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. A smartwatch can tell us the level of oxygen in our blood, when our sleep is restless or the number of steps we take in a day. Now imagine that kind of tracking ability for plants. By the time farmers see curling leaves or stunted growth in their fields, their crops may already have spent days under stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wearables-track-health-farmers-real.html Biotechnology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:20:07 EDT news702807380 Is your houseplant thirsty? Are crops getting enough water? Is a forest at high risk of wildfire? Leaf health can answer all these questions, and researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have developed new technology to measure hydration levels with greater accuracy and without hurting the plant. The researchers developed an electronic tattoo for leaves that uses the hyperflexible and sustainable material graphene to track hydration levels. It sticks on the leaves without harming them, a major improvement over current methods that work only with dead or dried-out leaves or provide indirect measurements. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-graphene-leaf-tattoo-sensor-tracks.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 30 Mar 2026 17:10:07 EDT news694108141 A pair of Sydney Ph.D. students helped sharpen the view of humanity's most powerful space observatory—without leaving Earth. As an indelible reminder of this thrilling result, Louis Desdoigts, now a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden in the Netherlands, and his colleague Max Charles, had tattoos of the instrument their work has repaired inked on their arms. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-software-solution-image-blurring-james.html Astronomy Tue, 14 Oct 2025 10:40:06 EDT news679656846 An international team of anthropologists, cultural heritage specialists and lab analysts has found tattoos of a type never seen before on the face and arm of an 800-year-old Andean mummy. Their paper is published in the Journal of Cultural Heritage. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-tattoos-rare-composition-year-andean.html Archaeology Tue, 20 May 2025 15:50:01 EDT news666974555 If you haven't heard of a tardigrade before, prepare to be wowed. These clumsy, eight-legged creatures, nicknamed water bears, are about half a millimeter long and can survive practically anything: freezing temperatures, near starvation, high pressure, radiation exposure, outer space and more. Researchers reporting in the journal Nano Letters took advantage of the tardigrade's nearly indestructible nature and gave the critters tiny "tattoos" to test a microfabrication technique to build microscopic, biocompatible devices. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-scientists-tattoo-tardigrades.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 23 Apr 2025 09:20:04 EDT news664618802 Researchers have developed a new way to see organs within a body by rendering overlying tissues transparent to visible light. The counterintuitive process—a topical application of food-safe dye—was reversible in tests with animal subjects, and may ultimately apply to a wide range of medical diagnostics, from locating injuries to monitoring digestive disorders to identifying cancers. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-window-body-technique-skin-invisible.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 05 Sep 2024 14:00:01 EDT news644751351 If you've ever taken a car trip through a rural area, you might already know that livestock, including cows and sheep, can be individually tracked using decidedly old-fashioned methods, such as ear tags or even branding marks. By contrast, many tech-savvy pet owners have opted to have their dog or cat "chipped" by having a radio frequency identification (RFID) permanently implanted under the skin. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-customizable-polymer-molds-microneedle-tattoos.html Biotechnology Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:29:45 EST news624194981 Engineers have developed nanoscale tattoos—dots and wires that adhere to live cells—in a breakthrough that puts researchers one step closer to tracking the health of individual cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-nanoscale-tattoos-individual-cells-early.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 07 Aug 2023 12:34:43 EDT news610630478 Researchers have taken a major step towards 3D laser-printed materials that could be used in surgical procedures to implant or repair medical devices. