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 from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) have taken an important step toward developing intelligent molecular materials. The team headed by Dr. Bernd M. Schmidt (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Macromolecular Chemistry) and Professor Dr. Jan Meisner (Institute of Physical Chemistry) has shown that complex molecular nanostructures can be selectively activated, disassembled in a controlled way and even reassembled using ultrasound. The results, published in Nature Communications, could, for example, aid the development of more targeted cancer medication in the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecular-nanostructures-ultrasound.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 06 Jul 2026 15:20:09 EDT news702562709 Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have been hailed as next-generation materials for capturing water from air, powering dehumidifiers, and driving energy-efficient heat pumps. Built from lightweight and organic building blocks, these crystalline and highly porous materials are akin to molecular Lego sets: their geometry and chemistry can be tailored with precision. However, a significant issue remained: in humid air, COFs may collapse. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-molecular-rivets-porous-materials-collapsing.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:50:01 EDT news677846571 Drinks including water, soda, beer and wine sold in glass bottles contain more microplastics than those in plastic bottles, according to a surprising study released by France's food safety agency Friday. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-glass-bottles-microplastics-plastic.html Environment Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:13:07 EDT news669633182 A team led by Prof. Shlomo Magdassi from the Institute of Chemistry and Prof. Hanna Dodiuk from Shenkar College has recently developed a new adhesive that addresses one of the major challenges in materials science: developing adhesives that, on the one hand, have rapid curing capabilities and can function on a wide range of surfaces, and, on the other hand, are recyclable and removable without compromising their properties. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-adhesives-bond-seconds-recycled-microwave.html Polymers Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:58:47 EDT news668858323 More than 70% of the Earth is covered with water—H2O. An almost negligible proportion of a few per million consists of "heavy water," in which the hydrogen atoms (H) are replaced by deuterium atoms (D). Deuterium has one more neutron in its nucleus than hydrogen and weighs about twice as much. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-heavy-similarly.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 09 Apr 2025 09:35:03 EDT news663410101 Magnesium is a common chemical element, an alkaline earth metal, which is highly chemically reactive and is very light (even lighter than aluminum). Magnesium is abundant in plants and minerals and plays a role in human physiology and metabolism. In the cosmos, it is produced by large aging stars. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-magnesium-superconductor-2d-limit.html Condensed Matter Tue, 01 Apr 2025 08:20:01 EDT news662636519 Interconnected materials containing networks are ubiquitous in the world around us—rubber, car tires, human and engineered tissues, woven sheets and chain mail armor. Engineers often want these networks to be as strong as possible and to resist mechanical fracture and failure. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-law-energy-fracture-stretchable-networks.html General Physics Mon, 17 Mar 2025 10:34:57 EDT news661426491 Researchers from RMIT University and the University of Melbourne have discovered that water generates an electrical charge up to 10 times greater than previously understood when it moves across a surface. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-movement-surfaces-electric.html Condensed Matter Tue, 11 Mar 2025 11:29:04 EDT news660911341 A study published in the journal Science Advances from researchers at the University of Kansas shows a new eco-friendly method for separating the chemicals found in common refrigerants for easier recycling at an industrial scale. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-eco-friendly-method-recycle-refrigerants.html Polymers Tue, 11 Feb 2025 16:12:21 EST news658512738 The life of billions of people inhabiting Earth is owed to a temporary organ that supported and nourished them in a mother's womb. The placenta, or afterbirth, is considered sacred by some cultures, its pivotal role in pregnancy recognized as far back as the raising of Egypt's pyramids. It provides nutrients and oxygen to the fetus via the umbilical cord, acting like a gut, kidney, liver, and lungs. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-nanoparticle-gene-therapy-major-stillbirth.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 05 Dec 2024 16:32:41 EST news652638757 Researchers at University of Limerick in Ireland have developed a new method of growing organic crystals that can be used for energy-harvesting applications. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-method-generating-eco-friendly-energy.html Condensed Matter Tue, 19 Nov 2024 15:56:13 EST news651254168 Plastics are not as safe and inert as previously thought. A new research study written by an international team of researchers uses the planetary boundaries framework to structure the rapidly mounting evidence of the effects of plastics on the environment, health and human well-being. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-plastics-pollution-worsens-impacts-planetary.html Environment Thu, 07 Nov 2024 16:09:21 EST news650218156 Plastics have long been a mainstay in modern manufacturing, but their environmental impact has increased demand for eco-friendly alternatives. Researchers at The University of Warwick have made significant progress in the search for sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-small-molecule-eutectics-potential-plastics.html Polymers Mon, 19 Aug 2024 16:24:03 EDT news643303441 A pair of new University of Alberta studies show how to make firefighters' clothing safer to wear, maintain and manufacture. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-firefighters-safer.html Polymers Mon, 27 May 2024 13:30:10 EDT news636035407 While it is the fastest growing sector of the wine-packaging market, canned wine faces a few hurdles. It's not considered as elegant as wine in a bottle, and it's not as popular as the formerly maligned "wine bag in a box." There is also the unfortunate fact—and there is no gentle way to put this—that canned wine occasionally smells like rotten eggs. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-team-culprit-canned-wine-rotten.