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. Fluorescent dyes have long been used in biological research to identify and visualize structures within living cells. Although effective, they have several drawbacks, including altering the cells under study, limiting the number of structures that can be examined at once and reducing measurement accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-ramanomics-major-obstacle-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705240841 An international research team coordinated by Ca' Foscari University of Venice has identified the presence of indigotin—a blue dye compound—on stone pebbles dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. This molecule, derived from the leaves of Isatis tinctoria L., a biennial plant in the Brassicaceae family native to the Caucasus and commonly known as woad, was found on ground stone tools. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-blue-indigo-year-tools-paleolithic.html Archaeology Tue, 02 Sep 2025 09:37:30 EDT news676024636 Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds—including light, sound and atomic vibrations—can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-powerful-quantum-paves-phonon-based.html Condensed Matter Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:39:04 EDT news674141941 Street art takes many forms, and the vibrant murals on the Berlin Wall both before and after its fall are expressions of people's opinions. But there was often secrecy around the processes for creating the paintings, which makes them hard to preserve. Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Chemical Society have uncovered information about this historic site from paint chips by combining a handheld detector and artificial intelligence (AI) data analysis. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-uncovering-pigments-techniques-berlin-wall.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:22:04 EST news653138521 In a recent study, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena have shown how they can non-invasively and non-destructively investigate the growth and interactions of the green alga Ulva and its bacterial community using Raman spectroscopy. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-raman-spectroscopy-decodes-symbiotic-interactions.html Ecology Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:38:03 EDT news646915081 If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-evidence-stacks-poisonous-toxic-dyes.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 18 Aug 2024 05:00:01 EDT news643017314 When microscopes struggle to pick up faint signals, it's like trying to spot subtle details in a painting or photograph without your glasses. For researchers, this makes it difficult to catch the small things happening in cells or other materials. In new research, Boston University Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics, Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng, and collaborators are creating more advanced techniques to make microscopes better at seeing tiny sample details without needing special dyes. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-qa-unveiling-era-imagingengineers-breakthrough.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:17:04 EST news620925421 CÚRAM researchers at University of Galway, together with colleagues at the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology at University of Strathclyde have published work unveiling the inner workings of cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:57:11 EST news618836228 A team of archaeologists from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology, Sorbonne Universite and Conservatoire national des arts et métiers has found the oldest-known example of the use of organic red pigments to color an object—in this case, beads. In their study, reported on the open-access site PLOS ONE, the group used a variety of techniques to identify the source of red coloring on shell beads found in an Israeli cave decades ago. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-beads-israel-oldest-red-pigments.html Archaeology Thu, 26 Oct 2023 10:20:02 EDT news617533925 A new form of low-cost, 3D-printed water pollution sensor could make a splash in the world of environmental monitoring, its developers say. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-team-low-cost-3d-printed-pollution-sensor.html Nanomaterials Mon, 05 Jun 2023 10:10:05 EDT news605178596 Raman imaging offers a greater potential for detecting multiple enzyme activities than fluorescence imaging, demonstrate Tokyo Tech researchers by developing 9CN-rhodol-based activatable Raman probes using a novel mechanism for Raman signal activation. The strategy allows a synthesis of highly activatable Raman probes with high aggregation and multiplexing ability, making it a promising tool for extending the range of Raman probes for the detection of multiple enzyme activities in heterogeneous biological tissues. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-highly-sensitive-raman-probe-enzyme.html Biochemistry Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:42:04 EDT news601630922 A new platform established by researchers at the Single-Cell Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QIBEBT/CAS) improves accuracy, throughput, and stability in profiling dynamic metabolic features of cells—the basic building blocks of all life forms on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-cytometry-tool-methods-rapidly-human.