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. Professor Kyungwho Choi's team of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University, in collaboration with Professor Jinsoo Kim's team in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kyung Hee University, have proposed a strategy that simultaneously overcomes the limitations of conventional hydrogel-based triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs)—namely low output performance, poor mechanical strength, and insufficient transparency—by utilizing biomimetic stevia. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-everyday-sweetener-powerful-transparent-stretchable.html Materials Science Mon, 11 May 2026 11:20:06 EDT news697713363 A stretchy, conductive type of plastic could help power the next generation of implantable biomedical devices, like longer-lasting pacemakers or glucose monitors, according to Enrique Gomez, professor of chemical engineering at Penn State. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-stretchy-plastics-electricity-tiny-whisker.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 23 Feb 2026 10:20:04 EST news691062601 All over the body are tiny sensors called nociceptors whose job is to spot potentially harmful stimuli and send warning signals to the brain and spinal cord, helping protect us from injury or tissue damage. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scientists-artificial-pain-receptor-intensity.html Materials Science Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:10:01 EST news687625645 "Self-driving" or "autonomous" labs are an emerging technology in which artificial intelligence guides the discovery process, helping design experiments or perfecting decision strategies. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ai-advisor-labs-creation-generation.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 18 Dec 2025 16:20:01 EST news685296797 Researchers have developed a new class of ultra-thin, flexible bioelectronic material that can seamlessly interface with living tissues. They introduced a novel device called THIN (transformable and imperceptible hydrogel-elastomer ionic-electronic nanomembrane). THIN is a membrane just 350 nanometers thick that transforms from a dry, rigid film into an ultra-soft, tissue-like interface upon hydration. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-ultra-thin-nanomembrane-device-soft.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 10 Dec 2025 05:00:03 EST news684522781 Bioelectronics, such as implantable health monitors or devices that stimulate brain cells, are not as soft as the surrounding tissues due to their metal electronic circuits. A team of scientists from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, led by associate professor Ranjita Bose, have now developed a soft polymer hydrogel that can conduct electricity as well as metal can. As the material is both flexible and soft, it is more compatible with sensitive tissues. This finding has the potential for a large number of applications, for example, in biocompatible sensors and in wound healing. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-hydrogel-mimics-brain-softness-flexible.html Biochemistry Thu, 20 Nov 2025 16:34:03 EST news682878841 Researchers have designed and demonstrated stretchable waveguides that maintain efficient, stable signal transmission of surface plasmon polaritons even when bent, twisted or stretched. These plasmonic waveguides could make it possible to seamlessly embed advanced sensing, communication and health monitoring functions into everyday wearable materials. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-stretchable-waveguides-stable-transmission-bent.html Condensed Matter Mon, 06 Oct 2025 14:28:03 EDT news678979681 Machine-learning models can speed up the discovery of new materials by making predictions and suggesting experiments. But most models today only consider a few specific types of data or variables. Compare that with human scientists who work in a collaborative environment and consider experimental results, the broader scientific literature, imaging and structural analysis, personal experience or intuition, and input from colleagues and peer reviewers. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-ai-driven-blends-literature-robotics.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:34:05 EDT news678029641 A research team has developed a next-generation display core material with excellent stretchability and superior color reproduction. The team developed a high-performance color-conversion layer that is more flexible and vivid than conventional ones. This layer was successfully applied to the development of a stretchable micro-LED display, drawing significant attention. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-quantum-dot-polymer-linking-enables.html Nanomaterials Mon, 08 Sep 2025 15:14:03 EDT news676563241 Over the past decades, computer scientists have developed increasingly sophisticated sensors and machine learning algorithms that allow computer systems to process and interpret images and videos. This tech-powered capability, also referred to as machine vision, is proving to be highly advantageous for the manufacturing and production of food products, drinks, electronics, and various other goods. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-retina-photodiodes-advance-machine-vision.html Nanophysics Wed, 27 Aug 2025 07:00:02 EDT news675345373 A new review highlights a powerful, cleaner route to produce ultra-clean, customizable nanoparticles—key building blocks for artificial sensory systems that mimic human perception and power emerging technologies like extended reality (XR) and advanced human–machine interfaces. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-laser-generated-nanoparticles-cleaner-smarter.html Nanophysics Mon, 21 Jul 2025 12:30:02 EDT news672316993 Over time, scar tissue slows or stops implanted bioelectronics. But new interdisciplinary research could help pacemakers, sensors and other implantable devices keep people healthier for longer. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-semiconducting-polymer-strategies-scar-tissue.html Polymers Tue, 06 May 2025 15:42:06 EDT news665764923 Sunburns and aging skin are obvious effects of exposure to harmful UV rays, tobacco smoke and other carcinogens. But the effects aren't just skin deep. Inside the body, DNA is literally being torn apart. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-supercomputer-molecular-blueprint-dna.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 12 Mar 2025 17:33:05 EDT news661019581 Researchers in the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have used machine learning and supercomputer simulations to investigate how tiny gold nanoparticles bind to blood proteins. The studies discovered that favorable nanoparticle-protein interactions can be predicted from machine learning models that are trained from atom-scale molecular dynamics simulations. The new methodology opens ways to simulate the efficacy of gold nanoparticles as targeted drug delivery systems in precision nanomedicine. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-machine-supercomputer-simulations-interactions-gold.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 18 Nov 2024 15:36:58 EST news651166606 A perfect combination of fiber optics and micro/nanotechnology, optical micro/nanofiber (MNF) is a new type of micro/nano-waveguide structure developed in recent years. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-advances-optical-micronanofiber-enabled-tactile.html Nanophysics Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:39:03 EDT news644240341 Flexible electronic devices based on electrospun nanofiber membranes (ENM) are attracting significant attention due to their high biocompatibility and excellent mechanical performance. However, patterning conductive materials on fiber substrates typically requires expensive vacuum equipment or additional processes to create separate masks. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-mechanical-stability-nanofiber-based-bioelectrodes.html Nanomaterials Wed, 07 Aug 2024 04:11:32 EDT news642222688 Researchers at Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT) and BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd. (BOE) have developed a novel type of transparent organic–inorganic hybrid photoresist with highly tunable refractive index. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-transparent-organicinorganic-hybrid-photoresist-enables.html Nanophysics Wed, 12 Jun 2024 14:04:26 EDT news637419864 Flexible piezoelectric sensors are essential to monitor the motions of both humans and humanoid robots. However, existing designs are either costly or have limited sensitivity. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-electrospun-nanofibers-flexible-piezoelectric-sensors.html Nanomaterials Wed, 12 Jun 2024 10:54:44 EDT news637408481 Engineered protein filaments originally produced by bacteria have been modified by scientists to conduct electricity. In a study published recently in the journal Small, researchers revealed that protein nanowires—which were modified by adding a single compound—can conduct electricity over short distances and harness energy from moisture in the air. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-bacteria-nanowires-green-electronics.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 29 Apr 2024 10:30:01 EDT news633604852 Canada's first robotic cafe, RC Coffee, opened in Toronto in October 2020. The flagship location of the coffee chain revived the long-dormant retail concept of the automat: a restaurant where food and drinks are served by technology, rather than human staff. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-robo-retail-left-automated.html Social Sciences Thu, 15 Feb 2024 12:23:01 EST news627222179 Carbon nanostructures could become easier to design and synthesize thanks to a machine learning method that predicts how they grow on metal surfaces. The new approach, developed by researchers at Japan's Tohoku University and China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University, will make it easier to exploit the unique chemical versatility of carbon nanotechnology. The method was published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-machine-carbon-nanotechnology.html Nanomaterials Wed, 31 Jan 2024 09:44:03 EST news625916642 A recent study published in Nature Electronics discusses stretchable graphene–hydrogel interfaces for wearable and implantable bioelectronics. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-laser-graphene-extremely-temperatures-ultrathin.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 11 Jan 2024 13:01:40 EST news624200497 Researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a neural implant that provides information about activity deep inside the brain while sitting on its surface. The implant is made up of a thin, transparent and flexible polymer strip that is packed with a dense array of graphene electrodes. The technology, tested in transgenic mice, brings the researchers a step closer to building a minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) that provides high-resolution data about deep neural activity by using recordings from the brain surface. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-transparent-brain-implant-deep-neural.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 11 Jan 2024 05:00:01 EST news624125007 Formed by the coupling effect of contact electrification and electrostatic induction, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) effectively convert the most widely distributed micro-nano energy in our environment, including human motion, breeze, vibration, and rainfall, into electrical energy, providing a sustainable solution to power a plethora of sensors that the current battery supply failed to address. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-tribotronics-prospects-functional-devices-self-powered.html Nanophysics Tue, 17 Oct 2023 11:02:03 EDT news616759321 Australian researchers have developed a molecular-sized, more efficient version of a widely used electronic sensor, in a breakthrough that could bring widespread benefits. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-electronic-sensor-size-molecule-potential.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:10:46 EDT news615546640 A group of researchers has unearthed the secrets behind a tiny but crucial protein that shuttles zinc ions (Zn2+) within our bodies. The discovery offers a deeper understanding of how our cells maintain optimal health. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-advanced-technology-reveals-intricate-zinc.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:08:36 EDT news612698909 Creating novel materials by combining layers with unique, beneficial properties seems like a fairly intuitive process—stack up the materials and stack up the benefits. This isn't always the case, however. Not every material will allow energy to travel through it the same way, making the benefits of one material come at the cost of another. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-big-nanoscale-gaps.html Nanophysics Fri, 18 Aug 2023 10:14:17 EDT news611572452 Drawing inspiration from natural sensory systems, an MIT-led team has designed a novel sensor that could detect the same molecules that naturally occurring cell receptors can identify. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-sensor-mimics-cell-membrane-functions.html Biotechnology Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:00:01 EDT news609147182 Transcription factor IIH, or TFIIH, pronounced "TF two H," is a veritable workhorse among the protein complexes that control human cell activity. It plays critical roles both in transcription—the highly regulated enzymatic synthesis of RNA from a DNA template—and in the repair of damaged DNA. But how can one protein assembly participate in two such vastly different and extremely important genomic tasks? https://phys.org/news/2023-07-dna-repair-protein-complex-shapeshifter-reconfiguring.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 10 Jul 2023 11:00:04 EDT news608205601 Recent studies in emerging flexible humidity sensors have achieved great developments in advanced manufacturing methods, as well as innovative applications including human health care detection, plant health management and noncontact human-machine interfaces. Capacitive-type humidity sensors have gained much attention due to reliable humidity sensing performance, low power consumption and facile structural designs. Generally, the performance of a capacitive humidity sensor is strongly correlated with the dielectric permittivity of functional materials between sensing electrodes. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-laser-ga2o3liquid-metal-based-flexible-humidity.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 11 May 2023 09:34:20 EDT news603016458