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-laser-medical-electronics.html Biochemistry Mon, 13 Mar 2023 14:21:03 EDT news597936061 From life-like faces to elaborate nature scenes, tattoos are a true art form. Although people have decorated their bodies for millennia for ceremonial and religious reasons, many people today adorn themselves with these images as a form of self-expression. But the inks used for tattoos are unregulated in the U.S., resulting in products whose components are largely a mystery. Now, researchers have analyzed almost 100 inks and report that even when these products include an ingredient label, the lists often aren't accurate. The team also detected small particles that could be harmful to cells. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-exposing-tattoo-ink.html Materials Science Wed, 24 Aug 2022 05:00:02 EDT news580535002 Blood pressure is one of the most important indicators of heart health, but it's tough to frequently and reliably measure outside of a clinical setting. For decades, cuff-based devices that constrict around the arm to give a reading have been the gold standard. But now, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University have developed an electronic tattoo that can be worn comfortably on the wrist for hours and deliver continuous blood pressure measurements at an accuracy level exceeding nearly all available options on the market today. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-blood-pressure-e-tattoo-mobile.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 20 Jun 2022 12:50:02 EDT news574946302 Medical sensing technology has taken great strides in recent years, with the development of wearable devices that can track pulse, brain function, biomarkers in sweat and more. However, there is one big problem with existing wearable pressure sensors: Even the slightest amount of pressure, something as light as a tight long sleeve shirt over a sensor, can throw them off track. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-soft-pressure-sensor-breakthrough-field.html Nanomaterials Tue, 28 Sep 2021 16:11:11 EDT news552064267 It's official: Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is the iron man of 2D materials, so resistant to cracking that it defies a century-old theoretical description engineers still use to measure toughness. https://phys.org/news/2021-06-hexagonal-boron-nitride-remarkable-toughness.html Nanophysics Wed, 02 Jun 2021 11:00:04 EDT news541832660 Scientists at UCL and the IIT—Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Italian Institute of Technology) have created a temporary tattoo with light-emitting technology used in TV and smartphone screens, paving the way for a new type of 'smart tattoo' with a range of potential uses. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-light-emitting-tattoo.html Materials Science Fri, 26 Feb 2021 12:12:41 EST news533563956 Stretchable electronic circuits are critical for soft robotics, wearable technologies, and biomedical applications. The current ways of making them, though, have limited their potential. https://phys.org/news/2021-02-future-electronics-stretchy.html Materials Science Fri, 19 Feb 2021 08:53:14 EST news532947190 Lasers are used in a range of everyday devices, harnessing the power of light molecules, photons, - lined up to form highly concentrated beams of light—to perform now common tasks such as scanning barcodes and removing tattoos. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-nanoparticle-lase-power.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 01 Dec 2020 10:09:49 EST news526039784 Flexible temporary electronic displays may one day make it possible to sport a glowing tattoo or check a reading, like that of a stopwatch, directly on the skin. In its current form, however, this technology generally depends on plastic. New research in ACS Nano describes a way to make these displays, which would likely be discarded after a single use, more environmentally friendly using a plentiful and biodegradable resource: fish scales. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-fish-scales-wearable-electronics-sustainable.html Nanomaterials Wed, 18 Mar 2020 08:23:37 EDT news503738608 Western researchers, including two undergraduate students, have become pivotal players in developing a mobile X-ray protocol that could transform how mummies are examined in the field. https://phys.org/news/2020-02-mosaic-x-rays-reveal-peruvian-mummy.html Archaeology Wed, 05 Feb 2020 09:26:53 EST news500117201 Electrical engineers at Duke University have devised a fully print-in-place technique for electronics that is gentle enough to work on delicate surfaces including paper and human skin. The advance could enable technologies such as high-adhesion, embedded electronic tattoos and bandages tricked out with patient-specific biosensors. