Applications of soft matter as a research area investigates how the unique mechanical, rheological, and self-assembly properties of soft condensed phases—such as polymers, gels, colloids, liquid crystals, foams, emulsions, and biological tissues—can be exploited in technological and biomedical contexts. This includes designing responsive and stimuli-adaptive materials for sensors, actuators, flexible electronics, and energy storage; engineering complex fluids and structured interfaces for coatings, drug delivery, and formulation science; and developing bioinspired and biomimetic systems for tissue engineering, soft robotics, and microfluidics. The field emphasizes structure–property–function relationships, often integrating continuum mechanics, statistical physics, and materials characterization to optimize performance in application-specific environments.
The direction in which the electromagnetic field of circularly polarized light rotates can be easily reversed by applying a voltage, RIKEN researchers have demonstrated. This could enable a new generation of optical devices ...
Condensed Matter
Apr 1, 2026
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Nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA play a central role in gene therapies and vaccines. They store and transmit biological information. In order for them to work in the body, they must enter the cells using chemical carrier ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 26, 2026
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48
For decades, lab-grown cells have been studied in materials that don't reflect the softness and flexibility of human tissue. Now researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a water-rich, Jell-O-like material ...
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 16, 2026
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12
Controlling light with light is a long-sought goal for computing and communication technologies. Achieving this capability would allow optical signals to be processed without converting them into electrical signals, potentially ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 9, 2026
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46
Many cutting-edge technologies, ranging from augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to LiDAR (light detection and ranging) systems, rely on components that enable the precise control of light. These components include ...
Scores of sea lions continue to beach themselves along the Southern California coastline, stricken with sickness. Toxic algae blooms are to blame, though a mechanical engineering innovation could shift the tide in favor of ...
Biotechnology
Feb 25, 2026
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The tiny fatty capsules that deliver COVID-19 mRNA vaccines into billions of arms may work better when they're a little disorganized. That's the surprising finding from researchers who developed a new way to examine these ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 21, 2026
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Bacteriophages are viruses that can kill bacteria through highly specific interactions. While this property can be beneficial in selected applications, bacteriophages represent a serious threat to laboratories and industries ...
Bio & Medicine
Feb 13, 2026
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What happens to soft matter when gravity disappears? To answer this, UvA physicists launched a fluid dynamics experiment on a sounding rocket. The suborbital rocket reached an altitude of 267 km before falling back to Earth, ...
Soft Matter
Feb 11, 2026
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32
Researchers at the University of Bayreuth have developed a method using artificial intelligence that can significantly speed up the calculation of liquid properties. The AI approach predicts the chemical potential—an indispensable ...
Soft Matter
Feb 11, 2026
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