/ 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. A treasure trove of exceptionally preserved early animals from more than half a billion years ago has been discovered in the Grand Canyon, one of the natural world's most iconic sites. /news/2025-07-fossil-discovery-reveals-grand-canyon.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 23 Jul 2025 14:00:07 EDT news672478890 Photo-induced force microscopy began as a concept in the mind of Kumar Wickramasinghe when he was employed by IBM in the early years of the new millennium. After he came to the University of California, Irvine in 2006, the concept evolved into an invention that would revolutionize research by enabling scientists to study the fundamental characteristics of matter at nanoscale resolution. /news/2025-07-revolutionizing-photo-microscopy-globe-celebrated.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 14 Jul 2025 10:10:01 EDT news671703676 Some species of fig trees store calcium carbonate in their trunks—essentially turning themselves (partially) into stone, new research has found. The team of Kenyan, U.S., Austrian, and Swiss scientists found that the trees could draw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and store it as calcium carbonate 'rocks' in the surrounding soil. /news/2025-07-fig-trees-atmospheric-stone-reveals.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 07 Jul 2025 08:49:04 EDT news671096942 Inhabiting Mars has long been a futuristic fantasy fueled by science fiction. However, successful landings over the past half-century have made this seemingly far-fetched idea increasingly plausible. /news/2025-06-mars.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:01:04 EDT news669974462 The calcitic layers of the eggshells of archosaurs (including crocodilians and birds) and turtles are composed of distinctive crystalline structures known as eggshell units. Those growing from the shell membrane are called primary eggshell units (PEUs), while those forming within the calcitic layer are called secondary eggshell units (SEUs). Although rare in modern bird eggs, SEUs are common in dinosaur eggs. Due to the lack of in-depth research on this structure, however, scientists are uncertain whether they are biogenic or abiogenic in origin. /news/2025-05-dinosaur-eggshell-biogenic-secondary.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 30 May 2025 14:16:02 EDT news667833361 Sharks have been evolving for more than 450 million years, developing skeletons not from bone, but from a tough, mineralized form of cartilage. These creatures are more than just fast swimmers—they're built for efficiency. Their spines act like natural springs, storing and releasing energy with each tailbeat, allowing them to move through the water with smooth, powerful grace. /news/2025-05-sharkitecture-nanoscale-blacktip-shark-skeleton.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 20 May 2025 11:01:04 EDT news666957661 Glitter is festive and fun—a favorite for decorations, makeup and art projects. But while it may look harmless, beautiful even, glitter's sparkle hides a darker side. Those shimmering specks often end up far from party tables and greeting cards. You can even spot them glinting on beaches, washed in with the tide. /news/2025-05-glitter-darker-side-chemistry-oceans.html Environment Mon, 05 May 2025 10:29:04 EDT news665659742 A research team has developed an innovative biomimetic dual-mode magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) nanoprobe for detecting early-stage liver fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). /news/2025-04-dual-mode-mri-nanoprobe-mimics.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:01:03 EDT news664545661 New research reveals that PET-based glitter microplastics can actively influence biomineralization processes in marine environments, raising fresh concerns about the long-term environmental impact of microplastic pollution on marine ecosystems. /news/2025-04-microplastics-pollution-glitter-disrupt-marine.html Environment Tue, 01 Apr 2025 12:30:00 EDT news662729393 International scientists have uncovered the oldest known phosphatic stromatoporoid sponge, dating back approximately 480 million years to the Early Ordovician, in South China. /news/2025-03-oldest-phosphatic-stromatoporoid-sponge-south.html Plants & Animals Paleontology & Fossils Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:30:01 EDT news662656871 A research team led by Prof. Zhang Xin from the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed how magnetic properties in mice vary under different physiological and pathological conditions. /news/2025-03-mice-magnetic-shifts-physiological-pathological.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 10 Mar 2025 16:40:02 EDT news660843601 A study led by researchers at the American Museum of Natural History presents the oldest known example in the fossil record of an evolutionary arms race. These 517-million-year-old predator-prey interactions occurred in the ocean covering what is now South Australia between a small, shelled animal distantly related to brachiopods and an unknown marine animal capable of piercing its shell. /news/2025-01-fossil-reveals-oldest-evolutionary-arms.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Fri, 03 Jan 2025 11:00:01 EST news655115041 New findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, have revealed that changes in ocean density have a significant impact on the rate at which marine plankton incorporate carbon into their shells. This has profound implications for carbon cycling and the ocean's ability to absorb atmospheric CO2 in response to climate change. /news/2024-12-ocean-density-key-driver-carbon.html Earth Sciences Environment Wed, 04 Dec 2024 09:08:14 EST news652525689 Polymetallic nodules are potato-sized formations on the ocean floor that are rich in minerals such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese. Their concentration of rare, economically important minerals has made the nodules the focus of controversial deep-sea mining enterprises. /news/2024-09-unexpected-role-magnetic-microbes-deep.html Earth Sciences Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:28:03 EDT news646583282 When we think about bacteria, we may imagine single cells swimming in solution. However, similarly to humans, bacterial cells often socialize, using surfaces to coalesce into complex heterogeneous communities called biofilms. Within a group, bacteria in the biofilm are extremely robust in resisting various environmental stresses—a crucial feature making biofilm-associated infections extremely difficult to treat with antibiotics. /news/2024-09-bacteria-passive-physics-biofilms.