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. The new RFD4-Proteina unified generative model for protein design—created by the Institute for Protein Design (IPD) in collaboration with NVIDIA—uses advanced AI to generate entirely new protein sequences and structures, achieving computational design success rates five to 10 times higher than previous models and generating candidates five to 10 times faster. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-ai-enzyme-drug-synthesis.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 23 Oct 2026 17:00:13 EDT news711981643 Researchers at AIST have demonstrated the synthesis of nanoporous carbonaceous materials and carbonaceous materials with layered nanostructures through a simple process involving the chemical modification of common sugars such as sucrose and fructose. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chemically-sugars-enable-nanostructure-formation.html Nanomaterials Fri, 23 Oct 2026 16:40:08 EDT news711981001 What if we could predict early in drug development which antibiotics bacteria are most likely to become resistant to? In a review published in Nature Reviews Microbiology, researchers from the HUN-REN Biological Research Centre, Szeged (HUN-REN BRC Szeged) and the Hungarian Centre of Excellence for Molecular Medicine (HCEMM) in Szeged propose a five-step decision-making framework that could help identify resistance risks early, refine promising drug candidates and prevent costly failures. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-antibiotic-resistance-drugs-patients.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 15:40:01 EDT news711979741 Mitochondria are the tiny powerpacks that supply most of the energy our cells need. Their ability to generate this energy relies on a distinctive architecture: two membranes, one tucked inside the other, separated by a narrow gap called the intermembrane space (IMS). This tiny space helps sustain the chemistry of energy production, making its organization critical to how these cellular powerpacks function. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-uncover-molecular-pillars-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Oct 2026 14:40:05 EDT news711976829 Molecular machines are regarded as the next step in miniaturization. Their models can be found in living cells, where molecular motors convert energy and generate movement. Scientists have been working for decades to artificially replicate such systems. The 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for this research. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-archimedes-molecule-motor-powered-electric.html Nanophysics Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:40:01 EDT news711972181 In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from The University of Manchester and Lancaster University have isolated and characterized uranocenium, the positively charged form of a landmark uranium compound called uranocene. The work shows that this long-sought molecule is stable, and that it behaves in a way that challenges how chemists usually think about bonding in heavy elements. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-elusive-uranium-sandwich-molecule-isolated.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:00:12 EDT news711969002 Researchers have observed a molecule in the first instants after it has absorbed light and tracked the coordinated motion of electrons and nuclei with a temporal resolution of three femtoseconds. This is the result achieved by an international research group led by the Politecnico di Milano, which has developed a new apparatus for studying ultrafast photochemical processes. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-ultrafast-pulses-track-molecular-motion.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:00:02 EDT news711904681 A joint research team fabricated a two-dimensional structure that exhibits properties of both the honeycomb and Kagome lattices using organic molecules. They discovered that edge states specific to topological materials (states that exist only at the edges and are distinct from those in the interior) appear in this structure. The team included researchers from NIMS, Toyota Kosen (National Institute of Technology, Toyota College), Saga University, Nara Women's University, Kiel University (Germany) and other institutions. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-supramolecular-route-quantum-materials.html Nanophysics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:00:20 EDT news711903242 New research started with a special material that behaves unusually when it's extremely cold—135 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 93 degrees Celsius), close to the most frigid temperature ever recorded in Antarctica—and showed that the unusual behavior could be extended to well above room temperature—up to about 135 F (57 degrees Celsius), close to the highest heat ever measured in Death Valley, California. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-amino-acid-stabilizes-material-quantum.html Nanophysics Thu, 22 Oct 2026 17:40:13 EDT news711902942 A protein discovered in a Virginia Tech–led study may open a gateway to treatments for a parasite responsible for a deadly disease in immunocompromised people. The team led by Raj Gaji, assistant professor of parasitology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine working in the Center for One Health Research, identified a protein the team named DDP that helps Toxoplasma gondii build its offspring. When researchers switched it off, the parasites stopped multiplying entirely. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-parasite-humanity-key-protein-disabled.