/ 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 team of planetary scientists has developed a promising new way to peer beneath the dusty surface of Mars and other planetary bodies. /news/2025-05-beneath-blasted-craters-probe-martian.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 14 May 2025 12:56:04 EDT news666446162 A new study uncovers how fine-tuning the interactions between two distinct network-forming species within a soft gel enables programmable control over its structure and mechanical properties. The findings reveal a powerful framework for engineering next-generation soft materials with customizable behaviors, inspired by the complexity of biological tissues. /news/2025-05-programmable-network-gels-interspecies-interactions.html Soft Matter Tue, 06 May 2025 16:56:02 EDT news665769361 Plant-based seafood alternatives should have similar flavors, textures and nutritional content to the foods they mimic. And recreating the properties of fried calamari rings, which have a neutral flavor and a firm, chewy texture after being cooked, has been a challenge. /news/2025-04-based-calamari-rivals-real-seafood.html Biotechnology Thu, 24 Apr 2025 12:49:25 EDT news664717760 Living cells are bustling with molecular machines that constantly process energy, matter, and information. Among these machines, proteins stand out, with enzymes being the most notable. These catalytic entities dramatically accelerate essential metabolic reactions by many orders of magnitude, facilitating the very processes that sustain life. While it has long been acknowledged that enzymes undergo movements during their catalytic cycles, measuring and predicting these internal motions and forces has proven extremely challenging. /news/2025-03-mechanics-life-enzymes-soft-programmable.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:21:55 EDT news662646112 Butter is a key ingredient in many baked goods, but for those who are lactose intolerant, finding a good alternative can be a challenge. Vegan butters can sometimes have the wrong consistency, or produce bakes that are not quite right, leaving bakers frustrated or unwilling to try dairy-free alternatives. /news/2025-03-butter-vegan-shortbread-experimental-optimal.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 25 Mar 2025 11:00:06 EDT news662026331 Rice University researchers have revealed novel sequence-structure-property relationships for customizing engineered living materials (ELMs), enabling more precise control over their structure and how they respond to deformation forces like stretching or compression. /news/2025-02-customized-materials-genetic-tweaks-enable.html Biochemistry Materials Science Wed, 05 Feb 2025 13:11:04 EST news657983461 A biomaterial that can mimic certain behaviors within biological tissues could advance regenerative medicine, disease modeling, soft robotics and more, according to researchers at Penn State. /news/2025-02-biomaterial-regenerative-medicine-scientists-acellular.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 03 Feb 2025 11:35:03 EST news657804901 Tissue engineering utilizes 3D printing and bioink to grow human cells on scaffolds, creating replacements for damaged tissues like skin, cartilage, and even organs. A team of researchers led by Professor Insup Noh from Seoul National University of Science and Technology, Republic of Korea, has developed a bioink using nanocellulose derived from Kombucha SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast) as the scaffold material. /news/2025-02-kombucha-derived-bioink-personalized-tissue.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 03 Feb 2025 10:36:04 EST news657801362 In contrast to conventional organic synthesis, mechanochemistry does not use solvents that eventually become industrial wastes. Thus, mechanochemistry is environmentally friendly and enables us to perform organic synthesis using reactants that poorly dissolve into common solvents. /news/2025-01-mechanochemical-synthesis-theory-reaction.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Fri, 24 Jan 2025 11:35:03 EST news656940902 A new method based on optical tweezers can measure viscoelasticity of biological materials in a simpler and more versatile way. In an article published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers report three novel results in the field of mechanobiology, including the finding that viscoelasticity of tissues inside living animals changes with age. /news/2025-01-optical-tweezer-technique-reveals-disease.html Biotechnology Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:56:05 EST news655563361 In bird colonies, schools of fish and cycling pelotons, significant interactions occur between individuals through the surrounding fluid. These interactions are well understood in fluids such as air and water, but what happens when objects move through something like sand? It turns out that similar interactions occur in granular materials—things like soil or sand—and they play a crucial role in everyday contexts. Think of plows cutting through farmland, animals burrowing underground, roots pushing through soil, or even robots exploring the surface of Mars. /news/2024-12-cooperation-intruders-side-granular-media.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Soft Matter Sat, 28 Dec 2024 10:40:01 EST news654514369 Currently employed computational methods to simulate materials and their mechanical behavior are based on molecular dynamics (MD) with atomistic force-fields. These methods provide an excellent description of the thermodynamically stable phases of materials with arbitrary chemical and microstructural complexity. /news/2024-12-scientists-hardest-problems-atomic-scale.html Polymers Analytical Chemistry Mon, 09 Dec 2024 10:17:08 EST news652961823 Using plasma, the stuff of the universe, University of Alberta researchers have improved the 3D printability of a valuable plant protein for use in food. The study is published in the journal Food Bioscience. /news/2024-12-3d-pea-gels-potential-food.html Biotechnology Tue, 03 Dec 2024 09:41:47 EST news652441299 Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new method to 3D print sturdy silicone structures that are bigger, taller, thinner and more porous than ever before. /news/2024-12-fast-silicone-ink-doors-3d.html Materials Science Mon, 02 Dec 2024 13:38:24 EST news652369098 If you have a meticulous skincare routine, you know that personal skincare products (PSCPs) are a big business. The PSCP industry will reach $74.12 billion USD by 2027, with an annual growth rate of 8.64%. With such competition, companies are always looking to engineer themselves an edge, producing products that perform better without the downsides of current offerings. /news/2024-11-proteins-higher-sustainable-skincare-products.html Biochemistry Polymers Wed, 20 Nov 2024 12:21:03 EST news651327661 Polyethylene (PE) is one of the most widely used and versatile plastic materials globally, prized for its cost-effectiveness, lightweight properties and ease of formability. These characteristics make PE indispensable across a broad spectrum of applications, from packaging materials to structural plastics. /news/2024-11-polyethylene-functionalization-antibacterial-properties-sustainable.html Biochemistry Polymers Sat, 09 Nov 2024 13:10:01 EST news650286438 Food engineers have harnessed the power of lupins (legumes) to create a yogurt that rivals dairy in taste and texture while delivering more nutrition than typical plant-based yogurts. /news/2024-11-lab-cultured-yogurt-rivals-dairy.