/ 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. We have all been in that situation: The moving boxes are large and heavy, but we are determined to carry them all in one trip, even if that means we can't see where we're going. In the tropics, some leafcutter ants face a similar challenge: carrying a load that is several times their body weight. To make matters even more difficult, carrying oversized weights may create "blind spots" when leafcutter ants transport material on a trail. /news/2025-10-leafcutter-ants-truck-drivers.html Plants & Animals Ecology Tue, 07 Oct 2025 14:27:04 EDT news679066022 Crews used large nets, water-filled containers and box trucks to relocate hundreds of river otters, sea turtles, manatees, penguins and sharks to their new home: Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. /news/2025-10-florida-mote-marine-laboratory-relocates.html Ecology Tue, 07 Oct 2025 04:41:52 EDT news679030901 Researchers have designed and demonstrated stretchable waveguides that maintain efficient, stable signal transmission of surface plasmon polaritons even when bent, twisted or stretched. These plasmonic waveguides could make it possible to seamlessly embed advanced sensing, communication and health monitoring functions into everyday wearable materials. /news/2025-10-stretchable-waveguides-stable-transmission-bent.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:28:03 EDT news678979681 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 New research shows that marine heat waves can reshape ocean food webs, which in turn can slow the transport of carbon to the deep sea and hamper the ocean's ability to buffer against climate change. /news/2025-10-marine-reshape-ocean-food-webs.html Earth Sciences Environment Mon, 06 Oct 2025 05:00:05 EDT news678704462 Trawling restrictions not only benefit fish and shellfish; anemones and corals are also becoming more common, according to a new study from the University of Gothenburg. Twenty-six years of underwater videos from the depths of the Koster Sea also show long-term changes in the ecosystem as the water becomes warmer. /news/2025-10-unique-videos-trawling-restrictions-life.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 03 Oct 2025 09:20:15 EDT news678701997 The 2008 film Wall-E depicted Earth as a post-apocalyptic wasteland with nothing on it but the abandoned remnants of human society and a forlorn, trash-compacting robot. The titular robot's only living company is a surprisingly adorable pet cockroach named Hal, Pixar's nod to the popular myth that cockroaches will outlive us all. /news/2025-10-cockroaches-survive-nuclear-apocalypse.html Plants & Animals Ecology Fri, 03 Oct 2025 07:02:06 EDT news678693722 Though it might seem like science fiction, scientists are working to build nanoscale molecular machines that can be designed for myriad applications, such as "smart" medicines and materials. But like all machines, these tiny devices need a source of power, the way electronic appliances use electricity or living cells use ATP (adenosine triphosphate, the universal biological energy source). /news/2025-10-rechargeable-powers-nanoscale-molecular-machines.html Bio & Medicine Nanophysics Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:40:04 EDT news678552001 Researchers from the Skoltech Engineering Center's Hierarchically Structured Materials Laboratory, in collaboration with colleagues from MISIS University and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, have for the first time observed nanoscale transformations in ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene—a material possessing a shape memory effect—in real time. /news/2025-10-scientists-memory-smart-plastic.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:18:03 EDT news678529081 In the 17th century, astronomers Christiaan Huygens and Giovanni Cassini trained their telescopes on Saturn and uncovered a startling truth: the planet's luminous bands were not solid appendages, but vast, separate rings composed of countless nested arcs. /news/2025-09-simulations-saturn-moon-enceladus-ice.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 30 Sep 2025 15:52:04 EDT news678466322 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 Seoul National University and Kyung Hee University report a framework to control collective motions, such as ring, clumps, mill, flock, by training a physics-informed AI to learn the local rules that govern interactions among individuals. /news/2025-09-physics-ai-local-flocking-motion.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Fri, 26 Sep 2025 12:46:03 EDT news678109561 Polymer-based conductive nanocomposites, particularly those incorporating carbon nanotubes, are highly promising for the development of flexible electronics, soft robotics and wearable devices. However, CNTs are difficult to work with as they tend to agglomerate, making it hard to obtain a uniform dispersion. Moreover, conventional methods limit control over CNT distribution and shape. /news/2025-09-3d-carbon-nanotube-sensors-potential.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Fri, 26 Sep 2025 11:43:03 EDT news678105781 Machine-learning models can speed up the discovery of new materials by making predictions and suggesting experiments. But most models today only consider a few specific types of data or variables. Compare that with human scientists who work in a collaborative environment and consider experimental results, the broader scientific literature, imaging and structural analysis, personal experience or intuition, and input from colleagues and peer reviewers. /news/2025-09-ai-driven-blends-literature-robotics.