/ 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. Over the past decade, experts in the field of nanotechnology and materials science have been trying to devise architectures composed of small structures that spontaneously arrange themselves following specific patterns. Some of these architectures are based on so-called icosahedral shells, structures with 20 different triangular faces that are symmetrically organized. /news/2025-10-algorithm-reveals-magic-sizes-programmable.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 08 Oct 2025 06:30:02 EDT news679054911 Imagine tiny machines, smaller than a virus, spinning inside cancer cells and rewiring their behavior from within. No surgery, no harsh chemicals, just precision at the molecular level. /news/2025-10-molecular-motors-invasive-cancer-therapies.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:00:03 EDT news678973439 A brand-new engineering approach to generate "designer" biological robots using human lung cells is underway in Carnegie Mellon University's Ren lab. Referred to as AggreBots, these microscale living robots may one day be able to traverse through the body's complex environments to deliver desired therapeutic or mechanical interventions, once greater control is achieved over their motility patterns. In new research published in Science Advances, the group provides a novel tissue engineering platform capable of achieving customizable motility in AggreBots by actively controlling their structural parameters. /news/2025-09-aggrebots-tiny-robots-lung-cells.html Biotechnology Sat, 27 Sep 2025 07:17:40 EDT news678176253 The yeast fungus Candida albicans not only uses the toxin candidalysin to cause infections, but also to colonize the oral mucosa inconspicuously—but only in finely balanced amounts. Too little toxin prevents oral colonization, too much triggers the immune system and leads to an inflammatory defense reaction, as an international research team from Zurich, Jena, and Paris discovered. /news/2025-09-finely-fungal-toxin-production-albicans.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:17:04 EDT news678104221 University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Engineering researchers are exploring a surprising ally in the fight against toxic "forever chemicals." Scientists in the labs of Rajib Saha and Nirupam Aich have discovered that a common photosynthetic bacterium, Rhodopseudomonas palustris, can interact with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), one of the most persistent types of PFAS chemicals. /news/2025-09-team-potential-bacterial-solution-chemicals.html Biochemistry Materials Science Fri, 12 Sep 2025 09:11:03 EDT news676887061 Autophagy—meaning "self-eating" in Greek—is a fundamental cellular mechanism that preserves cell health by recycling and degrading worn-out or dysfunctional components. Serving as an essential housekeeping process, autophagy also plays a key role in strengthening immunity, mobilizing when cells encounter stressors such as starvation or infection to eliminate bacteria, viruses, and other threats. /news/2025-09-uncovering-cells-picky-eaters-team.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:07:04 EDT news676224421 The notion of a phased array was initially articulated by Nobel Prize recipient K. F. Braun. Phased arrays have subsequently evolved into a formidable mechanism for wave manipulation. This assertion holds particularly true in the realm of ultrasound, wherein arrays composed of ultrasound-generating transducers are employed in various applications, including therapeutic ultrasound, tissue engineering, and particle manipulation. /news/2025-09-programmable-dynamic-ultrasound-wavefront.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:20:03 EDT news676109640 What if plants could speak when they were thirsty? Agriculture, in essence, is a dialog among crops, soil and climate. Yet drought, the most insidious stressor, remains largely silent until its damage is visible. /news/2025-08-ai-simple-images-early-drought.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 29 Aug 2025 09:53:40 EDT news675680013 Mortalities at poisoned carcasses significantly contribute to the population decline of many vulture species. As vultures employ social strategies and follow each other in their search for food, one poisoned carcass can kill hundreds of individuals of endangered species such as the white-backed vulture. /news/2025-08-tagging-vultures-reveal-carcass-poisoning.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:15:05 EDT news675443701 A new Arizona State University study reveals the extent to which sewage pollution threatens the fragile coral reef ecosystems of west HawaiÊ»i Island. /news/2025-08-airborne-field-sampling-expose-sewage.html Environment Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:10:01 EDT news675442885 A research team headed by the University of Zurich has developed a powerful new method to precisely edit DNA by combining cutting-edge genetic engineering with artificial intelligence. The work has been published in Nature Biotechnology. /news/2025-08-ai-crispr-precise-gene.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 12 Aug 2025 11:23:04 EDT news674216581 In medicine and biotechnology, the ability to evolve proteins with new or improved functions is crucial, but current methods are often slow and laborious. Now, Scripps Research scientists have developed a synthetic biology platform that accelerates evolution itself—enabling researchers to evolve proteins with useful, new properties thousands of times faster than nature. /news/2025-08-scientists-evolution-rapidly-reprogram-proteins.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 08 Aug 2025 08:27:05 EDT news673860421 Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) is a stealthy threat. It infects more than 500,000 people in the United States each year, and kills up to 30,000. It is a leading cause of health-care-associated infections, particularly in hospitals and long-term care facilities. But not everyone who harbors C. diff gets sick—as many as 30–40% of the population carries this bug in their guts. /news/2025-08-hidden-killer-diff.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:15 EDT news673602961 A smartphone-controlled ingestible capsule that can control and allow for two-way communication with gut bacteria in pigs is reported in Nature Microbiology. The findings could lay the foundation for new diagnostic and treatment strategies for diseases such as colitis. /news/2025-07-gut-bugs-app.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 29 Jul 2025 16:04:28 EDT news673023834 Florida's Avon Park bombing range is teeming with life. Over 40 at-risk species occupy this 106,000-acre expanse used by the U.S. Air Force for training exercises. /news/2025-07-translocated-woodpeckers-florida-range-boosting.