/ 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. University of Illinois Â鶹ÒùÔºics Professor Paul Kwiat and members of his research group have developed a new tool for precision measurement at the nanometer scale in scenarios where background noise and optical loss from the sample are present. /news/2025-05-nanometer-scale-tool-exploits-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 22 May 2025 17:24:05 EDT news667153441 Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a scalable, non-viral technology that efficiently delivers genetic material into human immune cells. The platform, called Nanostraw Electro-actuated Transfection (NExT), uses tiny hollow nanostructures and electrical pulses to insert a wide variety of biomolecules—proteins, mRNA and gene-editing tools—into immune cells with high efficiency and minimal disruption. /news/2025-05-gene-delivery-nanostraws-electrical-pulses.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 22 May 2025 11:35:05 EDT news667132501 We've all felt the sting of guilt when fruit and vegetables go bad before we could eat them. Now, researchers from MIT and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) have shown they can extend the shelf life of harvested plants by injecting them with melatonin using biodegradable microneedles. /news/2025-05-microneedle-technology-melatonin-shelf-life.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 21 May 2025 13:02:58 EDT news667051374 New research from the University of Cincinnati demonstrates how specially engineered bacteria taken orally can operate as a delivery system for antiviral therapies and vaccines. The research, led by Nalinikanth Kotagiri, Ph.D., is published in the journal Gut Microbes. /news/2025-05-bacteria-antiviral-therapies-vaccines.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 21 May 2025 11:26:04 EDT news667045561 Living in a murky lake around Mexico City, surrounded by aggressive and cannibalistic neighbors, the axolotl lives at constant risk of losing a limb to a neighbor's nibble. Fortunately, lost limbs regrow and are functional in as few as eight weeks. To achieve this feat, the regrowing body parts must "know" their position within the axolotl body to regenerate the right structure for a specific location. /news/2025-05-hand2-positional-code-axolotls-regrow.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 21 May 2025 11:00:06 EDT news667043180 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 A research team affiliated with UNIST has announced the development of an innovative nonlinear imaging technique capable of visualizing internal biological tissues in 3D using ordinary light sources, such as laser pointers, instead of costly ultrafast pulsed lasers. /news/2025-05-imaging-technology-ultrafast-lasers.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 20 May 2025 11:02:04 EDT news666957722 Recent technological advances are fueling the development of cutting-edge technologies that can monitor and control physiological processes with high precision. These include devices that could control the expression of genes within living organisms, without requiring invasive surgeries or procedures. /news/2025-05-nanoparticle-cell-interface-enables-electromagnetic.html Bio & Medicine Sun, 18 May 2025 08:20:01 EDT news666605522 Researchers have created a new kind of nanoparticle that could make ultrasound-based cancer treatments more effective and safer, while also helping prevent tumors from coming back. /news/2025-05-drug-nanoparticles-precision-safety-ultrasound.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 15 May 2025 01:40:15 EDT news666492005 Ribonucleic acid, also called RNA, is a molecule present in all living cells. It plays a critical role in transmitting genetic instructions from DNA and creating proteins. With the power to execute a plethora of functions, the little RNA "messenger" has led to important innovations across therapeutics, diagnostics, and vaccines, and made us rethink our understanding of life itself. /news/2025-05-qa-generative-ai-technique-rna.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 14 May 2025 16:26:05 EDT news666458762 A protein located in the wrong part of a cell can contribute to several diseases, such as Alzheimer's, cystic fibrosis, and cancer. But there are about 70,000 different proteins and protein variants in a single human cell, and since scientists can typically only test for a handful in one experiment, it is extremely costly and time-consuming to identify proteins' locations manually. /news/2025-05-ai-virtually-protein-human-cell.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 13 May 2025 14:30:05 EDT news666365402 Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI) have developed a technique that could help advance treatments in tissue engineering. The study, published in the journal Small, introduces a technique for producing tissues with precise cellular organization designed to mimic the natural structure of human tissue. /news/2025-05-3d-hydrogels-cell-growth-functional.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 13 May 2025 12:27:02 EDT news666358021 Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed an AI that could open up a new, cost-effective approach to identifying genetic perturbation patterns in cell images—potentially enabling the development of new drugs. /news/2025-05-ai-genetic-perturbations-cell-images.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 13 May 2025 12:10:03 EDT news666356473 A research team has published a study in Nature Communications detailing the development of a novel genetically encoded fluorescent sensor for real-time, cell-type-specific monitoring of intracellular adenosine (iAdo). /news/2025-05-high-resolution-fluorescent-sensor-visualize.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Tue, 13 May 2025 10:25:16 EDT news666350709 A team of researchers from Brown University has developed a new nanotechnology-based approach that could improve treatment of fungal infections, particularly those caused by the increasingly drug-resistant Candida species. /news/2025-05-nanoparticles-effective-antifungal-treatments.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 12 May 2025 14:16:21 EDT news666278172 Researchers have developed an innovative dual-receptor T-cell therapy that promises safer and more effective cancer treatments. This study, published in Cell, demonstrates that engineering T-cells to express both a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) and a T-cell Receptor (TCR) can improve their ability to distinguish between cancerous and healthy tissues—addressing a major challenge in current immunotherapy. /news/2025-05-cells-cars-tcrs-distinguish-cancerous.