/ en-us Â鶹ŇůÔş internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Â鶹ŇůÔşics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. 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 When biomedical researchers need to test their latest ideas, they often turn to engineered human tissue that mimics the responses in our own bodies. It's become an important intermediary step before human clinical trials. /news/2025-09-nanotubes-blood-bioengineered-tissues.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:10:10 EDT news678379516 It is a fully biodegradable and eco-friendly system for hydroponic agriculture, made of hydrogel and capable of supporting plant growth with minimal water; in the future, it will be able to monitor plant health in real time. This innovation is the result of joint research between the Faculty of Engineering at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (UniBz) and the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) in Genoa. The invention offers a zero-waste, low-environmental-impact solution for agriculture, a sector increasingly threatened by climate change, drought, pollution, biodiversity loss, and soil degradation. /news/2025-09-super-absorbent-hydrogel-soilless-farming.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 26 Sep 2025 12:20:02 EDT news678107807 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 Nanocellulose is a renewable nanomaterial made from plant fibers, with unique properties including lightness, very high strength and large surface area. The doctoral dissertation of Mohammad Karzarjeddi from the University of Oulu, Finland, investigated nanocellulose-based porous foam materials in water purification, smart packaging and wireless communications. These advanced cellulose applications reduce dependence on fossil-based materials. /news/2025-09-nanocellulose-based-foam-materials-purification.html Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:59:02 EDT news677858341 You might think that glass has no business acting as a replacement for bone, but it turns out the two materials have many similarities. For a new study published in ACS Nano, researchers developed a 3D printable bio-active glass that served as an effective bone replacement material. In rabbits, it sustained bone cell growth better than regular glass and a commercially available bone substitute. /news/2025-09-bone-substitute-3d-glass.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 14:07:44 EDT news677855261 Researchers have discovered a novel criterion for sorting particles in microfluidic channels, paving the way for advancements in disease diagnostics and liquid biopsies. Using the supercomputer "Fugaku," a joint team from the University of Osaka, Kansai University and Okayama University revealed that soft particles, like biological cells, exhibit unique focusing patterns compared to rigid particles. /news/2025-09-supercomputer-unveils-cell-principle-microfluidic.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Mon, 22 Sep 2025 15:31:30 EDT news677773881 Fearless bacteria have colonized extreme environments, adapted to vast temperatures and pH fluctuations, and acclimated to diverse hosts. Among these multitudes of species is the exclusive club of good bacteria that have enormous benefits to humans and can be exploited for therapeutic interventions. /news/2025-09-good-bacteria-free-hydrogel-homes.html Biochemistry Materials Science Tue, 16 Sep 2025 12:31:03 EDT news677244661 Taking medications on time, in the right dose and for the prescribed duration can be challenging for patients, and failure to do so comes with steep costs, causing 10% of hospitalizations and billions in avoidable spending in the United States alone, according to some estimates. A team of Rice University scientists has developed a new drug delivery platform that could make it easier to complete a therapeutic regimen and even boost drug efficacy. /news/2025-09-scientists-hydrogel-platform-precision-drug.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 10 Sep 2025 15:04:05 EDT news676735441 A living ink containing bacteria attracts coral larvae and could help rebuild reefs. The paper is published in the journal PNAS Nexus. /news/2025-09-bacterial-ink-coral-reefs-larvae.html Ecology Biotechnology Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:45:02 EDT news676629901 When Andrew Baker looks out at the vacant lot next to his office on Virginia Key, he doesn't see the trees or grass that are there now. He sees a factory of the future. One story tall, roughly the size of half a football field. A high-efficiency production line designed not for electronics or auto parts—but for coral. /news/2025-09-shot-florida-reefs-industrial-factory.html Ecology Biotechnology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 06:35:37 EDT news676186527 Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have developed a novel framework for understanding and controlling the flow behavior of granular hydrogels—a class of material made up of densely packed, microscopic gel particles with promising applications in medicine, 3D bioprinting, and tissue repair. /news/2025-09-advanced-granular-hydrogel-mechanics-biomedical.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:18:04 EDT news676052281 Hydrogels are soft, water-rich polymeric materials that can swell or shrink in response to environmental stimuli. This ability to change shape makes them valuable in miniaturized devices for flexible electronics, microrobotics, intelligent surfaces, and biomedical applications such as drug delivery. For example, hydrogel pores can be engineered to trap and release tiny drug particles on demand. /news/2025-08-origami-strategy-hydrogel-pores-enables.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Wed, 27 Aug 2025 13:00:01 EDT news675517920 No matter whether it's crushed or cubed, ice eventually melts into a puddle—but an alternative called jelly ice doesn't. Researchers Jiahan Zou and Gang Sun developed a one-step process to create the reusable, compostable material from gelatin, the same ingredient in jiggly desserts. Because frozen jelly ice doesn't leak as it thaws, it's ideal for food supply chains and medication transport. /news/2025-08-reusable-jelly-ice-cold-meltwater.html Polymers Materials Science Mon, 18 Aug 2025 09:09:14 EDT news674726949 Hydrogels are a permeable soft material consisting of polymer networks and water with applications ranging from biomedical engineering to contact lenses. Intrinsic to hydrogels is the ability to endow diverse characteristics by modifying their polymer networks. /news/2025-08-immovable-rubber-ducks-highest-underwater.