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. An international collaboration involving researchers from the University of Innsbruck has developed a novel luminescent material that enables particularly robust and precise optical temperature sensing across an exceptionally broad temperature range. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-cryogenic-red-hot-optical-temperature.html Condensed Matter Wed, 04 Feb 2026 15:20:01 EST news689431535 The CP2K open-source package is among the top three most widely used research software suites worldwide for simulating the behavior of atoms and molecules. Among other applications, CP2K plays an important role in generating data used to train artificial intelligence (AI)-based models that determine molecular energies and forces. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-atomistic-simulation-software-cp2k-enables.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 19 Jan 2026 14:47:22 EST news688056331 A puzzle in theoretical chemistry has been solved at TU Wien: A new computational method now makes it possible to calculate the forces between large molecules with unprecedented accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-method-large-molecules-unprecedented-accuracy.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 28 Oct 2025 08:53:04 EDT news680860381 The Maxwell–Boltzmann distribution describes the probability distribution of molecular speeds in a sample of an ideal gas. Introduced over 150 years ago, it is based on the work of Scottish physicist and mathematician James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879) and Austrian mathematician and theoretical physicist Ludwig Boltzmann (1844–1906). https://phys.org/news/2025-07-maxwellboltzmann-generalized-real-gases.html General Physics Tue, 15 Jul 2025 07:20:06 EDT news671726457 For the past five years, researchers at Leipzig University have been working on fundamentally new methods for selectively assembling gaseous, charged molecular fragments into new, complex molecules. The synthesized substances are deposited onto surfaces. This innovative process opens up new perspectives for applications in modern nanoelectronics and sensor technology. It also offers new avenues of research across various scientific disciplines—from catalyst research to medical applications. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-method-molecular-fragments-advanced-thin.html Nanomaterials Mon, 23 Jun 2025 11:35:03 EDT news669897301 Virtually all light-emitting diodes used today require phosphors based on so-called rare-earth elements, which are expensive and challenging to obtain. In a collaborative research project between Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and the University of Innsbruck, chemists have now demonstrated that the element manganese is in principle also suitable for such applications. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-sustainable-manganese-based-phosphors-white.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 18 Jun 2025 12:02:09 EDT news669466920 In the absence of air, microorganisms produce hydrogen using an enzyme called [FeFe]-hydrogenase, one of the most efficient hydrogen-producing biocatalysts known and a promising tool for green hydrogen energy. However, these enzymes are rapidly destroyed when exposed to air, which has so far limited their industrial use. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-oxygen-stable-biocatalyst-thermophilic-bacterium.html Biochemistry Fri, 09 May 2025 12:46:03 EDT news666013562 The lightest of all elements, hydrogen, is in great demand due to its promising role as a sustainable resource in the energy transition. A team from Leipzig University and TU Dresden, as part of the Hydrogen Isotopes 1,2,3H Research Training Group, has made an important breakthrough in the efficient and cost-effective provision of isotopes. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-advances-hydrogen-efficient-isotope-sight.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 19 Sep 2024 11:15:04 EDT news645963302 A research team at the University of Tübingen has found that most glyphosate that ends up in European rivers likely does not come from herbicides, as previously assumed; instead, it may be the result of additives to detergents. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-glyphosate-european-rivers-farming.html Environment Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:26:04 EDT news641211961 Some bacterial membrane transporters work almost like freight elevators to transport substances through the cell membrane into the interior of the cell. The transporter itself spans the bacterial membrane. Like a forklift, a soluble protein outside the bacterium transports the substance to the "elevator" and unloads its cargo there. The freight elevator transports it to the inside of the cell, in other words to another floor. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-important-membrane-mechanism-pathogenic-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 08 Jan 2024 11:23:03 EST news623935381 Mass spectrometers are high-tech machines that play an important role in our society. They are highly sensitive analytical instruments that are indispensable in areas such as medical diagnostics, food quality control and the detection of hazardous chemical substances. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-molecular-beasts-foundation-chemical-compounds.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 03 Nov 2023 10:37:18 EDT news618226635 Tuberculosis is a severe infectious disease that claims about 1.3 million lives annually world-wide. This dismal toll is caused by the notorious pathogen Mycobacteria tuberculosis, whose bitter success depends on its formidable cellular double barrier, which offers both protection from the host defense system and a terrain that mediates host-pathogen interactions during infection. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-decipher-role-triglycerides-cellular-barrier.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 25 Oct 2023 10:59:42 EDT news617450380 Researchers at the University of East Anglia have proposed a new way of using quantum light to "see" quantum sound. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 04 Oct 2023 10:44:03 EDT news615635042 In order to fulfill their function, biological cells need to be divided into separate reaction compartments. This is sometimes done with membranes, and sometimes without them: the spontaneous segregation of certain types of biomolecules leads to the formation of so-called condensates. Why and under which circumstances they form is currently being researched. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-role-molecules-formation-condensates-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 02 Oct 2023 10:01:21 EDT news615459675 Air pollution in China is generated from many sources and interacts chemically and physically within the atmosphere in ways that can be difficult to predict. The concept of the Air Pollution Complex was created to address the underlying complexity of air pollution, and scientists have just recently developed a framework to apply the most current research to air pollution prediction and mitigation strategies. