/ 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. Ice cream comes in many different flavors. But even pure ice, which consists only of water molecules, has been discovered to exist in more than 20 different solid forms or phases that differ in the arrangement of the molecules. The phases are named with Roman numerals, like ice I, ice II or ice III. Now, researchers led by scientists from the Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) have identified and described a new phase called ice XXI. The results are published in the journal Nature Materials. /news/2025-10-ice-xxi-scientists-ray-laser.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Fri, 10 Oct 2025 11:44:04 EDT news679315441 With global energy demand climbing and climate challenges intensifying, researchers are exploring transformative new ways to make chemical manufacturing sustainable. /news/2025-09-biohybrids-sustainable-chemical-synthesis-energy.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:01:03 EDT news677923261 Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, together with international collaborators, have developed a new electron microscopy method that has enabled the first-ever imaging of vibrations, or phonons, in specific directions at the atomic scale. /news/2025-09-image-atomic-vibrations.html Condensed Matter Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:11:57 EDT news677502711 The ground-shaking that an earthquake generates is only a fraction of the total energy that a quake releases. A quake can also generate a flash of heat, along with a domino-like fracturing of underground rocks. But exactly how much energy goes into each of these three processes is exceedingly difficult, if not impossible, to measure in the field. /news/2025-09-geologists-energy-earthquake.html Earth Sciences Tue, 16 Sep 2025 10:55:04 EDT news677238901 A study co-led by ICN2 reveals that ice is a flexoelectric material, meaning it can produce electricity when unevenly deformed. Published in Nature Â鶹ÒùÔºics, this discovery could have major technological implications while also shedding light on natural phenomena such as lightning. /news/2025-09-scientists-ice-generates-electricity-bent.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Condensed Matter Mon, 01 Sep 2025 08:48:03 EDT news675935281 The single crystals currently used in semiconductors, electronic devices, and optical devices can't take the heat. This is because the materials typically used to make them—such as iridium and platinum—have a melting point below 2,200°C. Creating single crystals that can withstand these extreme temperatures is a challenge that has been unmet until now. /news/2025-08-scientists-technology-semiconductor-crystals-temperatures.html Materials Science Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:28:03 EDT news675689282 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 Using only a single-crystal piezoelectric thin wafer of lithium niobate (LN) instead of the usual two-part structure, a group from Nagoya University in Japan has created a deformable mirror that changes X-ray beam size by more than 3,400 times. This improved tuning range enhances both imaging and analysis, especially for the X-rays used in industry. /news/2025-06-wafer-lens-ray-size.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:14:03 EDT news670245242 Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an innovative new technique using carbon nanofibers to enhance binding in carbon fiber and other fiber-reinforced polymer composites—an advance likely to improve structural materials for automobiles, airplanes and other applications that require lightweight and strong materials. /news/2025-06-nanofibers-yield-stronger-tougher-carbon.html Nanomaterials Tue, 17 Jun 2025 13:00:06 EDT news669383405 Our everyday lives are so riddled with electronics that we hardly notice them anymore. When we casually reach for our smartphone, we rarely think about how complex this device is. Hundreds of tiny components work together within it—each of them a high-precision masterpiece of engineering. /news/2025-06-electron-shower-technique-advanced-piezoelectric.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Thu, 05 Jun 2025 12:13:04 EDT news668344381 Researchers have detailed the physics behind a phenomenon that allows them to create spin in liquid droplets using ultrasound waves, which concentrates solid particles suspended in the liquid. The discovery will allow researchers to engineer technologies that make use of the technique to develop applications in fields such as biomedical testing and drug development. /news/2025-05-physics-advance-solid-liquid.html Soft Matter Wed, 21 May 2025 11:37:03 EDT news667046221 A research team led by Dr. Lim Sang-kyu in DGIST's Department of Energy and Environmental Technology has developed a smart fiber sensor that can detect natural disasters such as landslides in real time. The new fiber is based on piezoelectric technology, which converts pressure into electricity. Its three-dimensional (3D) structure dramatically improves performance, facilitating the implementation of a self-powered sensor system that can operate without an external power source. /news/2025-05-high-piezoelectric-fiber-sensor-real.html Nanomaterials Mon, 19 May 2025 11:50:10 EDT news666874206 The use of light signals to connect electronic components is a key element of today's data communication technologies, because of the speed and efficiency that only optical devices can guarantee. Photonic integrated circuits, which use photons instead of electrons to encode and transmit information, are found in many computing technologies. Most are currently based on silicon—a good solution because it is already used for electronic circuits, but with a limited bandwidth. /news/2025-05-pockels-effect-advance-optoelectronic-technology.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Wed, 07 May 2025 15:20:14 EDT news665850002 A novel study has unveiled a technique that enhances stem cell therapy for neurodegenerative diseases by combining magnetic guidance with localized ultrasound stimulation. This approach successfully navigates magnetically loaded stem cells to specific brain regions and promotes their differentiation into neurons using a miniaturized ultrasound device. /news/2025-04-ultrasound-microrobots-team-boost-stem.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Apr 2025 16:34:04 EDT news665249642 Wurtzite-structured crystals, characterized by their hexagonal symmetry, are widely valued for their unique electronic and piezoelectric properties—their ability to generate an electric charge when subjected to mechanical stress. Among these, gallium nitride (GaN), a key material in blue light-emitting diodes, and aluminum nitride (AlN), used in high-frequency radio frequency (RF) filters in smartphones, are prominent examples. These materials play a crucial role in advanced semiconductors, sensors, and actuators. /news/2025-04-wurtzite-mgsin-thin-electronic-properties.