https://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers, including those from the University of Tokyo, developed Deep Nanometry, an analytical technique combining advanced optical equipment with a noise removal algorithm based on unsupervised deep learning. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-deep-nanometry-disease-nanoparticles.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:36:27 EST news659277383 A research team at the Institute of Materials Chemistry at TU Wien, led by Professor Dominik Eder, has developed a new synthetic approach to create durable, conductive and catalytically active hybrid framework materials for (photo)electrocatalytic water splitting. The study is published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-hybrid-catalyst-oxygen-production.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 29 Nov 2024 12:15:36 EST news652104930 Kory Burns, a professor at the University of Virginia School (UVA) of Engineering and Applied Science, is a materials science researcher who is using artificial intelligence to improve materials characterization. He and his collaborators, representing multiple universities and national labs, detailed their innovative new technique studying how to better determine the nanoscale effects of radiation on materials in a paper in APL Machine Learning. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-ai-technique-illuminates-materials-reactions.html Nanophysics Thu, 24 Oct 2024 09:50:04 EDT news648982201 A view into how nanoscale building blocks can rearrange into different organized structures on command is now possible with an approach that combines an electron microscope, a small sample holder with microscopic channels, and computer simulations, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Michigan and Indiana University. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-morphable-materials-coax-nanoparticles-reconfigure.html Nanomaterials Mon, 19 Aug 2024 11:58:03 EDT news643287481 A group of researchers has created a simple and inexpensive means to visualize the atomic state of hydrogen. Details of their breakthrough are published in the journal Acta Materialia. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-microscopic-hydrogen-atoms-metal.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 19 Dec 2023 13:01:34 EST news622213291 Proteins are the workhorses of biological systems, carrying out their work with extraordinary precision and speed. For years, observing proteins in action has been a significant challenge, as imaging methods often lacked sufficient speed and resolution to capture their elegant but swift dances. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-imaging-technique-virus-movement-unprecedented.html Biotechnology Thu, 21 Sep 2023 09:55:15 EDT news614508911 Each day, millions of biological processes occur in our body at a cellular level. Studying these processes can help us learn more about how cells function, a field that has continued to intrigue researchers. Recently, however, there has been a new player in this field. A new analytical method—single-molecule detection—has gained momentum due to its success in observing specific, biologically relevant molecules and the processes associated with them. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-phosphate-electrical-signature-important-cellular.html Biochemistry Fri, 30 Sep 2022 10:27:56 EDT news583752467 An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has, for the first time, observed the build-up of a physical phenomenon that plays a role in the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy in 2D materials. The scientists succeeded in making quasiparticles—known as dark Moiré interlayer excitons—visible and explaining their formation using quantum mechanics. The researchers show how an experimental technique newly developed in Göttingen, femtosecond photoemission momentum microscopy, provides profound insights at a microscopic level, which will be relevant to the development of future technology. The results were published in Nature. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-blocks-future-photovoltaics.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 18 Aug 2022 13:12:09 EDT news580047125 In order to examine tissues under the microscope, they usually have to be cut into thin slices. But it is impossible to analyze whole tissues or living organisms in this way. However, this is exactly what two Mexican research groups have managed to do in collaboration with Dr. Ines Teichert from the Department of General and Molecular Botany at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB). They used light sheet microscopy and an albino mutant of the filamentous fungus Sordaria macrospora, a popular model organism for studying the formation of fruiting bodies. The group published their findings in the Journal of Biophotonics on 20 February 2022. https://phys.org/news/2022-03-deep-insights-fungus.html Biotechnology Tue, 15 Mar 2022 11:10:01 EDT news566560867 Sometime between 1,000 and 1,400 years ago, a man near the Rio Grande suffered a fatal case of constipation. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-mummy-gi-tracts-yield-evidence.html Archaeology Tue, 08 Dec 2020 07:53:12 EST news526636385 Scientists studying so-called 'flammable ice' in the Sea of Japan have made a startling discovery—the existence of life within microscopic bubbles. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-flammable-ice-discovery-clue-life.html Earth Sciences Thu, 06 Feb 2020 09:11:33 EST news500202684 Optical microscopes and tweezers can image and manipulate objects at the microscale for applications in cellular and molecular biology. The optical resolution is, however, hampered by the diffraction limit and therefore both microscopes and tweezers are unable to image and manipulate nano-objects directly. Emerging techniques in plasmonic/photonic nanoscopes and nanotweezers aim to achieve nanometer-scale resolution, although high-index material structures can easily cause mechanical and photothermal damage to the nanoscale biospecimens. https://phys.org/news/2019-07-smaller-cells-natural-single-cell-biomagnifier.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 22 Jul 2019 08:00:01 EDT news482998029 Scientists have used a Nobel-prize winning chemistry technique on a mixture of metals to potentially reduce the cost of fuel cells used in electric cars and reduce harmful emissions from conventional vehicles. https://phys.org/news/2019-01-scientists-nobel-prize-chemistry-energy-breakthrough.html Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Jan 2019 09:22:31 EST news468062541 Layered nanocomposites containing tiny structures mixed into a polymer matrix are gaining commercial use, but their complex nature can hide defects that affect performance. https://phys.org/news/2015-03-technique-quality-control-tool-nanocomposites.html Nanophysics Tue, 24 Mar 2015 08:00:02 EDT news346400720 (Phys.org) —A University of Utah team discovered a method for turning a small, $40 needle into a 3-D microscope capable of taking images up to 70 times smaller than the width of a human hair. This new method not only produces high-quality images comparable to expensive microscopes, but may be implanted into the brains of living mice for imaging at the cellular level. https://phys.org/news/2014-08-d-microscope-method-brains.html General Physics Thu, 14 Aug 2014 06:12:19 EDT news327215494 Deep inside the brains of people