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 06 Nov 2024 10:09:55 EST news650110189 Microalgae are gaining recognition as sustainable, nutrient-rich sources of bioactive compounds, including proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, which are essential for various food and health-related applications. /news/2024-11-highlights-microalgae-sustainable-ingredients-food.html Agriculture Mon, 04 Nov 2024 13:28:27 EST news649949300 Water and oil, and some other simple fluids, respond in the same way to all levels of shear stress. These are termed Newtonian fluids, and their viscosity is constant for all stresses although it will vary with temperature. Under different stresses and pressure gradients, other non-Newtonian fluids exhibit patterns of behavior that are much more complex. /news/2024-10-fluids-monotonic-rheology.html Soft Matter Mon, 28 Oct 2024 17:14:03 EDT news649354442 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune and the CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) Pune have shown that the macroscopic deformation of amorphous solids is controlled by structural defects within the material. /news/2024-10-key-role-defects-amorphous-solid.html Condensed Matter Soft Matter Fri, 18 Oct 2024 10:20:05 EDT news648465594 Along coastal California, the possibility of earthquakes and landslides is commonly prefaced by the phrase, "not if, but when." This precarious reality is now a bit more predictable thanks to researchers at UC Santa Cruz and The University of Texas at Austin, who found that conditions known to cause slip along fault lines deep underground also lead to landslides above. /news/2024-10-landslides-motion.html Earth Sciences Wed, 16 Oct 2024 15:50:05 EDT news648312601 With strong bactericidal properties, graphene has the potential to become a game changer in the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. So far there have been no efficient ways to control these properties—and thus no way to make use of graphene's potential in health care. /news/2024-09-graphene-spike-mat-ordinary-fridge.html Bio & Medicine Nanomaterials Tue, 24 Sep 2024 12:50:12 EDT news646401006 Employees of the Institute of Chemistry of Kazan Federal University and the Kazan National Research Technical University have produced especially strong carbon plastics based on phosphate binders that can withstand temperatures of more than 500 degrees Celsius. The findings are published in the journal Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. /news/2024-08-scientists-strong-carbon-plastics-aviation.html Polymers Materials Science Fri, 30 Aug 2024 09:56:03 EDT news644230561 Pectin, a natural and nontoxic acidic polysaccharide, is widely found in the primary cell wall and inner layer of terrestrial higher plants. The main domains of pectin are homogalacturonan and rhamnogalacturonan I, which contribute to the complexity of structure among natural polysaccharides. /news/2024-08-scientists-citrus-pectin-electric-field.html Biochemistry Analytical Chemistry Thu, 29 Aug 2024 15:08:03 EDT news644162881 Plastics have long been a mainstay in modern manufacturing, but their environmental impact has increased demand for eco-friendly alternatives. Researchers at The University of Warwick have made significant progress in the search for sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. /news/2024-08-small-molecule-eutectics-potential-plastics.html Polymers Materials Science Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:24:03 EDT news643303441 Thomas Edison went through thousands of materials before he finally found the right tungsten filament to create a working lightbulb. This type of trial-and-error research continues today and is responsible for countless inventions that improve our world. Battery systems that help power our lives in many seen (and unseen) ways are one example. /news/2024-08-electrons-complex-fluids.html Analytical Chemistry Materials Science Thu, 15 Aug 2024 10:29:27 EDT news642936564 A research team affiliated with UNIST has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the properties of short-chain branched (SCB) polymers. The findings have far-reaching implications for various industrial applications, as SCB polymers can exhibit enhanced performance in packaging materials, electronic devices, automobile parts, and medical devices. The study is published in the Journal of Rheology. /news/2024-07-reveal-unique-characteristics-short-chain.html Polymers Thu, 25 Jul 2024 14:37:03 EDT news641137021 Mantle convection and associated plate tectonics of planets like the Earth are governed by the deformation of mantle rocks. This deformation occurs through the motion of defects in the crystal lattices of minerals. Thus, the physical properties of these structural defects under pressure have profound implications on the dynamics of Earth-like planets. /news/2024-07-grain-boundaries-weaken-planetary-interiors.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:07:37 EDT news640429652 The shearing of fluids—meaning the sliding of fluid layers over each other under shear forces—is an important concept in nature and in rheology, the science that studies the flow behavior of matter, including liquids and soft solids. Shear forces are lateral forces applied parallel to a material, inducing deformation or slippage between its layers. /news/2024-04-physics-complex-fluids-polymers-unexpected.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Soft Matter Thu, 04 Apr 2024 11:28:03 EDT news631448881 When we take a stroll on the beach, we walk on the sand without any trouble. The sand appears solid and is difficult to compress. When we put the same sand grains in an hourglass, they behave very differently: the sand flows like a liquid. /news/2024-04-easy-compression-team-granular-materials.html General Â鶹ÒùÔºics Wed, 03 Apr 2024 12:30:02 EDT news631366199