/ 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. The announcement Monday that three laureates will share the Nobel memorial prize in economics for explaining innovation-driven growth brings this year's Nobel awards to a close. /news/2025-10-year-nobel-prize-winners.html Other Mon, 13 Oct 2025 09:20:02 EDT news679565851 This year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers, including University at Albany alum Omar Yaghi, for their work on developing metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)—versatile molecular materials that can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases and even catalyze chemical reactions. /news/2025-10-qa-exploring-metal-frameworks-mofs.html Materials Science Thu, 09 Oct 2025 12:27:05 EDT news679231621 Three scientists have been awarded the 2025 Nobel prize in chemistry for discovering a new form of molecular architecture: crystals that contain large cavities. /news/2025-10-nobel-chemistry-prize-awarded-crystal.html Materials Science Wed, 08 Oct 2025 13:47:30 EDT news679150044 Engineered polymers hold promise for use in next generation technologies such as light-harvesting devices and implantable electronics that interact with the nervous system—but creating polymers with the right combination of chemical, physical and electronic properties poses a significant challenge. New research offers insights into how polymers can be engineered to fine-tune their electronic properties in order to meet the demands of such specific applications. /news/2025-10-ai-based-insights-polymers-generation.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Wed, 08 Oct 2025 11:00:09 EDT news678987001 Researchers have for the first time measured the true properties of individual MXene flakes—an exciting new nanomaterial with potential for better batteries, flexible electronics, and clean energy devices. /news/2025-10-mxenes-technique-gen-nanomaterials.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:23:04 EDT news678964981 Harnessing quantum states that avoid thermalization enables energy harvesters to surpass traditional thermodynamic limits such as Carnot efficiency, report researchers from Japan. The team developed a new approach using a non-thermal Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid to convert waste heat into electricity with higher efficiency than conventional approaches. These findings pave the way for more sustainable low-power electronics and quantum computing. /news/2025-10-energy-harvesters-surpass-carnot-efficiency.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 03 Oct 2025 12:03:04 EDT news678711781 Atoms in crystalline solids sometimes vibrate in unison, giving rise to emergent phenomena known as phonons. Because these collective vibrations set the pace for how heat and energy move through materials, they play a central role in devices that capture or emit light, like solar cells and LEDs. /news/2025-09-nanoscale-slots-enable-room-temperature.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Tue, 30 Sep 2025 16:46:03 EDT news678469561 Ferrimagnets are a special type of magnet where different atoms' magnetic moments partially cancel each other out, creating a rich internal structure. They are widely used in technologies from magneto-optical devices to spin-based electronics. /news/2025-09-ferrimagnet-bosonic-semiconductors.html Condensed Matter Thu, 25 Sep 2025 09:40:01 EDT news678011590 Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been hailed as next-generation materials for capturing water from air, powering dehumidifiers, and driving energy-efficient heat pumps. Built from lightweight and organic building blocks, these crystalline and highly porous materials are akin to molecular Lego sets: their geometry and chemistry can be tailored with precision. However, a significant issue remained: in humid air, COFs may collapse. /news/2025-09-molecular-rivets-porous-materials-collapsing.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:50:01 EDT news677846571 In 2025, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence access for the public at large also means growing concern about the mental health impact of screen time on children and their AI engagement. /news/2025-09-children-anchor-canada-approach-online.html Social Sciences Thu, 18 Sep 2025 12:31:04 EDT news677417461 Copper selenide (Cuâ‚‚Se) attracts scientific interest for its thermoelectric ability to convert heat into electricity, but a lack of atomic-level understanding has limited its practical applications for decades. /news/2025-09-conquering-disorder-solid-liquid-ion.html Condensed Matter Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:40:03 EDT news677331192 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 Two consecutive dry years in South Australia have put extreme stress on urban trees and shrubs, with Flinders University experts examining degrees of dieback in Adelaide trees affected by the dry conditions. /news/2025-09-root-tree-survival.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 12 Sep 2025 07:05:04 EDT news676879501 Vibrations are everywhere—from the hum of machinery to the rumble of transport systems. Usually, these random motions are wasted and dissipated without producing any usable work. /news/2025-09-noise-power-symmetric-ratchet-motor.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Thu, 11 Sep 2025 09:35:11 EDT news676802108 All sea turtle species are threatened worldwide. They migrate long distances in the oceans—often thousands of kilometers—and so fall under multiple countries' laws and conservation targets. They also have a complex life cycle with changes in habitats and diet at different life stages. These things make it difficult to protect them from threats like illegal harvesting, fisheries bycatch, coastal development, diseases and pollution. /news/2025-09-baby-turtles-indian-ocean-years.html Ecology Biotechnology Mon, 08 Sep 2025 12:26:05 EDT news676553162 Polaritons are quasiparticles emerging from strong interactions between light particles (i.e., photons) and matter excitations (e.g., excitons). Over the past few years, researchers have found that these quasiparticles can alter fundamental chemical and physical processes. /news/2025-09-polaritons-enable-tunable-efficient-molecular.