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. Biofilms—bacterial communities encased in a sticky, polymer-rich matrix—can be difficult to treat because that matrix slows antibiotics and drug-carrying particles. With help from salt, though, Yale researchers have found a way to steer these particles into some biofilms and even deform the biofilm itself in certain cases. The study is published in Soft Matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-salt-drug-particles-deeper-difficult.html Biochemistry Mon, 10 Aug 2026 11:40:05 EDT news705580741 Microplastics, which are plastic particles under 5 millimeters, are a major and growing threat in both soil and water. They damage soil fertility, disrupt nutrient cycling, harm aquatic and terrestrial life, and can move through the food chain. That makes cleaning them up an urgent priority. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-swarms-tiny-robots-microplastics-soil.html Environment Sat, 08 Aug 2026 08:40:01 EDT news705161846 For the first time, researchers have discovered that the same silver (Ag) nanocatalyst operates at different reaction sites depending on whether a solid oxide cell is generating electricity or producing hydrogen. This finding introduces a new design principle for improving the performance of next-generation solid oxide cells. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-silver-nanocatalysts-reaction-sites-power.html Materials Science Sat, 08 Aug 2026 02:50:52 EDT news705376221 The explosion of new data centers being proposed and built around the U.S. has increased demand for energy to keep them powered and cooled. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up from 4% of total load in 2023. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-carbon-nanostructure-fuel-cell-catalyst.html Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:20:07 EDT news705234001 Glioblastoma is the most aggressive form of brain cancer. It's difficult to treat because tumor cells infiltrate the surrounding brain tissue, making it hard for surgeons to remove the cancer completely without damaging healthy tissue. Treatment is further complicated by the blood-brain barrier, which limits how well drugs and radiation therapy reach the brain. All these factors contribute to a five-year survival rate of only around 7%. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-nanoparticles-surgeons-destroy-brain-cancer.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:20:03 EDT news705229622 Nanoscience, which studies small objects, has a big problem. According to a team of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the field confronts a pervasive data analysis error that can give misleading insights into how these tiny objects' properties depend on their size. The team also offers a practical solution—a mathematical correction that can reveal how these materials truly behave. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-sizing-errors-true-nanoparticle-behavior.html Nanomaterials Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:00:02 EDT news705141061 Inspired by naturally occurring mats and balls of seaweed, researchers have created highly porous, superadhesive meshes capable of capturing both large and small microplastic particles—a longstanding challenge in the field. The mesh can clean microplastics from both saltwater and freshwater and is made from sustainable, widely available biopolymers. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-tangled-seaweed-size-cleaners-ocean.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 05 Aug 2026 14:00:11 EDT news705069181 A diamond-based quantum sensor inserted into a living cell can provide previously unseen levels of detail about how life works and how diseases form. "Think of it as an EKG for a single cell—a way to capture everything happening inside at once, in real time," said University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering professor Aaron Esser-Kahn. "We routinely monitor vital signs in people—heart rate, breathing, temperature—but until now, there simply hasn't been an equivalent way to take a cell's vitals." https://phys.org/news/2026-08-method-sharpen-diamond-quantum-sensors.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 04 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705065822 The interaction between X-rays and matter can be actively controlled, according to an international research team led by the University of Hamburg and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory that has succeeded in producing bright X-ray images with significantly less damage. In an article published in Nature Communications, the researchers report using ultrafast pulses that partially reverse the damage they generate. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ultrafast-ray-partially-reverse-enabling.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704979602 Researchers in the lab of Sam Peng, the Pfizer Inc.–Gerald Laubach Career Development Assistant Professor of Chemistry at MIT and a core institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have developed a super-resolution imaging technology. It allows scientists to visualize molecular structures with angstrom-level localization precision—three orders of magnitude beyond the nanometer-scale limits of standard fluorescent dyes—while simplifying the imaging process. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-microscopy-method-angstrom-scale-localization.html Nanophysics Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704556380 PFAS, otherwise known as forever chemicals, have become commonplace in numerous everyday and industrial products. At the same time, they are some of the most problematic pollutants of our times: They are extremely durable, accumulate in the environment and in organisms and can only be removed from water with difficulty. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-magnetic-nanoparticles-chemicals.html Nanomaterials Fri, 31 Jul 2026 13:20:06 EDT news704715481 What if glowing molecules could synchronize, much like fireflies flashing in unison? Researchers have discovered that molecules confined within tiny gold nanostructures can behave collectively, coordinating their interactions even under conditions where this was previously thought impossible. The finding challenges long standing assumptions about how optical coherence forms and opens new possibilities for highly sensitive sensors, molecular photonics, and future quantum technologies capable of operating at room temperature. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-molecules-cooperate-room-temperature.html Nanophysics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 18:10:02 EDT news704649001 Algae are increasingly being explored as sustainable "living factories" that can convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into renewable fuels, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other valuable products. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-redistributing-sunlight-boosts-algae-biomass.html Biochemistry Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:10:02 EDT news704647981 Plants need nitrogen fertilizers, which are usually ammonia-based. Ammonia is therefore one of the most important chemical products. However, its production is currently extremely energy-intensive. An international team from TU Wien and Soochow University in China has developed a novel catalyst that can convert nitrate from wastewater into ammonia much more efficiently than before—powered by sunlight and about 1.5 volts. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-gold-mxene-catalyst-nitrate-ammonia.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:00:08 EDT news704544061 For decades, scientists have largely relied on painstaking trial and error to coax proteins into crystalline forms. Crystallization enables scientists to determine the molecular structures of proteins, which can provide a blueprint for designing drugs, engineering enzymes and understanding disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-flexible-dna-proteins-atomically-crystals.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704473861 While headlines warn that AI could unleash future biological threats, the technology also offers our best defense: a way to anticipate viral evolution and stress-test treatments. Rather than waiting for SARS-CoV-2 to mutate and outrun our immune system, my colleagues and I at École Normale Supérieure and Institut Pasteur built EscapeMap. Published in Cell Systems, our framework generates highly mutated, functional viral proteins to evaluate therapeutics against future evolutionary trajectories long before those mutations surface in the real world. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-sars-cov-variants-prevalent.html Biotechnology Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news704454474 Cancer cells survive by hiding from the immune system's surveillance. A KAIST research team has developed a new anticancer platform that makes cancer cells send out their own danger signals—prompting immune cells to attack—while simultaneously delivering gene therapy. The approach is expected to offer a new treatment strategy that combines cancer immunotherapy and gene therapy in a single nanoparticle. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-helical-nanoparticles-trigger-cancer-alarms.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 28 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704448901 All cells in the human body—and the motions they enable, from our beating hearts to our wiggling toes—use energy generated by a molecule called ATP. Its energy is thought to be released to fuel cellular processes in only one way: when ATP's decomposition is initiated by an enzyme, a specific type of protein. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-natural-molecule-cellular-energy.html Biotechnology Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news704032756 Photographs can reveal things that are otherwise impossible for the naked eye to see, be they distant galaxies or microscopic cells. Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University have developed a practical and versatile imaging technique that makes another usually invisible phenomenon visible: surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs), light waves that travel along metal surfaces. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-dots-reveal-hidden-metal.html Nanophysics Fri, 24 Jul 2026 14:40:07 EDT news704113602 Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most common form of head and neck cancer, and the number of new cases is predicted to rise by 30% in the next decade. Despite decades of cancer research, treating OSCC remains a challenge. The five-year survival rate is approximately 50%, and standard treatments such as ablative surgery and radiation often leave patients with permanent disfigurement or profound, lifelong impairment of essential oral functions such as speaking and swallowing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-lipid-nanoparticles-resistant-oral-tumors.