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Apr 2025 14:17:04 EDT news665241421 How do robots feel in space? This is both a practical and possibly an existential question. Still, today, we'll focus on the practical side by looking at a review paper from Hadi Jahanshahi and Zheng Zhu of York University in Canada that discusses different tactile sensor types and their advantages and disadvantages for use in space. /news/2025-04-robots-space.html Space Exploration Wed, 30 Apr 2025 13:32:04 EDT news665238722 Ultrasound imaging is one of the most widely used diagnostic tools in modern medicine. Behind its noninvasive magic lies a class of materials known as piezoelectric single crystals, which can convert electrical signals into mechanical vibrations and vice versa. /news/2025-04-real-visualization-nanoscale-domain-response.html Nanophysics Nanomaterials Tue, 22 Apr 2025 11:40:02 EDT news664540162 A research team at Clarkson University has developed a method to effectively destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) on spent sorbents, addressing a critical environmental challenge. /news/2025-04-solvent-free-method-destroy-pfas.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 10 Apr 2025 04:36:08 EDT news663478564 New theoretical physics research introduces a simulation method of machine-learning-based effective Hamiltonian for super-large-scale atomic structures. This effective Hamiltonian method could simulate much larger structures than the methods based on quantum mechanisms and classical mechanics. /news/2025-03-method-super-large-scale-atomic.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Quantum Â鶹ÒùÔºics Mon, 17 Mar 2025 17:40:39 EDT news661452031 Researchers from Tsinghua University, the Beijing Institute of Technology, the University of Wollongong (Australia), and the Hefei Institutes of Â鶹ÒùÔºical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, have achieved an ultrahigh electrostrain of 1.9% in (K,Na)NbO3 (KNN) lead-free piezoelectric ceramics. /news/2025-03-high-electrostrain-free-piezoceramics.html Condensed Matter Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:31:02 EDT news661087861 Are subterranean lifeforms viable on Mars? A new interpretation of Martian seismic data by scientists Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics suggests the presence of water below the surface of Mars. "If liquid water exists on Mars," Katayama says, "the presence of microbial activity" is possible. /news/2025-03-seismic-clues-marsquakes-liquid-life.html Planetary Sciences Sat, 08 Mar 2025 05:35:51 EST news660634545 From integrated photonics to quantum information science, the ability to control light with electric fields—a phenomenon known as the electro-optic effect—supports vital applications such as light modulation and frequency transduction. These components rely on nonlinear optical materials, in which light waves can be manipulated by applying electric fields. /news/2025-02-illuminates-path-superior-electro-optic.html Condensed Matter Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Feb 2025 16:11:08 EST news659722252 A new review article unveils the world of flexible micromachined ultrasound transducers (MUTs), an emerging technology at the intersection of wearables, ultrasound, and MEMS. These cutting-edge devices, which include both piezoelectric (PMUT) and capacitive (CMUT) variants, can offer flexibility and user-friendly health care solutions. Capable of conforming to the body's contours, flexible MUTs can enable continuous monitoring and targeted stimulation. The study dives deep into the fabrication methods, performance benchmarks, and potential applications of these revolutionary devices. /news/2025-02-emerging-biomedical-ultrasound-tech-flexible.html Bio & Medicine Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:44:42 EST news659367878 Materials scientists have long been exploring advanced materials for environmental and energy applications, with piezocatalysis emerging as a promising technology for sustainable solutions. BiFeO3 (BFO), a versatile material known for its unique piezoelectric, multiferroic, and optical properties, has garnered significant attention for its potential in piezocatalysis, specifically for organic pollutant degradation, hydrogen production, CO2 reduction, and sterilization. /news/2025-02-exploring-bifeo-piezocatalytic-potential-materials.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 20 Feb 2025 14:33:03 EST news659284381 While most multiferroics can't operate above room temperature, a team of researchers at Tohoku University demonstrated that terbium oxide Tb2(MoO4)3 works as a multiferroic even at 160°C. /news/2025-01-multiferroic-material-function-160c-doors.html Condensed Matter Fri, 31 Jan 2025 08:33:04 EST news657534782 When astronomers detected the first long-predicted gravitational waves in 2015, it opened a whole new window into the universe. Before that, astronomy depended on observations of light in all its wavelengths. /news/2025-01-gravitational-key-cosmic-communication.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Jan 2025 09:39:05 EST news657452342 A unique propagation phenomenon of acoustic waves has been discovered, paving the way for developing advanced communication technologies using acoustic devices. /news/2025-01-acoustic-phenomenon.html Nanophysics Wed, 29 Jan 2025 09:34:51 EST news657365688 Researchers have developed a new method for quickly detecting and identifying very low concentrations of gases. The new approach, called coherently controlled quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, could form the basis for highly sensitive real-time sensors for applications such as environmental monitoring, breath analysis and chemical process control. /news/2025-01-photoacoustic-spectroscopy-approach-real-gas.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 09 Jan 2025 10:00:01 EST news655551994 In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and collaborators show that the efficacy of a commonly used piezoelectric ceramic material can be dramatically increased just by reducing its thickness and by preventing atomic defects inadvertently formed during manufacturing. /news/2025-01-small-boost-efficacy-piezoceramics.html Condensed Matter Thu, 09 Jan 2025 09:50:03 EST news655638601 Numerous memory types for computing devices have emerged in recent years, aiming to overcome the limitations imposed by traditional random access memory (RAM). Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) is one such memory type which offers several advantages over conventional RAM, including its non-volatility, high speed, increased storage capacity and enhanced endurance. /news/2025-01-smarter-memory-generation-ram-energy.html Condensed Matter Tue, 07 Jan 2025 09:56:47 EST news655466203