding light on natural phenomena such as lightning. /news/2025-09-scientists-ice-generates-electricity-bent.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Condensed Matter Mon, 01 Sep 2025 08:48:03 EDT news675935281 The single crystals currently used in semiconductors, electronic devices, and optical devices can't take the heat. This is because the materials typically used to make them—such as iridium and platinum—have a melting point below 2,200°C. Creating single crystals that can withstand these extreme temperatures is a challenge that has been unmet until now. /news/2025-08-scientists-technology-semiconductor-crystals-temperatures.html Materials Science Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:28:03 EDT news675689282 Could clothing monitor a person's health in real time, because the clothing itself would be a self-powered sensor? A new material created through electrospinning, which is a process that draws out fibers using electricity, brings this possibility one step closer. /news/2025-07-flexible-fiber-material-powered-health.html Condensed Matter Wed, 30 Jul 2025 16:00:19 EDT news673110015 Using only a single-crystal piezoelectric thin wafer of lithium niobate (LN) instead of the usual two-part structure, a group from Nagoya University in Japan has created a deformable mirror that changes X-ray beam size by more than 3,400 times. This improved tuning range enhances both imaging and analysis, especially for the X-rays used in industry. /news/2025-06-wafer-lens-ray-size.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:14:03 EDT news670245242 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an innovative new technique using carbon nanofibers to enhance binding in carbon fiber and other fiber-reinforced polymer composites—an advance likely to improve structural materials for automobiles, airplanes and other applications that require lightweight and strong materials. /news/2025-06-nanofibers-yield-stronger-tougher-carbon.html Nanomaterials Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:00:06 EDT news669383405 Our everyday lives are so riddled with electronics that we hardly notice them anymore. When we casually reach for our smartphone, we rarely think about how complex this device is. Hundreds of tiny components work together within it—each of them a high-precision masterpiece of engineering. /news/2025-06-electron-shower-technique-advanced-piezoelectric.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:13:04 EDT news668344381 Researchers have detailed the physics behind a phenomenon that allows them to create spin in liquid droplets using ultrasound waves, which concentrates solid particles suspended in the liquid. The discovery will allow researchers to engineer technologies that make use of the technique to develop applications in fields such as biomedical testing and drug development. /news/2025-05-physics-advance-solid-liquid.html Soft Matter Wed, 21 May 2025 11:37:03 EDT news667046221 A research team led by Dr. Lim Sang-kyu in DGIST's Department of Energy and Environmental Technology has developed a smart fiber sensor that can detect natural disasters such as landslides in real time. The new fiber is based on piezoelectric technology, which converts pressure into electricity. Its three-dimensional (3D) structure dramatically improves performance, facilitating the implementation of a self-powered sensor system that can operate without an external power source. /news/2025-05-high-piezoelectric-fiber-sensor-real.html Nanomaterials Mon, 19 May 2025 11:50:10 EDT news666874206 The use of light signals to connect electronic components is a key element of today's data communication technologies, because of the speed and efficiency that only optical devices can guarantee. Photonic integrated circuits, which use photons instead of electrons to encode and transmit information, are found in many computing technologies. Most are currently based on silicon—a good solution because it is already used for electronic circuits, but with a limited bandwidth. /news/2025-05-pockels-effect-advance-optoelectronic-technology.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 07 May 2025 15:20:14 EDT news665850002 Wurtzite-structured crystals, characterized by their hexagonal symmetry, are widely valued for their unique electronic and piezoelectric properties—their ability to generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical stress. Among these, gallium nitride (GaN), a key material in blue light-emitting diodes, and aluminum nitride (AlN), used in high-frequency radio frequency (RF) filters in smartphones, are prominent examples. These materials play a crucial role in advanced semiconductors, sensors, and actuators. /news/2025-04-wurtzite-mgsin-thin-electronic-properties.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:17:04 EDT news665241421 Ultrasound imaging is one of the most widely used diagnostic tools in modern medicine. Behind its noninvasive magic lies a class of materials known as piezoelectric single crystals, which can convert electrical signals into mechanical vibrations and vice versa. /news/2025-04-real-visualization-nanoscale-domain-response.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:40:02 EDT news664540162 A research team at Clarkson University has developed a method to effectively destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on spent sorbents, addressing a critical environmental challenge. /news/2025-04-solvent-free-method-destroy-pfas.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 10 Apr 2025 04:36:08 EDT news663478564 Researchers from Tsinghua University, the Beijing Institute of Technology, the University of Wollongong (Australia), and the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have achieved an ultrahigh electrostrain of 1.9% in (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. /news/2025-03-high-electrostrain-free-piezoceramics.