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. In a breakthrough that blends biology and robotics, researchers at the University of Osaka have created a new type of insect cyborg that can navigate autonomously—without wires, surgery, or stress-inducing electrical shocks. The system uses a small ultraviolet (UV) light helmet to steer cockroaches by taking advantage of their natural tendency to avoid bright light, especially in the UV range. This method not only preserves the insect's sensory organs but also maintains consistent control over time. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-driven-cockroach-cyborgs-wires-surgery.html Plants & Animals Tue, 13 May 2025 09:28:16 EDT news666347293 Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have combined natural squid tissues with synthetic polymers to develop a strong and versatile hydrogel that mimics many of the unique properties of biological tissues. Hydrogels are polymer networks containing large quantities of water, and are being explored for many uses, including medical prosthetics, soft robotic components and novel sensor systems. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-squid-tissues-chemistry-combine-versatile.html Biochemistry Thu, 19 Jan 2023 19:00:01 EST news593365247 Developing a lightweight material that is both strong and highly ductile has been regarded as a long-desired goal in the field of structural materials, but these properties are generally mutually exclusive. However, researchers at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) have recently discovered a low-cost, direct method to turn commonly used 3D printable polymers into lightweight, ultra-tough, biocompatible hybrid carbon microlattices, which can be in any shape or size, and are 100 times stronger than the original polymers. The research team believes that this innovative approach can be used to create sophisticated 3D parts with tailored mechanical properties for a wide range of applications, including coronary stents and bio-implants. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-team-3d-printed-polymer-stronger-ductile.html Polymers Wed, 07 Sep 2022 15:56:33 EDT news581784952 Researchers have developed a highly accurate way to assemble multiple micron-scale optical devices extremely close together on a single chip. The new approach could one day allow high-volume manufacturing of chip-based optical systems that would enable more compact optical communications devices and advanced imagers. https://phys.org/news/2021-09-optical-devices-multiple-materials-chip.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Sep 2021 16:01:37 EDT news552150094 Northwestern University researchers have developed a family of soft materials that imitates living creatures. https://phys.org/news/2020-06-robotic-soft-rotates.html Materials Science Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:00:08 EDT news512025121 In their latest feat of engineering, researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have taken an ordinary white button mushroom from a grocery store and made it bionic, supercharging it with 3-D-printed clusters of cyanobacteria that generate electricity and swirls of graphene nanoribbons that can collect the current. https://phys.org/news/2018-11-bionic-mushrooms-fuse-nanotech-bacteria.html Nanomaterials Wed, 07 Nov 2018 08:00:01 EST news460791198 Diatoms are tiny, unicellular creatures, inhabiting oceans, lakes, rivers, and soils. Through their respiration, they produce close to a quarter of the oxygen on earth, nearly as much as the world's tropical forests. In addition to their ecological success across the planet, they have a number of remarkable properties. Diatoms live in glasslike homes of their own design, visible under magnification in an astonishing and aesthetically beautiful range of forms. https://phys.org/news/2018-07-single-celled-architects-nanotechnology.html Nanophysics Mon, 16 Jul 2018 11:28:51 EDT news450959315 Researchers in China have made a new hybrid conductive material—part elastic polymer, part liquid metal—that can be bent and stretched at will. Circuits made with this material can take most two-dimensional shapes and are also non-toxic. The work appears June 14 in the new interdisciplinary journal iScience. https://phys.org/news/2018-06-stretchy-circuit.html Polymers Thu, 14 Jun 2018 11:00:09 EDT news448184827 A new smart and responsive material can stiffen up like a worked-out muscle, say the Iowa State University engineers who developed it. https://phys.org/news/2018-02-smart-material-stiffness-bent.html Materials Science Wed, 14 Feb 2018 12:52:06 EST news437835116 Stroke and spinal cord injury patients often require gait rehabilitation to regain the ability to walk or to help strengthen their muscles. Wearable "robot-assisted training" is quickly emerging as a method that helps improve this rehab process. https://phys.org/news/2016-10-bio-inspired-lower-limb-robotic-exoskeleton-human.html Engineering Tue, 25 Oct 2016 11:00:01 EDT news396598738 The idea of taking apart a rat's heart and transforming it into a tissue-engineered stingray first came to Kevin Kit Parker during a trip to the New England Aquarium with his daughter. https://phys.org/news/2016-08-cyborg-stingray-ground.html Robotics Mon, 08 Aug 2016 03:37:26 EDT news389846229 The problem with having a microscopic robot propelled by a horde of tail-flailing bacteria is you never know where it's going to end up. The tiny, bio-robots, which amount to a chip coated with a "carpet" of flagellated bacteria, emerged from the primordial ooze of microrobotics research a few years ago as a concept for building microscopic devices and delivering medication at the cellular level. But as with any robot, the challenge for making them useful is bridging the gap from movement to automation. A team of engineers at Drexel University might have done just that, according to research recently published in IEEE Transactions on Robotics about using electric fields to direct the robots in a fluid environment. https://phys.org/news/2016-03-bacteria-powered-microrobots-plot.html Robotics Mon, 14 Mar 2016 18:17:25 EDT news377198220 Nature has developed innovative ways to solve a sticky challenge: Mussels and barnacles stubbornly glue themselves to cliff faces, ship hulls, and even the skin of whales. Likewise, tendons and cartilage stick to bone with incredible robustness, giving animals flexibility and agility. https://phys.org/news/2015-11-adhesive-tougher-natural-adhesives-mussels.html Materials Science Mon, 09 Nov 2015 11:00:13 EST news366269111 (Phys.org) —The unmatched ability of the human brain to process and make sense of large amounts of complex data has caught the attention of engineers working in the field of control systems. https://phys.org/news/2013-04-brain-cells-power-smart-grid.html Engineering Wed, 17 Apr 2013 07:00:01 EDT news285399975 (Phys.org)—While some advanced humanoid robots already look eerily lifelike, robots in the future may actually become partly alive. Currently, researchers are working on integrating living cells and other biological components with electronic components in an attempt to create bio-hybrid robots. These robots could act autonomously, imitate some animal behaviors, and have the ability to self-replicate some of their parts. https://phys.org/news/2012-11-channel-cells-machines-paves-bio-hybrid.html Biotechnology Thu, 29 Nov 2012 09:30:01 EST news273399925