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-air-pollution-china.html Environment Thu, 15 Jun 2023 15:11:04 EDT news606060661 There are high expectations that quantum computers may deliver revolutionary new possibilities for simulating chemical processes. This could have a major impact on everything from the development of new pharmaceuticals to new materials. Researchers at Chalmers University have now, for the first time in Sweden, used a quantum computer to undertake calculations within a real-life case in chemistry. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-swedish-quantum-chemistry.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 20 Apr 2023 10:38:03 EDT news601205881 Solar power technologies, which use solar cells to convert sunlight to electricity or storable fuels, are gaining momentum in a world looking beyond fossil fuels for its energy needs. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-chemists-ultrathin-material-solar-cell.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 18 Apr 2023 09:48:12 EDT news601030089 Scientists from the Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (DIFFER) have created a database of 31,618 molecules that could potentially be used in future redox-flow batteries. These batteries hold great promise for energy storage. Among other things, the researchers used artificial intelligence and supercomputers to identify the molecules' properties. Today, they publish their findings in the journal Scientific Data. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-publish-molecules-potential-energy-storage.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 28 Nov 2022 08:32:03 EST news588846722 Researchers have investigated the capability of known quantum computing algorithms for fault-tolerant quantum computing to simulate the laser-driven electron dynamics of excitation and ionization processes in small molecules. Their research is published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-quantum-algorithms-electron-dynamics.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 23 Nov 2022 04:03:42 EST news588398620 Researchers at the University of Liverpool, the University of Bristol, University College London (UCL), and Diamond Light Source have developed new understanding of gallium oxide by combining a machine-learning theoretical approach with experimental results. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-gallium-oxide-crystal-complexity-machine.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 17 Aug 2022 10:42:23 EDT news579951740 The transport of substances across the membrane into the cell is linked to specific membrane transport proteins. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the University of Bonn, in collaboration with an international team, have now succeeded in elucidating the molecular structure of a completely new class of such membrane transporters. In addition to the Bonn scientists, researchers from the University of York were also involved. The study has now been published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-bacterial-membrane-pathogens-immune.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 04 Aug 2022 10:21:02 EDT news578827259 Hydrogen fuel cells hold a lot of promise as sustainable and eco-friendly energy sources to power transportation by land, air and sea. But traditional catalysts used to drive chemical reactions in hydrogen fuel cells are too costly and inefficient to justify a large-scale commercial shift away from existing technologies. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-catalysts-hydrogen-fuel-cells.html Materials Science Mon, 25 Jul 2022 08:21:53 EDT news577956109 Highly reactive molecules cannot survive for long in nature. If researchers want to study them more closely, they must produce them under very specific laboratory conditions. Compared to "normal" molecules, many of these tiny particles have a distinguishing feature: They simply bind with everything around them and are therefore very difficult to direct. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-insight-highly-reactive-chemical-compounds.html Materials Science Tue, 20 Jul 2021 14:21:10 EDT news546009665 Researchers at the University of Bonn and the Research Center caesar have succeeded in ultra-fast freezing proteins after a precisely defined period of time. They were able to follow structural changes on the microsecond time scale and with sub-nanometer precision. Owing to its high spatial and temporal resolution, the method allows tracking rapid structural changes in enzymes and nucleic acids. The results are published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-snap-frozen-proteins.html Biochemistry Wed, 28 Apr 2021 16:56:40 EDT news538847796 A German-Chinese research team has found a new synthetic route to produce biofuel from biomass. The chemists converted the substance 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) produced from biomass into 2,5-dimethylfuran (DMF), which could be suitable as a biofuel. Compared to previous methods, they achieved a higher yield and selectivity under milder reaction conditions. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-synthetic-route-biofuel-production.html Materials Science Mon, 08 Feb 2021 09:38:17 EST news531999486 A research team led by Professor Chi-Ming Che and Dr. Jun Yang, from the Research Division for Chemistry and Department of Chemistry at the Faculty of Science of the University of Hong Kong, has resolved a long-standing fundamental problem in the field of metal-metal closed-shell interaction. This work has been published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). https://phys.org/news/2021-01-strong-m-m-pauli-repulsion-repulsive.html Materials Science Tue, 19 Jan 2021 10:14:44 EST news530273679 Rovibrational inelastic scattering of molecules has now been studied for many years. In so-called state-to-state experiments, the reagent molecules are prepared in a pure quantum state before the collision and the distribution of the scattered fragments over all energetically accessible states is detected, as well as the direction in which they fly apart. In a recent publication in Nature Chemistry, a research team within the Institute for Molecules and Materials of the Radboud University, together with several laboratories in the U.S., have collaborated to "push the study on noncovalent intermolecular interactions into a currently unprobed area." https://phys.org/news/2020-06-noncovalent-intermolecular-interactions-area.html Biochemistry Thu, 25 Jun 2020 08:29:59 EDT news512292596 Invisible infrared light accounts for half of all solar radiation on the Earth's surface, yet ordinary solar energy systems have limited ability in converting it to power. A breakthrough in research at KTH could change that. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-nanotechnology-breakthrough-enables-conversion-infrared.html Nanophysics Thu, 31 Oct 2019 09:26:37 EDT news491732794 Plants and bacteria can capture the energy of sunlight with light-harvesting antennas and transfer it to a reaction center. Transporting energy efficiently and in a targeted fashion in a minimum of space is also of interest to engineers. If they were to master as well as microorganisms, they could significantly improve photovoltaics and optoelectronics. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-energy-nano-range.html Biochemistry Fri, 18 Oct 2019 09:47:43 EDT news490610853 Cells in the body are wired like computer chips to direct signals that instruct how they function, research suggests. https://phys.org/news/2019-05-scientists-circuit-boards-body-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 24 May 2019 05:00:04 EDT news477889190