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 16 Apr 2024 15:23:04 EDT news632499781 Polymer systems composed of multiple components can spontaneously induce emulsion or microdroplets by mechanical mixing, as an intermediate state of macroscopic phase separation. Unfortunately, the size of generated droplets is nonuniform and their spatial-arrangement is rather random. In addition, they tend to grow larger with time (coarsening). https://phys.org/news/2024-03-spontaneous-microdroplets-quasi-dimensional-confinement.html Polymers Wed, 20 Mar 2024 10:54:03 EDT news630150841 Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have developed flexible films that exhibit bright colors purely by virtue of their physical structure, without the need for any pigment. When stretched, the films exhibit a change in color as a response to the mechanical deformation. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-tunable-displays-sensors.html Nanomaterials Tue, 19 Mar 2024 09:26:03 EDT news630059161 Using a novel microfluidic chip, ETH researchers led by Professor Roman Stocker and Estelle Clerc have shown that bacteria not only recognize small food molecules, but also swim towards large, complex polymers. A startup is now using these findings and applying the technology to find microbes in the environment that can break down pollutants. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-microfluidic-chip-reveals-bacteria-large.html Ecology Thu, 01 Feb 2024 09:38:13 EST news626002687 Straws are one of the most common plastic waste products found on coastlines. As more and more plastic products are being produced, consumed, and disposed of, scientists and manufacturers are developing alternative materials that work equally as well, and don't contribute to persistent plastic pollution in the environment. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-plastic-straws-degrade-quickly.html Polymers Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:12:31 EST news625842746 Shape-memory polymers or shape-shifting materials are smart materials that have gained significant attention within materials science and biomedical engineering in recent years to build smart structures and devices. Digital light processing is a vat photopolymerization–based method with significantly faster technology to print a complete layer in a single step to create smart materials. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-swift-d-shape-memory-polymers.html Polymers Fri, 22 Dec 2023 09:19:20 EST news622458888 The membrane that encases a biological cell is not simply a barrier; it is chock full of proteins involved in all sorts of critical biological functions. To really understand what membrane proteins are doing and how, researchers need to know how they're organized and how they interact with one another. But uncovering that information is challenging. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-molecular-cookie-cutters-view-membrane.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 21 Dec 2023 09:41:05 EST news622374062 Agriculture relies on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which is made using energy- and carbon-intensive processes and creates nitrate-containing runoff. Researchers have long sought solutions to reduce emissions from the industry that accounts for 3% of energy consumption each year. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-hybrid-catalyst-critical-fertilizer-wastewater.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 11 Sep 2023 14:19:55 EDT news613660789 The amount of published materials science research is growing at an exponential rate, too fast for scientists to keep up. To help these scholars, a first-of-its-kind materials science data extraction pipeline is now available to make their research easier and faster. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-tool-discovery-polymers.html Materials Science Thu, 13 Jul 2023 08:55:17 EDT news608457312 Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have synthesized a superabsorbent material that can soak up a record amount of moisture from the air, even in desert-like conditions. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-salty-gel-harvest-air.html Polymers Thu, 15 Jun 2023 10:06:32 EDT news606042389 Storing data in DNA sounds like science fiction, yet it lies in the near future. Professor Tom de Greef expects the first DNA data center to be up and running within five to ten years. Data won't be stored as zeros and ones in a hard drive but in the base pairs that make up DNA: AT and CG. Such a data center would take the form of a lab, many times smaller than the ones today. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-dna-microcapsules-scaling-future-storage.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 04 May 2023 12:13:03 EDT news602421181 Black women and others with curly or kinky hair encounter a vast and confusing array of haircare options. Advice on the best products to use for a certain type of hair is often contradictory, and the results can be highly variable. Now, scientists are bringing order to this chaos by identifying properties such as the number of curls or coils in a given length of hair that could eventually help users pick the perfect product and achieve consistent results. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-ways-kinks-easier-natural-hair.html Materials Science Sun, 26 Mar 2023 08:08:14 EDT news599036883 In the last decade, growing numbers of researchers have studied plastic pollution, one of the world's most pressing environmental hazards. They have made progress but still face challenges, such as the comparability of results, especially with regard to microplastic particles. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-method-microplastic-particle-pollution-environmental.html Environment Wed, 01 Mar 2023 01:36:32 EST news596856984 Skyscrapers, bridges, ships, airplanes, cars—everything humans make or build sooner or later decays. The ravages of time are known as corrosion; nothing is safe from it. https://phys.org/news/2023-02-corrosion.html Polymers Tue, 21 Feb 2023 10:34:41 EST news596198078 Quantized vortices can be generated in classical experiments of liquid helium and ultracold dilute gases to conduct fundamental and comparative studies of different superfluids. In a new report published in Science Advances, Ivan Gnusov and a research team in photonics and physics in the U.K., Russia and Iceland developed a "rotating bucket" experiment to optically contain the quantum fluid of light. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-quantum-vortex-formation-lab.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 31 Jan 2023 13:00:02 EST news594391954 Cryo-electron microscopy by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers has exposed the structure of a bacterial virus with unprecedented detail. This is the first structure of a virus able to infect Staphylococcus epidermidis, and high-resolution knowledge of structure is a key link between viral biology and potential therapeutic use of the virus to quell bacterial infections. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-atomic-staphylococcal-bacteriophage-cryo-electron-microscopy.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 16 Dec 2022 15:53:07 EST news590428375