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:31:02 EDT news661087861 Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars? A new interpretation of Martian seismic data by scientists Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics suggests the presence of water below the surface of Mars. "If liquid water exists on Mars," Katayama says, "the presence of microbial activity" is possible. /news/2025-03-seismic-clues-marsquakes-liquid-life.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 08 Mar 2025 05:35:51 EST news660634545 From integrated photonics to quantum information science, the ability to control light with electric fields—a phenomenon known as the electro-optic effect—supports vital applications such as light modulation and frequency transduction. These components rely on nonlinear optical materials, in which light waves can be manipulated by applying electric fields. /news/2025-02-illuminates-path-superior-electro-optic.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:11:08 EST news659722252 While most multiferroics can't operate above room temperature, a team of researchers at Tohoku University demonstrated that terbium oxide Tb2(MoO4)3 works as a multiferroic even at 160°C. /news/2025-01-multiferroic-material-function-160c-doors.html Condensed Matter Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:33:04 EST news657534782 A unique propagation phenomenon of acoustic waves has been discovered, paving the way for developing advanced communication technologies using acoustic devices. /news/2025-01-acoustic-phenomenon.html Nanophysics Wed, 29 Jan 2025 09:34:51 EST news657365688 Researchers have developed a new method for quickly detecting and identifying very low concentrations of gases. The new approach, called coherently controlled quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, could form the basis for highly sensitive real-time sensors for applications such as environmental monitoring, breath analysis and chemical process control. /news/2025-01-photoacoustic-spectroscopy-approach-real-gas.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 09 Jan 2025 10:00:01 EST news655551994 In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and collaborators show that the efficacy of a commonly used piezoelectric ceramic material can be dramatically increased just by reducing its thickness and by preventing atomic defects inadvertently formed during manufacturing. /news/2025-01-small-boost-efficacy-piezoceramics.html Condensed Matter Thu, 09 Jan 2025 09:50:03 EST news655638601 Numerous memory types for computing devices have emerged in recent years, aiming to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional random access memory (RAM). Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) is one such memory type which offers several advantages over conventional RAM, including its non-volatility, high speed, increased storage capacity and enhanced endurance. /news/2025-01-smarter-memory-generation-ram-energy.html Condensed Matter Tue, 07 Jan 2025 09:56:47 EST news655466203 To a leaf, a falling raindrop is equivalent in mass to a bowling ball dropping on a person—so how does the leaf survive? New research elucidates the raindrop's impact and the physical dynamics that help the leaf respond, with potential applications for agriculture and renewable-energy harvesting. /news/2024-12-resilience-raindrops-insights-energy-harvesting.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Soft Matter Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:38:03 EST news654183481 Developing reliable methods to replace dead or damaged tissue is one of the primary goals of regenerative medicine. With steady advances in tissue engineering and biomedicine, scientists are almost at a point where growing cell sheets in the lab and transplanting them onto damaged or diseased organs is becoming a reality rather than fiction. /news/2024-12-scientists-ultrasound-based-technique-tool.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 05 Dec 2024 09:53:26 EST news652614800 A discovery by an international team of scientists has revealed room-temperature ferroelectric and resistive switching behaviors in single-element tellurium (Te) nanowires, paving the way for advancements in ultrahigh-density data storage and neuromorphic computing. /news/2024-11-tellurium-nanowires-potential-room-temperature.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Fri, 29 Nov 2024 11:51:17 EST news652103473 Researchers at University of Limerick in Ireland have developed a new method of growing organic crystals that can be used for energy-harvesting applications. /news/2024-11-method-generating-eco-friendly-energy.html Condensed Matter Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:56:13 EST news651254168 A team of physicists at ETH Zürich has built the first-ever working mechanical qubit. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their novel idea for creating such a qubit and how well it has worked during testing. /news/2024-11-physicists-fully-mechanical-qubit.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 15 Nov 2024 10:10:01 EST news650885412 Amidst the ongoing surge in demand for bio-MEMS, wearable/implantable electronics and bio-tissue therapeutics, the pursuit of piezoelectric biomaterials has become a priority, thanks to their remarkable electromechanical properties, biocompatibility, and bioresorbability. /news/2024-11-high-thermal-electric-aerosol-piezoelectric.html Nanomaterials Mon, 11 Nov 2024 16:25:43 EST news650564736 Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and at the University of Magdeburg in Germany have developed a novel type of nanomechanical resonator that combines two important features: high mechanical quality and piezoelectricity. This development could open doors to new possibilities in quantum sensing technologies. /news/2024-11-high-quality-nanomechanical-resonators-built.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:15:04 EST news650013301