/ 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. Imagine being tasked with baking a soufflé, except the only instruction provided is an ingredient list without any measurements or temperatures. /news/2025-06-chemical-storm-fronts-framework-enables.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Wed, 11 Jun 2025 17:14:04 EDT news668880841 Whether it's electric vehicles, drones, or spacecraft, a common technical challenge for future transportation is lightweighting. /news/2025-06-carbon-nanotubes-metal-ultra-lightweight.html Nanomaterials Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:42:03 EDT news668770921 Researchers from the University of Rochester and University of California, Santa Barbara, engineered a laser device smaller than a penny that they say could power everything from the LiDAR systems used in self-driving vehicles to gravitational wave detection, one of the most delicate experiments in existence to observe and understand our universe. /news/2025-06-laser-smaller-penny-ultrafast.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 02 Jun 2025 09:07:03 EDT news668074021 Researchers from the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik present new experimental and theoretical results for the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin, which has a much higher nuclear charge than any previous measurement. The paper is published in the journal Science. /news/2025-05-electrons-lithium-tin-factor-billion.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 29 May 2025 14:00:12 EDT news667649881 Life on Earth possesses an exceptional ability to self-reproduce, which, even on a simple cellular level, is driven by complex biochemistry. But can self-reproduction exist in a biochemistry-free environment? /news/2025-05-artificial-cell-mimic-reproduction-polymeric.html Biochemistry Polymers Thu, 29 May 2025 09:23:07 EDT news667729383 Extensive industrial catalytic applications have shown that the confined nano-channels of zeolites can precisely regulate molecular diffusion and metal cluster migration, effectively enhancing catalyst activity, selectivity, and stability. /news/2025-05-zeolite-nanopore-links-crystal-size.html Nanomaterials Wed, 28 May 2025 14:38:03 EDT news667661881 In biology, enzymes have evolved over millions of years to drive chemical reactions. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS) have now derived universal rules to enable the de novo design of optimal enzymes. /news/2025-05-enzymes-universal-optimal-enzyme.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 26 May 2025 08:56:03 EDT news667468561 Soft-bodied robots are unlocking a new era of adaptive machines that can safely interact with the human body, squeeze through tight spaces, and propel themselves autonomously. /news/2025-05-pneumatic-soft-robot-mimics-rotating.html Biotechnology Thu, 22 May 2025 09:51:05 EDT news667126258 Natural enzymes are remarkable molecular machines that enable all sorts of essential biochemical reactions. For decades, scientists have sought to create artificial versions of these catalysts for industrial and biomedical applications. However, they have struggled to match nature's efficiency and simplicity. This, in turn, has hindered the development of environmentally friendly catalysts for sustainable chemistry. /news/2025-05-efficient-artificial-enzymes-protein-cages.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Mon, 19 May 2025 12:43:04 EDT news666877382 Materials with self-adaptive mechanical responses have long been sought after in material science. Using computer simulations, researchers at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad, now show how such adaptive behavior can emerge in active glasses, which are widely used as models for biological tissues. /news/2025-05-uncover-mechanism-enabling-glasses-brittleness.html Soft Matter Mon, 19 May 2025 10:34:13 EDT news666869646 In Biology 101, we learn that RNA is a single, ribbon-like strand of base pairs that is copied from our DNA and then read like a recipe to build a protein. But there's more to the story. Some RNA strands fold into complex shapes that allow them to drive cellular processes like gene regulation and protein synthesis, or catalyze biochemical reactions. /news/2025-05-sequence-fast-track-rna.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 13 May 2025 15:30:05 EDT news666368540 The majority of RNAs in each of our cells don't code for any of the thousands of proteins that make up our bodies. Instead, noncoding RNAs have critical roles in many biological processes—such as gene expression—making them ideal targets for a variety of ailments, including cancers. Despite that, the first RNA-targeting therapeutic in the market was launched only five years ago, and the vast majority of all Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs target proteins. /news/2025-05-qa-ai-rna-drugs-therapeutic.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 12 May 2025 11:40:05 EDT news666268801 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 When a species reproduces, typically, each parent passes on one of their two versions (alleles) of a given gene to their offspring. But not all alleles play fair in their quest to be passed onto future generations. /news/2025-05-selfish-gene-skews-sex-ratio.