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Mar 2023 09:35:04 EDT news599387701 Lasers are intense beams of colored light. Depending on their color and other properties, they can scan your groceries, cut through metal, eradicate tumors, and even trigger nuclear fusion. But not every laser color is available with the right properties for a specific job. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-strategy-ionic-liquids-laser-ease.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 19 Jan 2023 17:06:09 EST news593370362 Researchers at Duke University have developed a unique type of nanoparticle called a "nanorattle" that greatly enhances light emitted from within its outer shell. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-nanorattles-possibilities-disease.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:10:04 EDT news582307797 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 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a tiny sensor for detecting pesticides on fruit in just a few minutes. The technique, described as a proof-of-concept in a paper in the journal Advanced Science, uses flame-sprayed nanoparticles made from silver to increase the signal of chemicals. While still at an early stage, the researchers hope these nano-sensors could help uncover food pesticides before consumption. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-nano-sensor-pesticides-fruit-minutes.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 07 Jun 2022 03:10:01 EDT news573747856 A research team from Carnegie Mellon University and Columbia have combined two emerging imaging technologies to better view a wide range of biomolecules, including proteins, lipids and DNA, at the nanoscale. Their technique, which brings together expansion microscopy and stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, is detailed in Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-magnify-hidden-biological-combining-srs.html Biochemistry Wed, 18 May 2022 16:20:32 EDT news572109629 Even the smallest molecule can tell a big story. For instance, observing a single molecule can throw light on underlying biological processes in the human body. In fact, molecular imaging procedures—which are noninvasive and painless—are being used to diagnose and manage the treatment of COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-tiny-powerful-optical-imaging.html Nanophysics Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:53:10 EST news530355187 With many people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, blue jeans are a more popular wardrobe choice than ever. But most people don't think about microscopic remnants of their comfy jeans and other clothing that are shed during laundering. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology Letters have detected indigo denim microfibers not only in wastewater effluent, but also in lakes and remote Arctic marine sediments. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-widespread-footprint-blue-jean-microfibers.html Environment Wed, 02 Sep 2020 09:11:02 EDT news518256653 Imaging at the scale of a single molecule has gained much recent research interest in diverse fields of molecular biology, physics and nanotechnology. Researchers have used super-resolution microscopy to access subdiffraction resolution, but the technique does not apply for plasmonic nanoparticle dimer structures that form intense areas of field enhancement also known as plasmonic hot spots, due to plasmonic coupling (interaction between two or more plasmonic particles) and the loss of positional information. In a recent study, Matthew J. Horton and a team of interdisciplinary researchers in the NanoPhotonics Centre at the University of Cambridge, Blackett Laboratory at the Imperial College of London, and the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Birmingham, U.K., reconstructed the locations of molecules within a plasmonic hotspot with 1-nm precision. https://phys.org/news/2020-01-nanoscopy-plasmonic-nanolens.html Nanophysics Tue, 28 Jan 2020 09:30:01 EST news499340226 Biologically inspired engineering to produce biomimetic materials and scaffolds typically occurs at the micro- or nanoscale. In a new study on Science Advances, Iaroslav Petrenko and a multidisciplinary global research team, proposed the use of naturally pre-fabricated, three-dimensional (3-D) spongin scaffolds to preserve molecular detail across larger, centimeter-scale samples. During materials characterization studies, researchers require large-scale samples to test nanoscale features. The naturally occurring collagenous resource contained a fine-scale structure, stable at temperatures of up to 12000C with potential to produce up to 4 x 10 cm 3-D microfibrous and nanoporous graphite for characterization and catalytic applications. The new findings showed exceptionally preserved nanostructural features of triple-helix collagen in the turbostratic (misaligned) graphite. The carbonized sponge resembled the shape and unique microarchitecture of the original spongin scaffold. The researchers then copper electroplated the composites to form a hybrid material with excellent catalytic performance observed in both fresh water and marine environments. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-extreme-biomimetics-natural-sources-materials.html Materials Science Tue, 22 Oct 2019 06:00:01 EDT news490866987 Tailored metal nanoclusters can be actively developed in the lab to manipulate light at the subwavelength scale for nanophotonic applications. However, their precise molecular arrangement in a hotspot with fixed numbers and positions remain challenging to investigate. Weina Fang and colleagues at the school of chemistry and chemical engineering, Key Lab of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Organic Electronics and Information Displays and the Institute of Intelligent Systems in China and Germany; engineered DNA origami metamolecules with Fano resonances (DMFR) (a type of resonance scattering phenomenon), and published the results in Science Advances. The molecules precisely localized single dye molecules to produce quantified surface-enhanced Raman scattering responses (SERS). To deliver tailored plasmonic combinations, Fang et al. developed a general and programmable method by anchoring a set of large gold nanoparticles (L-AuNPs) on prescribed n-tuple (an ordered list of n elements) docking sites of super-origami DNA frameworks. https://phys.org/news/2019-10-quantizing-single-molecule-surface-raman-dna.html Nanophysics Wed, 02 Oct 2019 09:30:01 EDT news489220553 Organic solid-state lasers are essential for photonic applications, but current-driven lasers are a great challenge to develop in applied physics and materials science. While it is possible to create charge transfer complexes (i.e. electron-donor-acceptor complexes among two/more molecules or across a large molecule) with p-/n- type organic semiconductors in electrically pumped lasers, the existing difficulties arise from nonradiative loss due to the delocalized states of charge transfer (CT). In a recent report, Kang Wang and a team of researchers in the departments of chemistry, molecular nanostructure and nanotechnology in China demonstrated the enduring action of CT complexes by exciton funneling in p-type organic microcrystals with n-type doping. https://phys.org/news/2019-06-light-harvesting-semiconductor-microcrystals-wavelength-tunable-lasers.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 25 Jun 2019 09:30:02 EDT news480578764 Paper-based diagnostic tests are cheap, convenient and biodegradable. However, their use is limited by conventional dyes—which are not bright enough to show trace amounts of analyte, are prone to fading, and can be environmentally toxic. https://phys.org/news/2019-03-quantum-physics-origami-ultimate-get-well.html Analytical Chemistry Fri, 29 Mar 2019 03:05:32 EDT news473047495 As medicine and pharmacology investigate nanoscale processes, it has become increasingly important to identify and characterize different molecules. Raman spectroscopy, a technique that leverages the scattering of laser light to identify molecules, has a limited capacity to detect molecules in diluted samples because of low signal yield. https://phys.org/news/2018-01-silver-nanoparticles-spectroscopy-dimension.html Nanophysics Tue, 02 Jan 2018 12:40:01 EST news434118400 A "chemical imaging" system that uses a special type of laser beam to penetrate deep into tissue might lead to technologies that eliminate the need to draw blood for analyses including drug testing and early detection of diseases such as cancer and diabetes. https://phys.org/news/2017-04-volumetric-imaging-method-reveals-chemical.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 27 Apr 2017 16:42:39 EDT news412530141 Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology have found a material used for decades to color food items ranging from corn chips to ice creams could potentially have uses far beyond food dyes. https://phys.org/news/2017-03-confined-liquid-crystals-simple-route.html Condensed Matter Fri, 24 Mar 2017 20:20:02 EDT news409605593 Tiny carbon dots have, for the first time, been applied to intracellular imaging and tracking of drug delivery involving various optical and vibrational spectroscopic-based techniques such as fluorescence, Raman, and hyperspectral imaging. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have demonstrated, for the first time, that photo luminescent carbon nanoparticles can exhibit reversible switching of their optical properties in cancer cells. https://phys.org/news/2017-02-luminescence-switchable-carbon-nanodots-intracellular.html Nanophysics Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:24:09 EST news406214629 A highly sensitive chemical sensor based on Raman spectroscopy and using nitrogen-doped graphene as a substrate was developed by an international team of researchers working at Penn State. In this case, doping refers to introducing nitrogen atoms into the carbon structure of graphene. This technique can detect trace amounts of molecules in a solution at very low concentrations, some 10,000 times more diluted than can be seen by the naked eye. https://phys.org/news/2016-07-ultrasensitive-sensor-n-doped-graphene.html Nanomaterials Fri, 22 Jul 2016 14:00:03 EDT news388402772 By "crumpling" to increase the surface area of graphene-gold nanostructures, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have improved the sensitivity of these materials, opening the door to novel opportunities in electronics and optical sensing applications. https://phys.org/news/2015-11-crumpling-hybrid-nanostructures-sers-sensitivity.html Nanomaterials Wed, 04 Nov 2015 12:39:18 EST news365863020