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:00:01 EDT news676036386 A study published in Â鶹ÒùÔºical Review Letters (PRL) details a "Gambling Carnot Engine" that researchers report can attain 100% efficiency while also improving power generation. /news/2025-08-surpasses-classical-thermodynamic-limits.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:40:01 EDT news675516081 Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) packs so much chemical energy into a small space that it is powerful enough to fuel rockets. But this same ability to concentrate energy also makes hydrogen peroxide useful for more earthly energy applications, such as powering fuel cells. It also holds promise as a green and sustainable energy source: when hydrogen peroxide releases its stored energy, the main byproduct is simply water. /news/2025-08-sunlight-powered-catalyst-standard-hydrogen.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 19 Aug 2025 14:24:03 EDT news674832241 Solitonic waves—waves that keep their shape and direction of motion for a long time—have intrigued physicists for almost two centuries. In real-world circumstances, these waves eventually die out due to energy loss. A team of UvA physicists have now discovered how a particular type of interaction can be used to create very stable solitons, even in circumstances where energy is not conserved. /news/2025-08-physicists-stable-solitons-energy.html Condensed Matter Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:33:04 EDT news674818381 Farmers might be able to get help tending and harvesting crops using a new sensing technology from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI). Researchers have invented a tool called SonicBoom that can find crops like apples based on the sound they make. The novel technology, still in the early stages of development, may someday be used by farm robots for tasks like pruning vines or locating ripe apples hidden among the leaves. /news/2025-08-agricultural-sensor-crops-vibrations-alternative.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 14 Aug 2025 16:23:04 EDT news674407382 In the selection of specialty coffees, those that score above 80 points in blind tests are free of physical and sensory defects. Greenish-colored beans are known to give the drink an astringent taste, which is described as harsh, pungent, and dry. These beans are therefore discarded, along with broken, black, burnt, pitted, or undersized beans. /news/2025-08-fermentation-unripe-coffee-beans-high.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 13 Aug 2025 16:45:04 EDT news674322301 Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds—including light, sound and atomic vibrations—can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing. /news/2025-08-powerful-quantum-paves-phonon-based.html Condensed Matter Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:39:04 EDT news674141941 NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission with agency astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov is preparing to return to Earth in early August after a long-duration mission aboard the International Space Station. During their stay, McClain, Ayers, and Onishi completed dozens of experiments and technology demonstrations, helping push the boundaries of scientific discovery aboard the orbiting laboratory. /news/2025-08-nasa-spacex-crew-science-mission.html Space Exploration Wed, 06 Aug 2025 09:47:06 EDT news673692421 UC Riverside researchers have unveiled a powerful new imaging technique that exposes how cutting-edge materials used in solar panels and light sensors convert light into electricity—offering a path to better, faster, and more efficient devices. /news/2025-07-imaging-method-reveals-generate-electricity.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Optics & Photonics Thu, 31 Jul 2025 06:24:48 EDT news673161883 Could clothing monitor a person's health in real time, because the clothing itself would be a self-powered sensor? A new material created through electrospinning, which is a process that draws out fibers using electricity, brings this possibility one step closer. /news/2025-07-flexible-fiber-material-powered-health.html Condensed Matter Wed, 30 Jul 2025 16:00:19 EDT news673110015 RIKEN physicists have found a magnetic material that converts heat into electricity with high efficiency, making it promising for use in energy-harvesting devices. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. /news/2025-07-physicists-antiferromagnet-high-electricity-conversion.html Condensed Matter Fri, 25 Jul 2025 07:30:03 EDT news672645173 Skoltech researchers and their colleagues have uncovered an intricate light manipulation mechanism likely used by microscopic algae to boost photosynthesis. /news/2025-07-uncovers-technologically-appealing-microalgae.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 23 Jul 2025 09:50:01 EDT news672482205 In every living cell, there are membranes, and in every membrane there are proteins, each of which acts as a chemical gatekeeper. /news/2025-07-mimic-cell-membranes-tune-ion.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 21 Jul 2025 15:40:01 EDT news672330755 Fresh, frozen and processed berries are a multi-billion-dollar business in America. In Arkansas alone, fresh-market blackberries contribute $24.3 million each year to the state's economy. But these delicate blackberries sold in clamshells at supermarkets must be picked by hand, and farm labor has been limited in recent years. A new berry-picking robot gripper developed at the U of A could give growers a high-tech replacement for limited labor availability. /news/2025-07-robot-harvest-blackberries-humans.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:01:51 EDT news672310904