/ 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. Sometimes, the best way to achieve a big outcome is to start small. That principle is at the center of new work from a University of Virginia researcher who specializes in nanotechnology and controlled delivery of medical treatments. /news/2025-10-polymer-scaffold-tissue-multiple-vaccine.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:51:04 EDT news679056661 Many medications and other therapeutic agents, including antibiotics and cancer therapies, must enter cells to reach their targets to have their effect. But that can pose a challenge, as drugs often have difficulty crossing the cell's protective membranes, get broken down before they reach their target, or do not reach the right cells. /news/2025-10-enzyme-pair-microbial-puzzle-disease.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:13:04 EDT news679054382 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 Scientists at Heriot-Watt University have unlocked the secret behind how female sawflies make specific cuts to plants—a discovery that could revolutionize surgical instruments and dramatically reduce the cutting of healthy tissue during operations. /news/2025-10-smart-female-sawflies-surgery-patient.html Plants & Animals Ecology Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:08:05 EDT news678964081 This week, researchers reported that mild dietary stress supports healthy aging. Engineers created artificial neurons that can communicate directly with living cells. And dark energy observations suggest that the universe could end in a "big crunch" at 33 billion years old. /news/2025-10-saturday-citations-bird-news-vultures.html Other Sat, 04 Oct 2025 08:30:01 EDT news678707485 In nature, random fiber networks such as some of the tissues in the human body, are strong and tough with the ability to hold together but also stretch a lot before they fail. Studying this structural randomness—that nature seems to replicate so effortlessly—is extremely difficult in the lab and is even more difficult to accurately reproduce in engineering applications. /news/2025-10-random-nanofiber-networks-optimized-strength.html Nanomaterials Thu, 02 Oct 2025 14:34:03 EDT news678634441 Fungi are vital to natural ecosystems by breaking down dead organic material and cycling it back into the environment as nutrients. But new research from the University of Utah finds one species, Marquandomyces marquandii, a ubiquitous soil mold, shows promise as a potential building block for new biomedical materials. /news/2025-10-soil-fungus-durable-hydrogels-potential.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 01 Oct 2025 17:24:04 EDT news678558241 Quantum computing is still in its early stages of development, but researchers have extensively explored its potential uses. A recent study conducted at São Paulo State University (UNESP) in Brazil proposed a hybrid quantum-classical model to support breast cancer diagnosis from medical images. /news/2025-10-combination-quantum-classical-early-diagnosis.html Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 01 Oct 2025 16:10:04 EDT news678553441 New research published in Nature Ecology & Evolution sheds light on the timelines and pathways of evolution of fungi, finding evidence of their influence on ancient terrestrial ecosystems. The study, led by researchers from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) and collaborators, indicates the diversification of fungi hundreds of millions of years before the emergence of land plants. /news/2025-09-fungi-stage-life-hundreds-millions.html Evolution Ecology Wed, 01 Oct 2025 05:00:12 EDT news678384661 Egg whites may be perfect for a health-conscious breakfast, but egg yolks turned out to be the key ingredient for cultivating bird embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in the lab. Using a growing medium of egg yolk along with a few other key factors, a USC Stem Cell-led team of scientists has succeeded in deriving and maintaining authentic ESCs from chickens and seven other bird species. /news/2025-09-egg-yolk-key-authentic-embryonic.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 30 Sep 2025 12:07:04 EDT news678452821 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 Researchers at Duke University used CRISPR technologies to discover previously unannotated stretches of DNA in the "dark genome" that are responsible for controlling how cells sense and respond to the mechanical properties of their local environment. /news/2025-09-dark-regions-genome-illuminates-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 26 Sep 2025 08:57:34 EDT news678095848 When model cell membranes bind to biomaterials, it is not the binding strength but the speed of the receptors in the membranes that is crucial. This was discovered by an international research team led by chemist Professor Dr. Shikha Dhiman from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. /news/2025-09-molecular-movement-cell-membranes-biomaterials.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Fri, 19 Sep 2025 13:37:59 EDT news677507873 Ant societies are built on scent. Pheromones guide the insects to food, warn them of predators, and regulate the rhythms of their colonies. This chemical communication system is governed by a simple rule: one receptor, one neuron. /news/2025-09-society-built-scent-ants-neurons.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 19 Sep 2025 11:00:01 EDT news677430044 When Ph.D. student Kshitiz Parihar began combing through dozens of research papers on two seemingly different topics—tumor mechanics and extracellular vesicles, tiny packages of proteins and genetic material secreted by cells—he noticed something surprising: the two fields were speaking to each other. /news/2025-09-bioengineers-explore-tumor-mechanics-tiny.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 18 Sep 2025 11:31:05 EDT news677413861 The field of tissue engineering aims to replicate the structure and function of real biological tissues. This engineered tissue has potential applications in disease modeling, drug discovery, and implantable grafts. /news/2025-09-3d-bioprinting-technique-boost-tissue.html Biotechnology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:05:09 EDT news677387097 A genome-editing technique known as prime editing holds potential for treating many diseases by transforming faulty genes into functional ones. However, the process carries a small chance of inserting errors that could be harmful. /news/2025-09-cas9-proteins-error-prime.