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. Danqing Liu from Eindhoven University of Technology explores how interactions with digital systems can be improved through the sense of touch. To achieve this, she develops advanced liquid crystal polymers that respond to light. Her work has recently been published in two scientific journals, Science Advances and Matter & Light. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-artificial-human-gestures-memory-written.html Polymers Fri, 10 Jul 2026 12:40:03 EDT news702897186 A new study from an interdisciplinary German research collaboration, led by the Haptic Intelligence Department at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (MPI-IS), reveals the secret to the gentle dexterity of the elephant trunk. The 1,000 whiskers that cover an elephant's trunk have unusual material properties that highlight where contact happens along each whisker, giving elephants an amazing sense of touch that compensates for their thick skin and poor eyesight. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-elephant-trunk-whiskers-material-intelligence.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Feb 2026 14:00:07 EST news690089135 Mechanoluminescent (ML) materials are attractive for haptic interface sensors for next-generation technologies, including bite-controlled user interface, health care motion monitoring, and piconewton sensing, because they emit light under mechanical stimulation without an external power source. However, their intrinsically broad emission spectra can degrade resolution and introduce noise in sensing applications, necessitating further technological development. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-mechanoluminescent-sensors-dual-function-polymer.html Polymers Fri, 07 Nov 2025 12:57:43 EST news681742659 The frequency and length of daily phone use continues to rise, especially among young people. It's a global concern, driving recent decisions to ban phones in schools in Canada, the United States and elsewhere. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-smartphones-emotions-trigger-reflexes-addicted.html Social Sciences Tue, 07 Oct 2025 12:37:07 EDT news679059422 For blind dogs, everyday life can become an obstacle course of collisions and confusion. Traditional solutions, like rigid "halo" frames and Elizabethan cones, can be bulky and uncomfortable, making it harder for pets to socialize and play. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-leash-life-students-haptic-vest.html Veterinary medicine Wed, 28 May 2025 13:34:31 EDT news667658054 Since the recent explosion of widely available generative artificial intelligence (AI), it now seems that a new AI tool emerges every week. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-ai-audio-description-accurate-people.html Social Sciences Wed, 21 May 2025 09:44:05 EDT news667039442 Carlotta Rigotti, post-doc researcher at eLaw—Center for Law and Digital Technologies, and Professor Clare McGlynn, Durham University, have co-authored a new article in the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, introducing the concept of meta-rape and exploring its potential treatment under criminal law. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-explores-criminal-law-sexual-violence.html Social Sciences Mon, 28 Apr 2025 16:56:02 EDT news665078161 Imagine if a doctor could remotely do a non-invasive, highly precise medical procedure on her patients using a tiny robot, or microrobot. With a device researchers from SMU and George Washington University created, that is one step closer to reality. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-magnetic-tweezers-robotic-surgery-safer.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 26 Mar 2025 12:37:04 EDT news662211422 Rochester Institute of Technology students are using a new technology to capture an old experience. Their virtual reality app simulates printing on a 19th-century cast iron hand-press that once belonged to British designer William Morris. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-19th-century-life-steam-vr.html Education Thu, 20 Feb 2025 13:25:12 EST news659280304 Sound plays a significant and often poignant part of skateboarders' relationship with their sport, a new study published in Sport in Society shows. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-primary-issue-skateboarders.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jan 2025 12:53:03 EST news657550381 In the past, spaceflight was the preserve of government-funded astronauts who had to meet stringent physical, cognitive, psychological and social requirements for selection. But in recent years, that has all been changing. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-world-disabled-astronaut-doesnt-space.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Nov 2024 11:41:04 EDT news649680061 The next step for fully integrated textile-based electronics to make their way from the lab to the wardrobe is figuring out how to power the garment gizmos without unfashionably toting around a solid battery. Researchers from Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Accenture Labs in California have taken a new approach to the challenge by building a full textile energy grid that can be wirelessly charged. In their recent study, the team reported that it can power textile devices, including a warming element and environmental sensors that transmit data in real-time. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-clothesline-grid-mxene-nanomaterials-enable.html Nanomaterials Thu, 31 Oct 2024 14:30:04 EDT news649603802 Teleoperated robots for gathering moon dust are a step closer, according to research by scientists at the University of Bristol. The researchers presented their paper "Demonstrating Trustworthiness in Open-Loop Model Mediated Teleoperation for Collecting Lunar Regolith Simulant" at IROS 2024 (IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems). https://phys.org/news/2024-10-simulate-moon-teleoperated-robots.html Space Exploration Wed, 16 Oct 2024 10:30:36 EDT news648293429 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 This week, researchers reported on the implications of a warp drive containment breach in case you're interested in theoretical space-borne disasters. Scientists in the U.K. report the cardiovascular benefits of COVID-19 vaccination in an extremely thorough analysis of basically the entire adult population of England. And the American Cancer Society is out with numbers related to rising cancer risk in younger generations in the U.S. So it's not all good news. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-saturday-citations-warp-disasters-cancer.html Other Sat, 03 Aug 2024 09:00:01 EDT news641831721 The lab of University of Virginia systems engineer Gregory J. Gerling recently made a discovery on a touchy subject: why women generally seem to have a more acute sense of touch than men. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-finger-men-women-differently.html Other Wed, 31 Jul 2024 16:25:57 EDT news641661946 A team of researchers led by the University of California San Diego has developed a soft, stretchy electronic device capable of simulating the feeling of pressure or vibration when worn on the skin. This device, reported in a paper published in Science Robotics, represents a step towards creating haptic technologies that can reproduce a more varied and realistic range of touch sensations. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-soft-stretchy-electrode-simulates-sensations.html Nanomaterials Fri, 28 Jun 2024 11:28:20 EDT news638792874 Knitting, the age-old craft of looping and stitching natural fibers into fabrics, has received renewed attention for its potential applications in advanced manufacturing. Far beyond their use for garments, knitted textiles are ideal for designing and fabricating emerging technologies like wearable electronics or soft robotics—structures that need to move and bend. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-physicists-decode-mechanics-materials-applications.html General Physics Tue, 04 Jun 2024 11:10:25 EDT news636718222 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 Space coiling acoustic metamaterials are static and require manual reconfiguration for sound-field modulation. In a new report published in Communications Materials, Christabel Choi, and a team of scientists in computer science and engineering in the U.K., and Italy, developed an approach for active reconfiguration with standalone dynamics to space-coil unit cells known as dynamic meta-bricks. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-magnetically-actuated-acoustic-metamaterial.html Materials Science Wed, 10 Jan 2024 10:00:01 EST news624103021 The sixth mass extinction is currently happening on Earth. Rapid biodiversity loss is affecting every corner of the globe, as species of plants, mammals, fish, and reptiles disappear due to the changing climate. While much of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss looks grim, a group of researchers has recently highlighted some of the newest tools being used to address it. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-tools-wildlife.html Plants & Animals Thu, 07 Sep 2023 11:02:36 EDT news613303351 As Meta (formerly Facebook) expands access to its virtual reality (VR) platform, disturbing accounts of women being sexually assaulted and harassed in its metaverse are also racking up. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-sexual-assault-metaverse-bigger-problem.html Social Sciences Fri, 22 Jul 2022 11:25:03 EDT news577707901 UCLA materials scientists and colleagues at the nonprofit scientific research institute SRI International have developed a new material and manufacturing process for creating artificial muscles that are stronger and more flexible than their biological counterparts. https://phys.org/news/2022-07-scientists-durable-material-flexible-artificial.html Materials Science Thu, 07 Jul 2022 14:00:08 EDT news576408401 A virtual reality simulation designed by a University of Oregon (UO) professor could help spur people to environmental action. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-virtual-reality-humans-turtle-eye-view.html Plants & Animals Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:31:19 EDT news575130674 Astronauts in orbit could soon be using robots to explore lunar or planetary surfaces without having to expose themselves to the dangers of the extraterrestrial environment. A paper by Kjetil Wormnes and his colleagues based at the European Space Agency (ESA), Noordwijk, The Netherlands, published in the De Gruyter journal Open Astronomy, presents a simulated geological exploration mission in which, for the first time,astronauts in the International Space Station obtained direct haptic feedback from robots that they control on the ground, "feeling" objects that they manipulate. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-simulated-mission-astronauts-haptic-feedback.html Astronomy Tue, 01 Feb 2022 09:14:37 EST news562929274 In a weightless, microgravity environment like space, what do ability and disability look like? How can someone with partial sight or impaired mobility navigate in a confined space like the space station? As scientists and innovators continue to push the boundaries of spaceflight and the possibility of human life on other planets, how can we build space infrastructure that is inclusive of all humans? https://phys.org/news/2021-11-space-inclusive.html Space Exploration Tue, 02 Nov 2021 08:56:09 EDT news555062166 On Aug. 9, the U.N. released a dire climate report, the first since 2018, that warned of accelerated warming of the planet and splashed code red alert headlines across the world. To bring the Earth back from the brink will demand powerful collective action, the authors of the report wrote. But while the urgency of the message is growing in the public sphere, scientists, journalists, artists and creators have still so far struggled to communicate it effectively to large numbers of global citizens. Some of them are now pinning their hopes on virtual reality (VR) to get the message across. In fact, a substantial body of research from the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab has shown that using virtual reality to change human behavior works. But how does it work, and what kinds of VR experiences can most effectively reach the largest numbers of people and have the most impact? Where can these VR experiences be delivered to people? Is VR just a communication tool or can it be something more? https://phys.org/news/2021-08-virtual-reality-planet.html Environment Thu, 19 Aug 2021 08:10:05 EDT news548579053 The 22nd SpaceX cargo resupply mission carrying scientific research and technology demonstrations launches to the International Space Station from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida no earlier than June 3. Experiments aboard include studying how water bears tolerate space, whether microgravity affects symbiotic relationships, analyzing the formation of kidney stones, and more. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-spacex-crs-mission-space-station.html Space Exploration Fri, 28 May 2021 16:53:54 EDT news541439626 Although robotic devices are used in everything from assembly lines to medicine, engineers have a hard time accounting for the friction that occurs when those robots grip objects—particularly in wet environments. Researchers have now discovered a new law of physics that accounts for this type of friction, which should advance a wide range of robotic technologies. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-law-physics-humans-robots-grasp.html Materials Science Thu, 29 Apr 2021 11:00:08 EDT news538897780 Numeric anchoring is a long-established technique of marketing communication. Once a price is mentioned, that number serves as the basis for—or "anchors"—all future discussions and decisions. But new research shows that this phenomenon is not limited to decisions that involve numbers, the use and understanding of which require high-level cognitive thinking. Anchoring also biases judgments at relatively low levels of cognition when no numbers are involved. https://phys.org/news/2021-03-anchoring-biases-decisions-involving-sight.html Social Sciences Wed, 17 Mar 2021 11:18:54 EDT news535198729