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-electronics-electrified-tattoos-personalized-biosensors.html Nanophysics Thu, 03 Oct 2019 08:00:02 EDT news489299488 Washington State University archaeologists have discovered the oldest tattooing artifact in western North America. https://phys.org/news/2019-02-oldest-tattoo-tool-western-north.html Archaeology Thu, 28 Feb 2019 08:00:01 EST news470546764 Human skin contains sensitive nerve cells that detect pressure, temperature and other sensations that allow tactile interactions with the environment. To help robots and prosthetic devices attain these abilities, scientists are trying to develop electronic skins. Now researchers report a new method in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that creates an ultrathin, stretchable electronic skin, which could be used for a variety of human-machine interactions. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-flexible-electronic-skin-aids-human-machine.html Materials Science Wed, 28 Nov 2018 12:50:43 EST news462631828 The earliest evidence of a drawing made by humans has been found in Blombos Cave in the southern Cape in South Africa. https://phys.org/news/2018-09-piece-silcrete-blombos-cave-predates.html Archaeology Wed, 12 Sep 2018 13:00:03 EDT news455948244 Scientists report they have successfully developed and tested the world's first ultrathin artificial retina that could vastly improve on existing implantable visualization technology for the blind. The flexible device, based on very thin 2-D materials, could someday restore sight to the millions of people with retinal diseases. And with a few modifications, the device could be used to track heart and brain activity. https://phys.org/news/2018-08-artificial-retinas-based-d-materials.html Materials Science Mon, 20 Aug 2018 05:40:26 EDT news453962418 Iowa State University plant scientist Patrick Schnable quickly described how he measured the time it takes for two kinds of corn plants to move water from their roots, to their lower leaves and then to their upper leaves. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-wearable-sensors-enabling-crops.html Nanomaterials Thu, 04 Jan 2018 03:42:24 EST news434259734 Wearable sensors are revolutionizing the tech-world, capable of tracking processes in the body, such as heart rates. They're even becoming fashionable, with many of them sporting sleek, stylish designs. But wearable sensors also can have applications in detecting threats that are external to the body. Researchers now report in ACS Sensors a first-of-its kind device that can do just that. And to stay fashionable, they've designed it as a ring. https://phys.org/news/2017-10-fashionable-chemical-biological-threat-detector-on-a-ring.html Engineering Wed, 11 Oct 2017 08:00:01 EDT news426916550 As Tipsy methodically unfolds an arm to select a glass, retrieve ice and mix a drink, it's all a far cry from the flashy swagger of Tom Cruise in "Cocktail." https://phys.org/news/2017-09-well-oiled-booze-age-robo-barman.html Robotics Mon, 04 Sep 2017 02:01:31 EDT news423709265 Researchers have designed a graphene-based tattoo that can be directly laminated onto the skin with water, similar to a temporary tattoo. But instead of featuring artistic or colorful designs, the new tattoo is nearly transparent. Its main attraction is that graphene's unique electronic properties enable the tattoo to function as a wearable electronic device, with potential applications including biometric uses (such as measuring the electrical activity of the heart, brain, and muscles), as well as human-machine interactions. https://phys.org/news/2017-08-graphene-electronic-tattoos-skin.html Nanomaterials Mon, 07 Aug 2017 06:00:03 EDT news421298179 A group of researchers at Waseda University has developed processes and materials for ultrathin stick-on electronic devices using elastomeric "nanosheet" film, achieving ease of production while also preserving high elasticity and flexibility fifty times better than previously reported polymer nanosheets. https://phys.org/news/2017-02-polymer-method-ultra-conformable-electronic-tattoo.html Nanomaterials Wed, 22 Feb 2017 09:20:02 EST news406977592 Imagine if your electronic wearable device, like your Fitbit, adhered to you like a sticker or temporary tattoo and could read your pulse or measure hand gestures. As electronics are becoming thinner, lighter, and more power efficient, they can be populated on stickers and temporary tattoos to create soft wearables that adhere to the skin. And the most exciting news is that one day you may be able to print these wearable electronics from a home printer. https://phys.org/news/2016-10-breakthrough-soft-electronics-fabrication-method.html Engineering Mon, 24 Oct 2016 17:14:51 EDT news396548037 Engineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a flexible wearable sensor that can accurately measure a person's blood alcohol level from sweat and transmit the data wirelessly to a laptop, smartphone or other mobile device. The device can be worn on the skin and could be used by doctors and police officers for continuous, non-invasive and real-time monitoring of blood alcohol content. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-flexible-wearable-electronic-skin-patch.html Engineering Tue, 02 Aug 2016 14:44:04 EDT news389367833