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.
When pistachio hulls split before the nuts are harvested, insects and fungi can get inside, damaging the nut, costing farmers money and contaminating the nuts. About 4% of the overall crop experiences hull split, but some ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jan 23, 2026
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127
G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are proteins triggered by ligands (protein-binding chemicals) from outside cells to transmit signals inside the cell. These signals are transmitted primarily through the activation of G ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Dec 22, 2025
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19
The Jahn-Teller effect, proposed by Jahn and Teller in 1937, describes how molecules or crystals with degenerate electronic orbitals can lower their total energy by distorting their structure. This distortion lifts the degeneracy, ...
Condensed Matter
Dec 10, 2025
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41
Researchers have discovered that not all atoms in a liquid are in motion and that some remain stationary regardless of the temperature, significantly impacting the solidification process, including the formation of an unusual ...
Nanophysics
Dec 9, 2025
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85
All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) using silicon (Si) anodes are among the most promising candidates for high-energy and long-lasting power sources, particularly for electric vehicles. Si can store more lithium than conventional ...
Nanophysics
Dec 3, 2025
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42
Every function in a cell is associated with a particular protein or group of proteins, typically in a well-defined three-dimensional structure. However, intrinsically disordered regions of proteins defy this structure-function ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Nov 21, 2025
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51
A research team led by NIMS has, for the first time, produced nanoscale images of two key features in an ultra-thin material: twist domains (areas where one atomic layer is slightly rotated relative to another) and polarities ...
Nanomaterials
Nov 13, 2025
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30
The rapidly growing field of research on chiral phonons is giving researchers new insights into the fundamental behaviors and structures of materials. The chirality of phonons could pave the way for new methods to control ...
Condensed Matter
Nov 11, 2025
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41
Placing materials under extremely strong magnetic fields can give rise to unusual and fascinating physical phenomena or behavior. Specifically, studies show that under magnetic fields above 100 tesla (T), spins (i.e., intrinsic ...
Rice University researchers studying a class of atom-thin semiconductors known as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have discovered that light can trigger a physical shift in their atomic lattice, creating a tunable ...
Nanophysics
Nov 4, 2025
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