https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Rice University An interdisciplinary team of Rice University researchers has uncovered previously unknown relationships between bacteriophages—viruses that infect bacteria—and their bacterial hosts, offering a powerful new tool for next-generation microbiome engineering. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-rna-barcoding-approach-reveals-previously.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 16 Jun 2026 18:30:01 EDT news700845781 When baseball fans watch a batter strike out with runners in scoring position, the reaction is often immediate: Shorten the swing. Put the ball in play. Stop swinging for the fences, they lament. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-mlb-tracking-baseball-debated-approach.html General Physics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 22:40:01 EDT news700151881 A team of Rice University mechanical and electrical engineering students has developed an interactive, modular rehabilitation system designed to make stroke recovery more engaging, adaptable and effective for patients at home. The project, called TacTile, was created in Rice's Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) and earned top honors at the HUFF OEDK Engineering Design Showcase, where it won first place in the Willy Revolution Award for Outstanding Innovation. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-06-students-rehab-interactive-gameplay.html Mon, 01 Jun 2026 18:20:01 EDT news699540781 Cell function is determined by how DNA is expressed into proteins. That process includes two main steps—transcription, when messenger RNA (mRNA) makes copies of active genes; and translation, when mRNA guides protein assembly. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-brain-gene-revealed-noninvasively-programmable.html Biotechnology Mon, 01 Jun 2026 17:50:03 EDT news699551881 Quantum entanglement is a state in which particles are entwined with each other. In this entwined state, the properties of one particle influence the other, even when they aren't physically close to each other. This phenomenon has often been observed in small quantum systems with only a few particles in them, where researchers can use it to store and process quantum information. Rice University professor Qimiao Si is interested in understanding and applying quantum entanglement to macroscopic systems with vast numbers of particles. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-entangle-easily-quantum-critical.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 01 Jun 2026 16:00:04 EDT news699547479 It's tricky to make an exact copy of yourself. Or at least it is for cells undergoing mitosis, where cells replicate everything inside of them, including their neatly packaged DNA, then split in half. Rice University professor Peter Wolynes is interested in how the packaged DNA, called a chromosome, changes its structure during replication, going from a ball shape to a cylinder shape that can be transported easily to the daughter cell. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chromosome-links-steady-motor-shift.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 29 May 2026 12:00:03 EDT news699268719 Chronic wounds remain a significant clinical challenge, in part because it is difficult to deliver sustained, localized immune signals that coordinate tissue repair. While cytokines play a central role in regulating inflammation and healing, conventional delivery approaches are often limited by rapid degradation and poor retention at the wound site. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-bandage-multiple-wound.html Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:04 EDT news699101641 A new chip-making technique exploits a material's crystal structure to create nanoscale patterns at room temperature directly onto hard materials used in devices, including silica. The method could make it easier to pattern chips relaying both electronic- and light-based signals, helping advance next-generation photonic and optoelectronic devices. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-stressed-crystal-nanoscale-patterns-chip.html Nanophysics Fri, 22 May 2026 11:00:07 EDT news698662022 A sheet of twisted carbon nanotubes has revealed a hidden talent scientists suspected for decades but had never managed to measure. Researchers at Rice University have created large, highly ordered films of chiral carbon nanotubes (CNTs), hollow cylinders of carbon atoms with either a left- or a right-handed twist. Measurements showed the crystalline films can convert the color of light at a rate two to three orders of magnitude greater than conventional materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-chiral-carbon-nanotube-giant-conversion.html Nanophysics Wed, 20 May 2026 12:00:05 EDT news698494921 Wolves in India, like the pack that raised Mowgli in "The Jungle Book," can often feel disconnected from both the research and storytelling of wolves. Rice University professor Lauren Hennelly is working to change that. Her research uncovers the stories that these gray wolves, along with the nearby Tibetan wolves, carry in their DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-indian-tibetan-wolves-reveal-ancient.html Plants & Animals Mon, 18 May 2026 17:30:01 EDT news698342761 A team of Rice University bioengineers has developed a new way to create highly realistic "mock" patient samples that could help accelerate the development of faster, more accessible cervical cancer screening tests for low-resource settings. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-realistic-mock-samples-cervical-cancer.html Wed, 13 May 2026 13:15:49 EDT news697896902 Researchers at Rice University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a compact, artificial intelligence-powered imaging device that could transform how clinicians detect cancer. The technology, which aims to bring high-resolution, real-time diagnostics directly to the point of care, was recently described in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-ai-powered-handheld-microscope-aims.html Tue, 12 May 2026 17:40:07 EDT news697819321 Implantable cytokine factories designed to deliver immunotherapy directly at the site of disease have taken an important step toward clinical reality. Researchers at Rice University, in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and clinical partners, have reported results from a first-in-human trial evaluating a novel cell-based platform for localized delivery of interleukin-2 (IL-2) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-human-trial-implantable-cytokine-factories.html Tue, 12 May 2026 17:20:03 EDT news697818901 A new Rice University study is shedding light on a long-debated question: Can climate variability influence the risk of armed conflict? The answer, researchers say, is yes—but in more nuanced and region-specific ways than previously understood. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-climate-patterns-violent-conflict-amplified.html Environment Mon, 11 May 2026 17:50:01 EDT news697738381 A group of Rice University students has turned a single-semester course project into a peer-reviewed research paper, demonstrating a new way to make high-performance composite materials both stronger and more resistant to catastrophic failure. The study, published in Composites Part B: Engineering, introduces an architectural approach to improving carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites, materials widely used in aerospace for their strength and light weight but known for their vulnerability to sudden, brittle failure. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-05-university-students-classroom-published-paper.html Engineering Thu, 07 May 2026 17:20:04 EDT news697392961 Glucagonlike peptide-1 (GLP-1) medications have taken over the national conversation around weight loss. From celebrity headlines to everyday conversations, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are often framed as breakthroughs and seen as powerful new tools that can help people lose significant weight. But new research from Rice University suggests the social reality may be more complicated. In some cases, using these medications may come with more judgment than not losing weight at all. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-05-glp-paradox-weight-loss-drugs.html Mon, 04 May 2026 15:40:01 EDT news697125061 Halide perovskites are gaining ground on silicon as a critical material for solar cell technologies: A new study published in the journal Science reports a method to make perovskite-based photovoltaics more durable, allowing the films to attain the desirable black phase of crystal configuration quicker and at lower temperatures while also making it harder to degrade into the inactive yellow phase. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-perovskite-solar-cells-yellow-phase.html Engineering Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:40:09 EDT news696784261 A team of researchers at Rice University has engineered a new version of a well-known multiferroic that exhibits orders of magnitude higher performance at room temperature than its parent material. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, describes a modified version of bismuth ferrite that shows a 10-fold increase in magnetization and 100-fold increase in magnetoelectric coupling compared to standard varieties. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-room-temperature-multiferroic-pave-energy.html General Physics Thu, 30 Apr 2026 09:40:06 EDT news696759841 As global demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to surge, a team of Rice University researchers has developed a faster, more energy-efficient way to recover critical minerals from spent batteries, potentially easing supply chain pressures and reducing environmental harm. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-faster-greener-method-recycle-lithium.html Engineering Mon, 27 Apr 2026 16:00:08 EDT news696523262 For most of their lives, plants get their energy from photosynthesis. But during the seed to seedling stage, when they can't absorb light just yet, they rely on other sources, like fatty acids. To process the fatty acids, plant cells, like human cells, rely on a membrane-bound compartment called the peroxisome. For people interested in studying the peroxisome, plant cells are an excellent model to use. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-crispr-untangles-gene-protein-early.html Molecular & Computational biology Mon, 27 Apr 2026 11:40:01 EDT news696504181 As space agencies and private companies look toward a sustained human presence on the moon, a fundamental challenge centers on how to build strong, durable infrastructure without hauling every material from Earth. New research from Rice University points to an unexpected solution—transforming one of the moon's most stubborn obstacles, its abrasive dust, into a valuable building resource. The study demonstrates that lunar regolith simulant, a terrestrial stand-in for the moon's fine, abrasive dust, can be used to strengthen advanced composite materials. The work, published in Advanced Engineering Materials, was also selected for the cover of the journal's latest issue. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-moon-nuisance-reshaping-humans-earth.html Space Exploration Thu, 23 Apr 2026 18:50:03 EDT news696182702 Each month during a woman's menstrual cycle, an ovary prepares 10–20 antral follicles, fluid-filled sacs that hold immature eggs, for maturation. In most cycles, only one follicle is selected to undergo maturation, eventually releasing an egg ready for fertilization. In fact, only 2–3% of natural pregnancies result in fraternal twins, or two eggs being released and fertilized. For natural pregnancies, it is most common for only one egg to be released and fertilized. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-human-pregnancies-singletons.html Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:20:09 EDT news696175501 Caring for a spouse with dementia is arguably one of the most emotionally and physically demanding roles a person can take on, but new research from Rice University suggests the experience is not defined by the diagnosis alone. It is shaped by the relationship behind it. The study, published in Biopsychosocial Science and Medicine, examines how relationship dynamics influence the mental and physical health of people caring for spouses with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hidden-factor-dementia-caregiving-stress.html Social Sciences Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:20:02 EDT news695922601 Mercury is a small, rocky planet about which researchers know relatively little. Two missions, taking readings as they passed over the planet, have revealed that Mercury is covered by an iron-poor and sulfur-rich crust. It is also reduced, a chemical state in which the substances have gained electrons. In fact, it's the most reduced planet in the solar system. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-sulfur-rich-mercury-magmas-differently.html Planetary Sciences Sun, 19 Apr 2026 15:00:01 EDT news695314716 Protein engineering is a field primed for artificial intelligence research. Each protein is made up of amino acids; to optimize a protein function, researchers modify proteins by switching out one of 20 different amino acids for another. For a protein that is just 50 amino acids in length, this leads to approximately 1.13x1065 potential combinations to test—that's 1 followed by 65 zeroes, or five times as many zeroes as a trillion has. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-protein-breakthrough-generates-10m-turbocharges.html Molecular & Computational biology Sun, 19 Apr 2026 10:00:01 EDT news695313682 Bacterial sensors usually rely on emitting light to transfer information about what they're sensing, but that method isn't practical in many settings. That's why most information transmission is done via electricity. And while electricity-emitting bacteria exist, manipulating them into useful sensors has been quite challenging. Rice University professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin's group, working in collaboration with researchers from Tufts University and Baylor College of Medicine, recently developed a flexible bioelectrical sensor system called electroactive co-culture sensing system (e-COSENS). The study is published in Nature Biotechnology. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bacteria-chemical-electricity-options.html Biotechnology Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:40:01 EDT news695650681 When NASA's Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean April 10, completing a successful Artemis II mission milestone, a critical piece of the spacecraft's safe return traced back to research at Rice University. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-power-safe-astronauts-historic-orion.html Space Exploration Tue, 14 Apr 2026 20:40:03 EDT news695404981 In a recently published paper in Science Advances, a team led by Rice University's Yong Lin Kong describes a new 3D-printing process with focused microwaves that overcomes a fundamental constraint of electronics 3D printing that has limited the field's potential for more than a decade: the inability to heat printed ink—a crucial processing step—without damaging the materials underneath. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-04-3d-electronics-focused-microwaves-redefines.html Electronics & Semiconductors Tue, 14 Apr 2026 17:00:01 EDT news695403781 Life moves in mysterious ways—and perhaps especially so for organisms that undergo dramatic shifts in levels of self-organization, such as Myxococcus xanthus. A custom-built artificial intelligence system developed by Rice University researchers helped uncover how bacterial communities organize themselves, showing that the earliest moments of a biological transition carry far more information than previously considered. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-ai-hidden-behavior-patterns-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:20:09 EDT news695376302 Materials that emit and manipulate light are at the heart of technologies ranging from solar energy to advanced imaging systems. But even in well-studied materials, some fundamental behaviors remain unexplained. Researchers at Rice University have now solved a long-standing mystery in a widely used organic semiconductor, revealing how tiny structural imperfections can actually improve how these materials work. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-tiny-crystal-defects-decades-mystery.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:30:04 EDT news695320082