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 28 Jul 2025 16:10:01 EDT news672937296 Quantum batteries (QBs) are energy storage devices that could serve as an alternative to classical batteries, potentially charging faster and enabling the extraction of more energy. In contrast with existing batteries, these batteries leverage effects rooted in quantum mechanics, such as entanglement and superposition. /news/2025-07-scheme-mitigates-discharging-quantum-batteries.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 24 Jul 2025 07:00:01 EDT news672491889 Using more than 2.8 billion fungal sequences sampled from 130 countries, scientists map the biodiversity of Earth's underground mycorrhizal fungal communities. /news/2025-07-underground-reveal-mycorrhizal-fungal-biodiversity.html Plants & Animals Ecology Wed, 23 Jul 2025 11:00:11 EDT news672467737 Giving pedestrians a 7-second head start at traffic lights—known as Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs)—is associated with a 33% reduction in total pedestrian injuries—both fatal and non-fatal—at New York City intersections, according to a new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. /news/2025-07-york-city-intersections-pedestrian-injuries.html Social Sciences Fri, 18 Jul 2025 11:20:05 EDT news672056334 Researchers are creating new moiré materials at the nanometer scale using advanced DNA nanotechnology. DNA moiré superlattices form when two periodic DNA lattices are overlaid with a slight rotational twist or positional offset. This creates a new, larger interference pattern with completely different physical properties. /news/2025-07-programmable-dna-moir-superlattices-material.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:52:25 EDT news671971940 Researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University have produced fertile adult mice from embryos constructed entirely with male genetic material. Mice carrying only paternal DNA developed into fertile adults following precision editing of seven imprinting control regions, revealing genomic imprinting as a core barrier to uniparental mammalian development. /news/2025-06-mice-born-dads-reveal-hidden.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 25 Jun 2025 10:20:03 EDT news670065510 Thalidomide, a drug once used to alleviate morning sickness in pregnant women, exhibits distinct properties due to its optical isomers in the body: one isomer has a sedative effect, while the other causes severe side effects such as birth defects. As this example illustrates, precise organic synthesis techniques, which selectively synthesize only the desired optical isomer, are crucial in new drug development. /news/2025-06-ai-drug-simultaneous-analysis-chemical.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 16 Jun 2025 11:00:04 EDT news669290401 Understanding how drug delivery systems distribute in vivo remains a major challenge in developing nanomedicines. Especially in the lung, the complex and dynamic microenvironment often limits the effectiveness of existing approaches. /news/2025-06-nanogrid-drug-delivery-precise-lung.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 13 Jun 2025 11:21:06 EDT news669032452 Tools that offer early and accurate insight into plant health—and allow individual plant interventions—are key to increasing crop yields as environmental pressures increasingly impact horticulture and agriculture. /news/2025-06-gentle-robot-gripper-shot-sensors.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 11 Jun 2025 15:56:51 EDT news668876205 Researchers have developed the world's first near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent nanosensor capable of real-time, non-destructive and species-agnostic detection of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA)—the primary bioactive auxin hormone that controls the way plants develop, grow and respond to stress. /news/2025-05-universal-nanosensor-enables-real-destructive.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 May 2025 11:19:04 EDT news666958741 Ask scientists which gene-editing tool is most needed to advance gene therapy, and they'd probably describe a system that's now close to realization in the labs of Samuel Sternberg at Columbia University Vagelos College of Â鶹ÒùÔºicians and Surgeons and David Liu at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. /news/2025-05-advanced-gene-editor-enables-precise.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 15 May 2025 17:03:04 EDT news666547381 Research into chemical discovery, testing optimization and analysis can be a labor-intensive and time-consuming process. With many of the stages requiring manual preparation, sampling, and analysis, this can lead to increased time scales, higher costs and the potential for human error, and can limit the scope of exploration. /news/2025-05-labs-enable-faster-smarter-polymer.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Mon, 12 May 2025 10:14:04 EDT news666263641 Scientists at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, in collaboration with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, have developed a new nanoparticle therapy that tackles obesity through two complementary mechanisms: converting energy-storing white fat into calorie-burning beige fat while simultaneously reducing obesity-related inflammation. /news/2025-04-dual-action-nanoparticle-therapy-obesity.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 09 Apr 2025 15:22:03 EDT news663430921 Scientists have revealed how tiny swimming cells—such as sperm and bacteria—are able to move faster when traveling as a group, and the research could accelerate the development of microscopic robots that deliver drugs to specific regions of the body. /news/2025-03-scientists-uncover-microswimmers-faster-groups.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Fri, 28 Mar 2025 11:43:04 EDT news662380981 The parasite that causes malaria requires precise control of gene expression to progress through the various stages of its complex life cycle. A new study, by a multinational team of researchers, including Penn State scientists, has gained critical insights into these regulatory control mechanisms in Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the malaria parasites. /news/2025-02-disrupting-parasite-gene-reveals-malaria.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 19 Feb 2025 15:02:04 EST news659199721 Schools of fish are mesmerizing examples of collective animal behavior. Thousands of individuals move in near-perfect synchrony, despite each fish having only a limited view of their surroundings. How do they achieve such effortless coordination with minimal local information? And what visual cues does an individual fish actually perceive within the shifting, dynamic group? /news/2025-02-fish-vision-3d-eye-tracking.html Ecology Biotechnology Mon, 10 Feb 2025 12:07:04 EST news658411622