Structural properties as a research area focuses on the characterization, quantification, and modeling of how the arrangement and connectivity of components within a system determine its behavior and performance. This includes investigating geometric, topological, and symmetry-related attributes in materials, molecules, biological assemblies, or engineered structures, and relating these features to mechanical, electronic, optical, or functional responses. Research typically integrates experimental probing (e.g., diffraction, microscopy, spectroscopy) with theoretical and computational methods (e.g., continuum mechanics, graph theory, atomistic simulations) to establish structure–property relationships that enable prediction, optimization, and rational design of systems with targeted structural performance.
In synthetic and structural biology, advances in artificial intelligence have led to an explosion of designing new proteins with specific functions, from antibodies to blood clotting agents, by using computers to accurately ...
Biotechnology
Oct 6, 2025
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102
In nature, random fiber networks such as some of the tissues in the human body, are strong and tough with the ability to hold together but also stretch a lot before they fail. Studying this structural randomness—that nature ...
Nanomaterials
Oct 2, 2025
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37
Scientists have found a nanoparticle-inspired solution to the age-old strength issue of polymer glasses. Seasoning the polymer glass recipe with single-chain nanoparticles, which are tiny, folded-up polymer strands, can make ...
You'd think there's nothing surprising left to discover about water. After all, researchers have been studying its properties for centuries.
Nanophysics
Sep 25, 2025
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49
Why do glass and other amorphous materials deform more easily in some regions than in others? A research team from the University of Osaka, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Okayama ...
Condensed Matter
Sep 25, 2025
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105
Researchers with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have created an innovative method to visualize and analyze atomic structures within specially designed, ...
Nanophysics
Sep 23, 2025
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97
Despite being one of the most familiar substances on Earth, water holds many secrets that scientists are still working to understand. When confined to extremely small spaces—such as within certain proteins, minerals, or artificial ...
Nanophysics
Sep 22, 2025
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111
Recent research has found a new way to make graphene that adds structural defects to improve the performance of the material that could have benefits across a range of applications—from sensors and batteries, to electronics.
Nanomaterials
Sep 20, 2025
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311
Copper selenide (Cu₂Se) attracts scientific interest for its thermoelectric ability to convert heat into electricity, but a lack of atomic-level understanding has limited its practical applications for decades.
Condensed Matter
Sep 17, 2025
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35
Navigating the extreme cold of deep space or handling super-chilled liquid fuels here on Earth requires materials that won't break. Most metals become brittle and fracture at such low temperatures. However, new research is ...