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:34:05 EDT news678029641 Traditionally, chemical reactions have been described as one-line "equations" in which substrates, say A and B, convert purposefully but rigidly into a desired product, say C. Naturally, it has been recognized that byproducts may also form, but these have generally been considered undesirable and unproductive. /news/2025-09-robots-chemical-reaction-hyperspaces-complex.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:50:03 EDT news677936977 Professor Bonghoon Kim of the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology has successfully developed a next-generation surface modification technology with antibacterial and antiviral contamination properties. /news/2025-09-ultra-strong-coating-resists-bacteria.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:20:01 EDT news677861753 Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a platform that combines automated wet lab techniques with artificial intelligence (AI) to design nanoparticles for drug delivery. The approach could help researchers deliver difficult-to-encapsulate therapeutics more efficiently and effectively. /news/2025-09-ai-nanoparticles-drug-delivery.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 22 Sep 2025 14:09:29 EDT news677768960 Let's say you've picked the perfect spot for building a settlement on Mars. But this opens up some pretty nasty questions. Building…what? And building….with what? There are no trees to chop down to construct temporary structures. There are no campfires you can build to keep warm while you start. There's no…I don't know…wild game to hunt to feed yourself. /news/2025-09-mars.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:09:04 EDT news677765342 Before we get to Mars, we're going to have to practice. And develop radical leaps in technology, but also practice. A Mars mission will be utterly unlike anything attempted by humanity. We're talking about a group of settlers, maybe as few as an initial team of four, traveling over a hundred million miles away from home to a literally alien environment, one that is so hostile to life that nothing lives there, and turn it into a home. /news/2025-09-mars-earth.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Fri, 19 Sep 2025 10:18:03 EDT news677495881 A supply ship arrived at the International Space Station on Thursday after a day's delay due to a premature engine shutdown. /news/2025-09-northrop-grumman-cargo-ship-international.html Space Exploration Thu, 18 Sep 2025 09:45:01 EDT news677407497 Blue Origin is committed to making a permanent human presence in space a reality. To this end, they have developed the New Shepard and New Glenn rockets to send payloads to orbit, and aim to create super-heavy launch vehicles to reach the moon (New Armstrong and Blue Origin) and beyond. Another focus has been on developing systems that will enable In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) in extraterrestrial environments, which is essential for making space sustainable. This includes their Blue Alchemist ISRU system, which recently completed its Critical Design Review (CDR). /news/2025-09-blue-alchemist-closer-sustainable-infrastructure.html Space Exploration Wed, 17 Sep 2025 10:52:03 EDT news677325121 Scientists from Taiwan have developed a new material that can stretch up to 4,600% of its original length before breaking. Even if it does break, gently pressing the pieces together at room temperature allows it to heal, fully restoring its shape and stretchability within 10 minutes. /news/2025-09-organogel-size.html Polymers Materials Science Wed, 17 Sep 2025 06:50:01 EDT news677245863 Different parts of Mars have different advantages and disadvantages when it comes to their available resources, just like Earth. The polar caps are likely the most valuable in terms of their water content, which will be critical to any early stage crewed mission to the red planet. /news/2025-09-rover-martian-volcanoes.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:27:04 EDT news677237222 NASA has begun barring Chinese nationals with valid visas from joining its programs, underscoring the intensifying space race between the rival powers. /news/2025-09-nasa-blocks-chinese-citizens-space.html Space Exploration Thu, 11 Sep 2025 04:40:02 EDT news676783729 For many children, the transition from learning to read to reading to learn is a crucial and sometimes nervewracking milestone. Reading aloud in class is intended to foster fluency and confidence, but for many students, it may spark anxiety that can hinder literacy development well into adulthood. /news/2025-09-robots-kids-conquer-anxiety.html Education Wed, 10 Sep 2025 14:00:14 EDT news676653241 A research team has developed a next-generation display core material with excellent stretchability and superior color reproduction. The team developed a high-performance color-conversion layer that is more flexible and vivid than conventional ones. This layer was successfully applied to the development of a stretchable micro-LED display, drawing significant attention. /news/2025-09-quantum-dot-polymer-linking-enables.html Nanomaterials Mon, 08 Sep 2025 15:14:03 EDT news676563241 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 have developed a powerful tool capable of scanning thousands of biological samples to detect transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) modifications—tiny chemical changes to RNA molecules that help control how cells grow, adapt to stress and respond to diseases such as cancer and antibiotic‑resistant infections. This tool opens up new possibilities for science, health care and industry—from accelerating disease research and enabling more precise diagnostics, to guiding the development of more effective medical treatments for diseases such as cancer and antibiotic‑resistant infections. /news/2025-09-automated-tool-enables-rapid-large.html Cell & Microbiology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 03 Sep 2025 16:15:04 EDT news676134901 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