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:00:21 EDT news677236202 Scientists at Feinberg are reshaping scientific understanding of the cell's tiniest components—structures once thought to be static, now revealed to be dynamic engines of cellular life. As they probe the inner workings of cells, they are not only expanding understanding of cellular processes but also paving the way for novel therapies and diagnostics. /news/2025-09-scientists-reveal-hidden-dynamics-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 16 Sep 2025 15:00:03 EDT news677253204 Inside cells there are tiny particles, known as extracellular vesicles, that store and move molecules. Our cells naturally package beneficial proteins and healing compounds into these tiny bubbles, dispatching them to where they are needed to deliver molecular cargo or to communicate with other cells. /news/2025-09-bioreactors-yield-extracellular-vesicles-medicine.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 16 Sep 2025 13:30:18 EDT news677247964 The continually expanding toolkit from Mohit Verma's laboratory at Purdue University now includes a portable, paper-based biosensor for identifying genetically modified (GM) corn and soybean. The GM crop biosensor, based on a method called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), offers a fast and less expensive alternative to the point-of-need molecular tools already on the market. /news/2025-09-biosensor-genetically-corn-soybean.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:22:03 EDT news677244121 The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the development of CRISPR/Cas9, a method also known as "gene scissors," which enables researchers to better understand how human cells function and stay healthy. Researchers at the University of Stuttgart have further developed CRISPR for this purpose. They present their CRISPR gene and epigenome engineering (CRISPRgenee) method in Cell Reports Methods. /news/2025-09-crisprgenee-method-cell-functions.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 16 Sep 2025 11:10:02 EDT news677239713 Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have created a miniaturized microscope for real-time, high-resolution, noninvasive imaging of brain activity in mice. The device is a significant step toward revolutionizing how neuroscientists study the brain. /news/2025-09-mini-microscope-enables-real-3d.html Optics & Photonics Sat, 13 Sep 2025 07:05:16 EDT news676965910 The story of the princess and the pea evokes an image of a highly sensitive young royal woman so refined, she can sense a pea under a stack of mattresses. When it comes to human biology, it also takes an abnormal individual to sense far beyond its surroundings, in this case, a cancer cell. Now, researchers also know that normal cells can pull a similar trick by working together. /news/2025-09-cells-environment.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 12 Sep 2025 13:10:11 EDT news676901405 A new study from North Carolina State University identifies vertebrate hemoglobin in bone extracts from two dinosaurs and shows that this molecule is original to those animals. The work also shows how heme, a small molecule that gives hemoglobin the ability to transport oxygen in blood, degrades over time. The study both adds to the body of evidence that biological remains can and do persist across deep time in some fossils and provides further insight into the process of fossilization. /news/2025-09-precise-imaging-technique-hemoglobin-dinosaur.html Molecular & Computational biology Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 10 Sep 2025 12:11:04 EDT news676725061 In a step toward making ultra-bright X-ray sources more widely available, an international collaboration led by the University of Michigan—with experiments at the U.K.'s Central Laser Facility—has mapped key aspects of electron pulses that can go on to generate laser-like X-ray pulses. /news/2025-09-electron-pulses-future-compact-ultra.html Optics & Photonics Plasma Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:30:05 EDT news676711802 Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center have developed a new method to discover how DNA controls genes. Their technique, published in Cell Genomics, can reveal the genetic "switches" that regulate important genes more quickly than existing methods. /news/2025-09-scientists-faster-technique-uncover-hidden.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 16:35:03 EDT news676654501 When cells are healthy, we don't expect them to suddenly change cell types. A skin cell on your hand won't naturally morph into a brain cell, and vice versa. That's thanks to epigenetic memory, which enables the expression of various genes to "lock in" throughout a cell's lifetime. Failure of this memory can lead to diseases, such as cancer. /news/2025-09-cell-memory-dimmer-dial-onoff.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 15:30:27 EDT news676650622 Scientists from Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University have found out that polysaccharides from microalgae bind proteins that are contained in the poison of lancehead snakes. When these proteins get into the human organism, they cause severe bleeding, renal and cardiac insufficiency, tissue death and even death. /news/2025-09-microalgae-aid-offsetting-consequences-poisonous.html Plants & Animals Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 14:50:03 EDT news676648201 A project led by University of Queensland Ph.D. student Javeria Bashir has produced specially crafted gold nanoparticles that can highlight cancer markers in samples like urine, saliva, or blood. Bashir said she hoped to use her gold nanoparticles to help improve survival rates for a cancer that is considered particularly deadly. /news/2025-09-sponge-gold-nanoparticles-ovarian-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 09 Sep 2025 11:30:12 EDT news676635607 Imagine being able to flip a light switch to control disease pathways inside a living cell. A team of visionary researchers at the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) is making this dream a reality with their genetic tools known as photo-inducible binary interaction tools, or PhoBITs. /news/2025-09-compact-genetic-safer-precise-disease.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 10:40:05 EDT news676632577