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 06 Aug 2025 11:00:09 EDT news673602721 Caltech scientists have developed a method to create metallic objects of a precisely specified shape and composition, giving them unprecedented control of the metallic mixtures, or alloys, they create and the enhanced properties those creations will display. Want a stent that is biocompatible and mechanically robust? How about strong but lightweight satellite components that can operate in space for decades? /news/2025-08-metallurgy-21st-century-precisely-metal.html Nanomaterials Fri, 01 Aug 2025 11:39:04 EDT news673267142 A new collection of chemically diverse dome-celled ultralight aerogels with high porosity and very low density feature elasticity and mechanical properties that remain intact even under extreme temperatures from 4.2 kelvin (K) to 2273 K. /news/2025-07-dome-aerogel-architecture-superior-toughness.html Nanomaterials Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:44:02 EDT news673173837 Controlled-release systems deliver medication and other bioactive compounds to the ideal spot inside a body and over a specific time. New research from the U of A and the U of A System Division of Agriculture could improve these systems used for probiotics that boost gut health, drugs that target cancer cells and other medications for human and animal health. /news/2025-07-hydrogel-microspheres-bioactive-compounds.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Mon, 28 Jul 2025 09:50:03 EDT news672915002 Researchers have solved a mystery that has confounded scientists for 80 years: the crystal structure of the tetra-n-butylammonium bromide (TBAB) hydrate TBAB·26H2O. This substance belongs to a class of crystalline materials called semiclathrate hydrates, which form from the combination of ions and water. /news/2025-07-year-mystery-crystal-bromide-hydrate.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 18 Jul 2025 10:10:07 EDT news672051198 Bioengineered organs are no longer just structural substitutes. A review published in Trends in Biotechnology introduces a groundbreaking concept: biohybrid-engineered tissue (BHET) platforms—living constructs integrated with electronics that can monitor, modulate, and even autonomously control their own functions. /news/2025-07-passive-intelligent-bioengineered-electronics.html Biotechnology Fri, 18 Jul 2025 09:33:06 EDT news672049982 Existing three-dimensional (3D) neuronal culture technology has limitations in brain research due to the difficulty of precisely replicating the brain's complex multilayered structure and the lack of a platform that can simultaneously analyze both structure and function. A KAIST research team has successfully developed an integrated platform that can implement brain-like layered neuronal structures using 3D printing technology and precisely measure neuronal activity within them. /news/2025-07-platform-brain-layered-neuronal-3d.html Biotechnology Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:39:50 EDT news671877586 A new recipe, or design guidelines, for a self-strengthening muscle-like hydrogel has been developed through strategic integration of computational, information, and experimental research. The resulting gel exhibits rapid reinforcement under mechanical stress with improved stability. /news/2025-07-muscle-gel-polymer-stronger-recipe.html Polymers Materials Science Fri, 11 Jul 2025 09:13:44 EDT news671444021 New research into the biomechanics of explosive seed dispersal in squirting cucumbers (Ecballium elaterium) reveals how these plants have adapted a suite of unique traits that help propel their high-speed seeds far and wide. /news/2025-07-ballistics-explosive-squirting-cucumber.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 08 Jul 2025 09:17:04 EDT news671185022 Excessive nutrients in wastewater can lead to detrimental discharges into natural water bodies, prompting harmful algal blooms with severe environmental and economic repercussions. To address this pressing issue, a team of engineers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis has developed an innovative solution. Their novel composite nanotechnology removes and recovers nutrients from wastewater, subsequently upcycling them as agricultural fertilizers or as biorefinery feedstocks while simultaneously mitigating the occurrence of harmful algal blooms. /news/2025-06-nanotechnology-fertilizer.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Wed, 11 Jun 2025 14:34:43 EDT news668871279 Researchers have created an inexpensive hydrogel that can filter phosphorus from contaminated surface waters, drinking water supplies or wastewater streams to reduce phosphorus pollution and reuse the phosphorus for agricultural and industrial applications. In addition to efficiently capturing and releasing phosphorus, the hydrogels can be reused multiple times—making them cost-effective. /news/2025-06-inexpensive-hydrogel-contaminated-source-reusable.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 11 Jun 2025 12:46:59 EDT news668864815 A research team at the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed a novel degradable silicone-hydrogel coating, delivering impressive synergistic anti-biofouling performance for marine applications. The study was published in Small. /news/2025-05-degradable-silicone-hydrogel-coating-efficient.html Polymers Materials Science Thu, 29 May 2025 10:10:03 EDT news667731934 Collagen, a prevalent and predominant part of the structure of bodies, still has some mystique surrounding the finer aspects of its existence. In a new study, researchers look into the mechanism of orientation within collagen to elucidate some of the lesser-known aspects of this protein and how it can be used in future applications. /news/2025-05-3d-method-enables-fabrication-collagen.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 14 May 2025 15:13:15 EDT news666454391 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 McGill University, in collaboration with Polytechnique MontrĂ©al, 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 Our brain is a complex organ. Billions of nerve cells are wired in an intricate network, constantly processing signals, enabling us to recall memories or to move our bodies. /news/2025-05-microscopy-method-reconstruct-mammalian-brain.html Cell & Microbiology Biotechnology Wed, 07 May 2025 11:38:29 EDT news665836703