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 22 Oct 2026 16:00:01 EDT news711900927 A polymer science revelation about how liquid mixtures separate could have major implications for human health, metabolism and disease, new research indicates. In a brief report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME) Professor Matthew Tirrell and Freie Universität Berlin Professor Matthias Ballauff revealed previously overlooked factors at play in the separation of charged polyelectrolyte polymers in water, challenging assumptions that have dominated the field since the 1950s. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-clustering-polymers-assumptions.html Biochemistry Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:40:10 EDT news711900481 In this Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope, we visit a turbulent cauldron of star formation to see what is brewing inside dense clumps of gas. This is a star-forming region named LHA 120-N 159, or simply N159, located 161,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way galaxy. This image spans about 230 light-years across. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-webb-image-reveals-young-stars.html Astronomy Thu, 22 Oct 2026 13:40:01 EDT news711892283 Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum have partnered with colleagues in Göttingen, Berlin, Paris and Essen to develop new optogenetic tools that can selectively inhibit cellular activity through light. These tools could help investigate diseases in which the balance between excitation and inhibition is disrupted, such as cardiac arrhythmias. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-optogenetic-tool-inhibits-neurons-heart.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 19:20:01 EDT news711814801 Whenever a cell divides, it has to split its chromosomes perfectly between two daughter cells, and even a single mistake can be disastrous. Now, researchers from Japan have found that one of the key structures that makes this possible takes a surprising shape: a hollow sphere. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-chromosome-anchors-hollow-shells-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:19 EDT news711712921 Scientists have proposed what they believe is the first method for detecting "mirror life"—a hypothetical form of life made from molecular building blocks that are the mirror image of those found naturally on Earth. Researchers at the University of Strathclyde and the Department of Chemistry at Durham University have outlined a new approach that could identify mirror organisms using molecules which emit left- and right-handed light. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-based-method-hypothetical-mirror-life.html Biotechnology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 12:00:14 EDT news711798483 Just like gloves, molecules can have left- and right-handed—or mirror-image—forms. Because the left- and right-handed molecules are still very similar, scientists have had trouble separating them from each other. But a team of researchers in Japan might have found a solution. In their new study, published in Science Advances, the team successfully separated an equal mixture of mirror-image molecules created by replacing hydrogen with deuterium in one form. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-mirror-image-molecules-difficult-counterparts.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:50:01 EDT news711800710 Many structures in biology are bounded by membranes, but not all of them. Droplets of a liquid called a coacervate, which form when oppositely charged molecules come together in water, have attracted attention as models for membraneless compartments inside cells and for "protocells," hypothetical primitive cells that may have preceded modern ones. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-liquid-membranes-flex-easily-cell.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:20:14 EDT news711795842 Earlier this year, an outbreak of Andes hantavirus on a cruise ship, which killed three passengers and sickened 13, highlighted the lack of approved vaccines or treatments for the virus. In a study published in Nature, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and collaborators from Institut Pasteur and LSU Health Shreveport show how the virus recognizes its target on a human cell, a finding that could lead to effective therapies against Andes virus and other hantaviruses. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-scientists-reveal-deadly-andes-hantavirus.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 21 Oct 2026 11:00:15 EDT news711712681 In the early 1980s, scientists observed an anomaly. Embedded within cell membranes, they identified ion channels with extraordinarily high conductance. These so-called "BK" (Big K, or Big Potassium) channels had roughly 10 times the unitary conductance (i.e., conductance per individual channel molecule) of other potassium channels, enabling much more efficient, rapid transport of potassium ions. And while later structural characterization explained how this happened, no one could understand why. That is, until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-current-calcium-longstanding-ion-channel.html Evolution Wed, 21 Oct 2026 05:00:06 EDT news711713221 The site of a former U.S. military base in Greenland was ice-free at a time when summers were a few degrees warmer than today, according to a new University at Buffalo–led study of ancient sediment recovered from beneath the site in the 1960s. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-forgotten-samples-greenland-cold-war.html Earth Sciences Tue, 20 Oct 2026 19:40:01 EDT news711727681 Transforming a soybean processing byproduct into a material for skin protection and repair is the prospect outlined by a study that used okara, a residue from the production of tofu and soy-based beverages, to obtain a bioactive, biodegradable, 3D-printable biomaterial. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-soybean-yields-3d-printable-material.html Biochemistry Tue, 20 Oct 2026 18:20:12 EDT news711726241 Scientists have long been interested in cellular nanodiscs, tiny particles made from natural cell membranes that mimic many of the functions of living cells. While previous studies demonstrated the therapeutic potential of nanodiscs for drug delivery, detoxification and vaccines, one fundamental question remained unanswered: How does size influence how well they work? https://phys.org/news/2026-10-supercomputer-reveals-size-future-nanomedicine.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:20:05 EDT news711718502 Catalysts spur chemical reactions used across industries, from producing fuels and medicines to manufacturing chemicals and treating pollutants. Improving their performance requires understanding where and how reactions happen on their surfaces. However, conventional measurements average the activity of many catalyst particles, concealing local differences that could hold clues to designing more effective materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-fluorescent-reaction-reveal-catalyst-conditions.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 20 Oct 2026 15:50:06 EDT news711728102 Light is one of the most powerful tools scientists have for probing matter. By interacting with electrons, light reveals how atoms, molecules and materials are structured and how they evolve in time. Highly energetic ultraviolet and X-ray photons are particularly attractive because they can access electrons located close to atomic nuclei, where each chemical element carries its own distinctive electronic fingerprint. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-electrons-extreme-ultraviolet-team-quantum.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 20 Oct 2026 14:00:31 EDT news711713761 A research team led by distinguished professor Giuseppe Pezzotti at the Biomedical Engineering Center, Kansai Medical University (Japan), has demonstrated that differences in the molecular structures of viral RNA can be captured as "Raman barcodes," enabling the identification of 20 SARS-CoV-2 variants and subvariants. These findings are expected to contribute to the development of a rapid method for identifying newly emerging viral variants. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-raman-barcodes-distinguish-sars-cov.html Biotechnology Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:40:27 EDT news711713502 Tiny atoms and molecules are constantly bombarding each other all around us. While we regularly measure the large-scale effects of these interactions, measuring the effect of each individual collision is far more difficult. But now, researchers have managed to measure how tiny gas particles affect a single silica particle in the lab. In their new study, published in Physical Review Letters, the team describes how they detected the momentum transfers of individual collisions of gas particles with a nanoparticle levitated in laser light. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-individual-atomic-collisions-lab-potentially.html General Physics Tue, 20 Oct 2026 13:10:01 EDT news711719258 Scientists have long explored the idea of using insects as our agents in the field in places where humans won't fit or survive. Imagine a cockroach in an earthquake zone, able to skitter into the rubble to map out exactly where human chemical signatures can be found, or a grasshopper leaping through a minefield to bring back a map of the bombs based on the vapors it encountered. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-locusts-sensory-nanomaterials-chemicals.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 20 Oct 2026 10:40:07 EDT news711706419 A technology developed at The University of Queensland allowing scientists to observe how disease-related proteins behave inside living neurons will be used to advance early drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases. The NASTIC (Nanoscale Spatiotemporal Indexing Clustering) platform, spun out into Brisbane-based startup Accretion Bio, enables researchers to study real-time biological processes in living cells across space and time at the single-molecule level for the first time. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-nanoscale-tech-tracks-proteins-neurons.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 19 Oct 2026 21:00:02 EDT news711645258 Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have developed a new strategy for programming synthetic molecules to self-assemble into precisely defined three-dimensional structures. The study brings scientists a step closer to achieving the sophisticated molecular organization found in nature and could eventually open new possibilities for the development of advanced functional materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-synthetic-molecules-triple-helices-method.html Biochemistry Mon, 19 Oct 2026 18:20:01 EDT news711645182 The fusion of two cells is a decisive event in the sexual reproduction of many organisms. In fungi, cells must not only bring their membranes together and merge them, but also locally open their protective cell wall. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-enzymes-locally-block-cell-wall.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:00:08 EDT news711644461