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Sat, 10 May 2025 05:10:04 EDT news665330629 Imagine that doctors could precisely print miniature capsules capable of delivering cells needed for tissue repair exactly where they are needed inside a beating heart. /news/2025-05-vivo-3d-precise-drug-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 08 May 2025 14:29:04 EDT news665933341 Researchers at McGill University, in collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal, pioneered a new way to create hydrogels using ultrasound, eliminating the need for toxic chemical initiators. This breakthrough offers a faster, cleaner and more sustainable approach to hydrogel fabrication, and produces hydrogels that are stronger, more flexible and highly resistant to freezing and dehydration. /news/2025-05-ultrasound-safer-greener-hydrogels.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 08 May 2025 13:20:07 EDT news665928650 A study published in the journal Cell marks the first reported instance of generative AI designing synthetic molecules that can successfully control gene expression in healthy mammalian cells. /news/2025-05-ai-dna-genes-healthy-mammalian.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 08 May 2025 11:00:07 EDT news665911862 A new study uncovers how fine-tuning the interactions between two distinct network-forming species within a soft gel enables programmable control over its structure and mechanical properties. The findings reveal a powerful framework for engineering next-generation soft materials with customizable behaviors, inspired by the complexity of biological tissues. /news/2025-05-programmable-network-gels-interspecies-interactions.html Soft Matter Tue, 06 May 2025 16:56:02 EDT news665769361 Over time, scar tissue slows or stops implanted bioelectronics. But new interdisciplinary research could help pacemakers, sensors and other implantable devices keep people healthier for longer. /news/2025-05-semiconducting-polymer-strategies-scar-tissue.html Polymers Materials Science Tue, 06 May 2025 15:42:06 EDT news665764923 Mitochondrial diseases affect approximately 1 in 5,000 people worldwide, causing debilitating symptoms ranging from muscle weakness to stroke-like episodes. Some of these conditions result from mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), the genetic material housed in these organelles. For patients with the common m.3243A>G mutation, which can cause MELAS syndrome (mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes) and diabetes mellitus, treatments remain limited. /news/2025-05-enzymes-enable-precise-mitochondrial-dna.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 02 May 2025 11:37:04 EDT news665404621 An engineered gut microbe can detoxify methylmercury, reducing the amount that passes into the brain and developing fetuses of mice fed a diet rich in fish, UCLA and UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography scientists have discovered. /news/2025-04-microbe-mercury-absorption-seafood.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Thu, 01 May 2025 11:00:05 EDT news665249521 Bio-batteries constructed by electroactive microorganisms have unique advantages in physiological monitoring, tissue integration, and powering implantable devices due to their superior adaptability and biocompatibility. However, the development of miniaturized and portable bio-batteries that are plug and play and compatible with existing devices remains a challenge. /news/2025-04-portable-bio-battery-hydrogels-nerve.html Biotechnology Wed, 30 Apr 2025 17:18:03 EDT news665252282 Scientists have discovered, for the first time, how root cells respond to their complex soil environment, revealing that roots actively "sense" their microenvironment and mount precise, cell-specific molecular responses. The findings could help the development of crops that are resistant to climate stress. /news/2025-04-transcriptomics-root-cells-soil.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 30 Apr 2025 11:00:07 EDT news665134982 What if doctors could guide life-saving treatments through the body using only a magnet? An interdisciplinary collaboration at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering is bringing that concept closer to reality with the development of silk iron microparticles (SIMPs)—tiny, magnetic, and biodegradable carriers designed to precisely deliver drugs and treatments to sites in the body, like aneurysms or tumors. /news/2025-04-tiny-magnetic-silk-iron-particles.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 29 Apr 2025 16:54:04 EDT news665164442 The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM) has developed a compact, rapid pretreatment system capable of liquefying and homogenizing solid biological samples in under one minute. /news/2025-04-solid-biosample-field-ready-diagnostics.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:49:09 EDT news665153344 When farmers apply pesticides to their crops, 30 to 50% of the chemicals end up in the air or soil instead of on the plants. Now, a team of researchers from MIT and Singapore has developed a much more precise way to deliver substances to plants: tiny needles made of silk. /news/2025-04-scientists-silk-microneedles-nutrients-chemicals.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 29 Apr 2025 13:18:05 EDT news665151481 Researchers at Rice University have developed a new machine learning (ML) algorithm that excels at interpreting the "light signatures" (optical spectra) of molecules, materials and disease biomarkers, potentially enabling faster and more precise medical diagnoses and sample analysis. /news/2025-04-signature-algorithm-precise-insight-viral.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 28 Apr 2025 17:19:03 EDT news665079541 Plants are susceptible to a wide range of pathogens. For the common potato plant, one such threat is Pectobacterium atrosepticum, a bacterium that causes stems to blacken, tissues to decay, and often leads to plant death, resulting in significant agricultural losses each year. /news/2025-04-atomic-potato-pathogen-reveals-potential.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:16:37 EDT news665075785