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:00:02 EDT news704019430 Researchers at the University of Twente have developed an optical method that follows the shape changes of a single protein in liquid without attaching anything to it. It reads the protein's structure from its own molecular vibrations, free from the labels or tags that other techniques rely on. The method could help researchers study how proteins respond to drugs, toxins and other biomolecules. The paper is published in the journal ACS Nano. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-optical-method-proteins-shift.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2026 15:20:01 EDT news703943222 In a promising development for cancer treatment, a collaborative research team has overcome two issues that have prevented photothermal therapy, a much less invasive treatment option than surgery and/or radiation, from becoming more common. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-combined-nanoparticle-internal-laser-method.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 22 Jul 2026 11:20:07 EDT news703935118 For decades, water utilities have relied on giant tanks filled with ion-exchange resin beads to remove perchlorate, a harmful industrial pollutant, from drinking water. The system works by attracting negatively charged perchlorate ions to positively charged resin beads, allowing purified water to flow out of the tanks. But the process leaves behind a difficult problem: resin beads loaded with perchlorate that must be regenerated or disposed of as hazardous waste. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ruthenium-nanoparticles-captured-perchlorate-harmless.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 21 Jul 2026 19:40:01 EDT news703865297 The immune system, the body's defense network against infections and injuries, can sometimes become too active. In these cases, it can produce too many immune mediators, fragments of genetic material or proteins that regulate immune responses. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-nanoparticles-immune-molecules-blood.html Bio & Medicine Sat, 18 Jul 2026 13:40:01 EDT news703402994 Pancreatic cancer is considered one of the deadliest cancers because it is often diagnosed late and is difficult to treat. However, a South Korean research team has developed "smart nanoparticles" that remain hidden in normal tissue but shed their protective coating and release anticancer drugs once they reach tumor tissue. This drug delivery technology is attracting attention for its potential to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment while significantly improving treatment efficacy. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-stealth-anticancer-nanoparticles-mussel-proteins.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 15 Jul 2026 10:20:07 EDT news703326031 A research team led by Seil Kim of the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) Energy & Environmental Materials Research Division has developed an Ag–PTFE composite plating technology that produces silver coatings with greater hardness and wear resistance than conventional silver plating by stably dispersing PTFE nanoparticles in a cyanide-free acidic silver plating bath. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-harder-longer-silver-plating.html Nanomaterials Tue, 14 Jul 2026 13:00:07 EDT news703245686 As computer chips become more powerful and compact, the materials that protect them must perform better than ever. In advanced chip packaging, liquid epoxy is widely used because it can flow into tiny spaces before curing into a solid protective layer. To be effective, the material must be easy to process in its liquid state while becoming strong, stable and reliable after curing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-highly-liquid-epoxy-smaller-reliable.html Nanophysics Tue, 14 Jul 2026 08:40:01 EDT news703232968 Researchers at the Department of Materials Engineering (MatE), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and collaborators have developed a new lightweight cast aluminum alloy that is both exceptionally strong and remarkably ductile, overcoming one of the biggest challenges in the structural metallurgy of aluminum alloys. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-zirconium-tweak-stronger-aluminum-alloy.html Materials Science Mon, 13 Jul 2026 13:20:01 EDT news703161006 Materials with magnetic nanostructures have a wide range of potential applications. One area is so-called spintronics, with devices that encode information in magnetic domains. These magnetic bits can be written, read and erased in a more energy-efficient way than bits in current semiconductor devices. Spin textures and magnetic domains in such materials can be investigated using nanoscale magnetic imaging techniques. For example, photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM), coupled with a magnetically sensitive detection mechanism. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tiny-magnetic-image-spintronic-materials.html Nanophysics Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:00:03 EDT news702563676 Nanocrystals are already used in millions of devices, including televisions, laptops and displays, and are considered key materials for the next generation of quantum, sensing and solar technologies. However, they have not yet fully realized their potential. One major reason is their inherent heterogeneity: A single solution contains billions of nanocrystals whose properties can differ substantially. Although these particles can be characterized, important quality parameters are typically accessible only as average values across the entire sample. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-method-particle-quality-nanocrystal.html Nanomaterials Sun, 12 Jul 2026 08:00:02 EDT news702822051