with dementia and Lou Gehrig's disease, globs of abnormal protein gum up the inner workings of brain cells – dooming them to an early death. https://phys.org/news/2014-07-boosting-brain-cells-appetites-disease.html Biochemistry Thu, 03 Jul 2014 11:44:02 EDT news323606628 A new method of imaging cells is allowing scientists to see tiny structures inside the 'control centre' of the cell for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2013-10-spinning-disk-microscope-window-center-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 09 Oct 2013 17:00:03 EDT news300543558 It's not reruns of "The Jetsons", but researchers working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a new microscopy technique that uses a process similar to how an old tube television produces a picture—cathodoluminescence—to image nanoscale features. Combining the best features of optical and scanning electron microscopy, the fast, versatile, and high-resolution technique allows scientists to view surface and subsurface features potentially as small as 10 nanometers in size. https://phys.org/news/2013-06-quantum-dot-technique-combines-optical.html Nanophysics Wed, 12 Jun 2013 17:14:25 EDT news290276055 (Phys.org) —A team of researchers working at China's University of Science and Technology has succeeded in developing a chemical mapping technique capable of revealing the constituent atoms of a single molecule. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the team describes how they combined Raman spectroscopy with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to allow for chemical mapping of a molecule to a resolution of less than 1nm. https://phys.org/news/2013-06-ramen-spectroscopy-stm-chemical-molecules.html Nanophysics Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:44:17 EDT news289730641 (Phys.org) —For more than 20 years, researchers have been using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to measure and characterize materials at the nanometer scale. However AFM-based measurements of chemistry and chemical properties of materials were generally not possible, until now. https://phys.org/news/2013-03-team-afm-ir-nanometer-scale-chemical.html Nanophysics Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:58:37 EST news281987889 (Phys.org)—Finding ways to see, position, measure, and accurately manipulate nanoscale objects is an ongoing challenge for researchers developing the next generation of ultra-compact electronics, sensors and optical devices. Even the most advanced conventional microscopes are limited by diffraction of the shortest wavelength of visible light, about 400 nanometers, rendering them unable to produce images or measurements of objects that are significantly smaller than this threshold. https://phys.org/news/2013-02-quantum-dot-enables-nanoscale-accuracy.html Nanophysics Fri, 08 Feb 2013 08:36:57 EST news279535002 (Phys.org)—Ken Shepard, a professor of electrical engineering, believes there is nowhere else in the world where he could do what he does. "Imagine a convergence of semiconductor technology and biotechnology. There is no company out there that has expertise in both," he says. "It takes a university to figure out how to put those two pieces together and create new technologies from this synergy." https://phys.org/news/2013-01-electrical-nanoscale-tools-aid-discoveries.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:59:33 EST news278758747 Ancient multicellular fossils long thought to be ancestors of early marine life are remnants of land-dwelling lichen or other microbial colonies, says University of Oregon scientist Gregory Retallack, who has been studying fossil soils of South Australia. https://phys.org/news/2012-12-limbs-tree-life-ancient-australian.html Paleontology & Fossils Wed, 12 Dec 2012 13:00:01 EST news274534308 (Phys.org)—A refined method developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) for measuring nanometer-sized objects may help computer manufacturers more effectively size up the myriad tiny switches packed onto chips' surfaces. The method, which makes use of multiple measuring instruments and statistical techniques, is already drawing attention from industry. https://phys.org/news/2012-09-refined-technique-precision-accuracy-chip.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:31:45 EDT news266142699 (Phys.org) -- University of Maryland Chemistry Professor John Fourkas and his research group have developed new materials and nanofabrication techniques for building miniaturized versions of components needed for medical diagnostics, sensors and other applications. These miniaturized components -- many impossible to make with conventional techniques -- would allow for rapid analysis at lower cost and with small sample volumes. https://phys.org/news/2012-07-team-tech-complex-micro-sensors.html Nanophysics Fri, 13 Jul 2012 07:28:02 EDT news261383264 Experienced anglers know that choppy waters make for difficult fishing, so they try not to rock the boat. Thanks to a new microscopy technique, cell biology researchers can heed that same advice. https://phys.org/news/2012-06-fishing-imaging-technique-trolls-quiet.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 14 Jun 2012 13:27:23 EDT news258898409 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers have demonstrated a new imaging tool for tracking structures called carbon nanotubes in living cells and the bloodstream, which could aid efforts to perfect their use in biomedical research and clinical medicine. https://phys.org/news/2011-12-label-free-imaging-tool-tracks-nanotubes.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:11:24 EST news242323865 Researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shed light on the role of temperature in controlling a fabrication technique for drawing chemical patterns as small as 20 nanometers. This technique could provide an inexpensive, fast route to growing and patterning a wide variety of materials on surfaces to build electrical circuits and chemical sensors, or study how pharmaceuticals bind to proteins and viruses. https://phys.org/news/2011-11-ink-nanostructures-tiny-soldering-iron.html Nanophysics Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:21:38 EST news239898060 More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes soil to release the potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, new research published in this week's edition of Nature reveals. "This feedback to our changing atmosphere means that nature is not as efficient in slowing global warming as we previously thought," said Dr Kees Jan van Groenigen, Research Fellow at the Botany department at the School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, and lead author of the study. https://phys.org/news/2011-07-soil-microbes-global.html Environment Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:01:05 EDT news229780236 (PhysOrg.com) -- Electrical engineers have long been toying with the idea of designing biological molecules that can be directly integrated into electronic circuits. University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a way to form these structures so they can operate in open-air environments, and, more important, have developed a new microscope technique that can measure the electrical properties of these and similar devices. https://phys.org/news/2011-06-biological-circuit-components-microscope-technique.html Nanophysics Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:50:10 EDT news226662587