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 13 Sep 2024 11:10:32 EDT news645444626 A study led by the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed an innovative method that overcomes the limitations of traditional additive manufacturing (3D printing), significantly simplifying and accelerating the production of geometrically complex cellular ceramics. /news/2024-09-method-cellular-ceramic.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 10 Sep 2024 14:23:04 EDT news645196982 Ancient ocean temperatures are most commonly reconstructed by analyzing the ratio of different oxygen atoms in the calcium carbonate remains of fossils. However, this presents many challenges, including a combination of biological processes known as "vital effects" which are very noticeable in corals and can affect the data. /news/2024-08-perspectives-corals-climate.html Earth Sciences Environment Thu, 01 Aug 2024 07:34:27 EDT news641716464 The Cambrian fossil record indicates that most animal phyla had diversified and inhabited the Earth's oceans approximately 518 million years ago. But even though chordates—the group that includes vertebrates like humans—were part of this early animal diversification, they make up a relatively small portion of fossils from more than 50 Cambrian sites worldwide. /news/2024-07-soft-needle-oceanic-haystack-scientists.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 25 Jul 2024 12:22:03 EDT news641128921 Biomineralized columns, stacked in layers like a sandwich gave Cambrian brachiopod shells their strength and flexibility 520 million years ago. /news/2024-04-scientists-organo-phosphatic-shells-brachiopods.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 18 Apr 2024 09:53:02 EDT news632652781 Exactly how does coral make its skeleton, a sea urchin grow a spine, or an abalone form the mother-of-pearl in its shell? A new study at the Advanced Light Source at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) revealed that this process of biomineralization, which sea creatures use to lock carbon away in their bodies, is more complex and diverse than previously thought. /news/2024-03-nanoscale-shells-coral-reveals-biomineralization.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 26 Mar 2024 13:06:03 EDT news630677161 Microalgae, including cyanobacteria and green algae, represent the most important biological systems for producing biomass and high-value products. It is estimated that microalgae can fix about 90 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, which accounts for more than 40% of the global net photosynthetic carbon fixation. /news/2024-03-microalgaematerial-hybrid-carbon-neutrality.html Biotechnology Mon, 25 Mar 2024 17:01:34 EDT news630604890 In a bit of biological magic, some tiny, jellyfish-like creatures learned eons ago how to weave seawater into durable, life-sustaining, rocky coral reefs, which provide billions in economic benefits. /news/2024-03-technique-scientists-stave-coral-reef.html Plants & Animals Ecology Thu, 07 Mar 2024 15:04:03 EST news629046241 Many organisms can produce minerals or mineralized tissue. A well-known example is nacre, which is used in jewelry because of its iridescent colors. Chemically speaking, its formation begins with a mollusk extracting calcium and carbonate ions from water. However, the exact processes and conditions that lead to nacre, a composite of biopolymers and platelets of crystalline calcium carbonate, are the subject of intense debate among experts, and different theories exist. /news/2024-01-deciphers-biomineralization-mechanism.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Fri, 12 Jan 2024 13:12:07 EST news624287524 A new study, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Marine Science, reports unprecedented evidence of ecological responses by calcifying phytoplankton to the deposition of nutrients provided by the Saharan dust. /news/2023-12-scientists-ecological-response-phytoplankton-nutrient.html Ecology Fri, 29 Dec 2023 09:35:39 EST news623064937 A team of evolutionary biologists at Harvard University's Museum of Comparative Zoology and Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, has learned more about how trilobites curled themselves into a ball based on a rare find in the museum's collection. In their paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group describes how the unique specimen was found and how it was studied to learn more about its characteristics. /news/2023-12-rare-museum-specimen-reveals-insights.html Evolution Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 20 Dec 2023 11:20:01 EST news622293219 A study published in Nature Chemistry reveals a remarkable leap in the synthesis of artificial cells using synthetic materials, which was achieved by an international team led by Dr. Andrea Belluati, Prof. Nico Bruns (both TU Darmstadt) and Dr. Sètuhn Jimaja (University of Fribourg). /news/2023-12-breakthrough-synthesis-artificial-cells.html Biochemistry Polymers Tue, 05 Dec 2023 10:13:41 EST news620993619 A research team led by Prof. Wang Junfeng from the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a bio-inspired metal-organic framework (Bio-MOF) to achieve efficient absorption of electromagnetic waves. /news/2023-10-framework-efficient-electromagnetic-absorption.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 10 Oct 2023 13:24:03 EDT news616163041 Magnetotactic bacteria can form magnetofossils like magnetic nanocrystals as observed in the Martian meteorite ALH84001, which held a special place in the field of astrobiology primarily in the early 90s. While the flourishing of interest in magnetotactic bacteria has waned over time, a resurgence of magnetosome formation has led to a renaissance of magnetotactic bacteria (abbreviated as MTB) in astrobiology. /news/2023-10-renaissance-magnetotactic-bacteria-astrobiology.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:50:01 EDT news615458522 Life on Earth began from a single-celled microbe, while the rise to the multicellular world in which we live arose due a vital chemical process known as biomineralization, during which living organisms produce hardened mineralized tissue, such as skeletons. Not only did this phenomenon give rise to the plethora of body plans we see today, but it also had a major impact on the planet's carbon cycle. /news/2023-09-ediacaran-fossils-reveal-biomineralization-expansion.html Earth Sciences Sun, 24 Sep 2023 06:00:01 EDT news614602339 Researchers have shed new light on the evolution of biomineralized columnar pillars in the shells of small marine shellfish called phosphatic-shelled or linguliform brachiopods. /news/2023-08-sandwich-stacked-columns-brachiopod-shells-strength.html Plants & Animals Evolution Tue, 22 Aug 2023 17:04:04 EDT news611942641