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 08 May 2025 14:40:04 EDT news665934001 Many people around the world believe in karma—that idea that divine justice will punish people who do bad deeds and reward those who do good. But that belief plays out differently for oneself versus others, according to research published in Psychology of Religion and Spirituality titled "Karma rewards me and punishes you: Self-other divergences in karma beliefs." /news/2025-04-good-karma-bad-belief-divine.html Social Sciences Thu, 01 May 2025 09:00:02 EDT news665221681 In a landmark achievement for fusion energy, ITER has completed all components for the world's largest, most powerful pulsed superconducting electromagnet system. /news/2025-04-international-collaboration-world-largest-powerful.html Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 30 Apr 2025 11:30:01 EDT news665053898 A new study by researchers from The University of Western Australia has used computer vision to reconstruct the false illusion of 3D shapes created by moth wing patterns. /news/2025-04-vision-reveal-visual-illusions-moth.html Ecology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 30 Apr 2025 09:01:02 EDT news665222461 Scientists at Northwestern University and University of California, Santa Barbara have created the first synthetic fragment of tau protein that acts like a prion. The "mini prion" folds and stacks into strands (or fibrils) of misfolded tau proteins, which then transmit their abnormally folded shape to other normal tau proteins. /news/2025-04-synthetic-mini-prion-protein-misfolding.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:00:03 EDT news665048726 Whether we are simply characters in an advanced virtual world is a much-debated theory, challenging previous thinking about the universe and our existence. /news/2025-04-universe-ultimate.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 25 Apr 2025 05:30:02 EDT news664717778 From microscopic robots that can carry and deliver drugs inside the human body to tiny particles that can detect and break down microplastics, an emerging field called active matter is looking toward the microscale to solve some of the world's biggest problems. /news/2025-04-qa-microscopic-traffic-solution-insights.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Apr 2025 16:07:05 EDT news664556821 Targeting a newly discovered vulnerability in the signals that cyst nematodes use to infect plant roots could be a powerful method for reducing the damage the parasitic worms cause in crops such as soybeans, according to a study co-authored by an Iowa State University professor. /news/2025-04-disrupting-communication-limit-cyst-nematode.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Fri, 18 Apr 2025 11:01:04 EDT news664192861 A study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals new insights into the triggering mechanisms of solar microflares and the self-similarity of solar flares. The research was led by Prof. Bi Yi from the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). /news/2025-04-scientists-trigger-mechanism-solar-microflares.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Thu, 17 Apr 2025 10:43:03 EDT news664105381 Like Earth, Mars once had a strong magnetic field that shielded its thick atmosphere from the solar wind. But now only the magnetic imprint remains. What's long baffled scientists, though, is why this imprint appears most strongly in the southern half of the red planet. /news/2025-04-molten-martian-core-red-planet.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 15 Apr 2025 10:11:04 EDT news663930662 Using artificial intelligence shortens the time to identify complex quantum phases in materials from months to minutes, finds a new study published in Newton. The breakthrough could significantly speed up research into quantum materials, particularly low-dimensional superconductors. /news/2025-04-ai-tool-quest-advanced-superconductors.html Superconductivity Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 10 Apr 2025 14:12:19 EDT news663513133 In a new paper, researchers at North Carolina State University show proof of concept for a system that—in a single cycle—actively removes microplastics from water. /news/2025-03-microcleaners-disperse-capture-microplastics.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 26 Mar 2025 15:10:06 EDT news662220601 A new "self-driving" microscope developed by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers solves two fundamental challenges that have long plagued microscopy: first, imaging living cells or organisms at dramatically different scales, and second, following a specific structure or area of interest over long periods of time. This innovation, detailed in Nature Methods, is already making observations that have not been possible with conventional methods. /news/2025-03-microscope-imaging-scales-term-tracking.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 12 Mar 2025 11:12:04 EDT news660996721 Plastic that conducts electricity might sound impossible. But there is a special class of materials known as "electronic polymers" that combines the flexibility of plastic with the functionality of metal. This type of material opens the door for breakthroughs in wearable devices, printable electronics and advanced energy storage systems. /news/2025-02-lab-electronic-polymers-discovery.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:22:04 EST news659092921 Collaboration can be a beautiful thing, especially when people work together to create something new. Take, for example, a longstanding collaboration between Arka Majumdar, a University of Washington (UW) professor of electrical and computer engineering and physics, and Felix Heide, an assistant professor of computer science at Princeton University. /news/2025-02-compact-camera.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 05 Feb 2025 10:33:35 EST news657974006 130 years after a fungus-eating plant received its name, a Kobe University researcher has uncovered the purpose of the structure that inspired its name—revealing a novel mechanism by which plants ensure reproduction. /news/2025-01-orchid-unique-reveals-pollination-mechanism.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 23 Jan 2025 10:00:04 EST news656764119 Insecticides have been used for centuries to counteract widespread pest damage to valuable food crops. Eventually, over time, beetles, moths, flies and other insects develop genetic mutations that render the insecticide chemicals ineffective. /news/2024-11-gene-reverses-insecticide-resistance-pests.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:14:21 EST news651518052