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. For more than 25 years, lab-on-a-chip technology has allowed researchers to model human organs and blood vessels using real human cells in artificial microscopic environments. These microphysiological systems (MPS) may replicate human cells and mimic organs or even full organ systems under numerous conditions. They have become key to studying everything from heart disease to the effectiveness of new drugs. However, they have been held back by one major limitation: an inability to accurately re-create the blood flow waveforms generated by the human heart. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-recreates-human-heartbeat-blood-lab.html Biotechnology Thu, 16 Jul 2026 13:00:03 EDT news703410569 Driving an electric current through a molecule can create a magnetic field. Yet in practice, such fields are often too weak to be detected experimentally. Through theoretical modeling, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) show how quantum effects can turn single molecules into effective magnets—including one shaped like a microscopic soccer ball, just in time for the FIFA World Cup final. The findings are published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-currents-nano-soccer-ball.html Nanophysics Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:20:10 EDT news703326458 There's growing interest in alternatives to traditional burials and in making the process more environmentally friendly in many countries. For many people, it's about the environmental impact of the funeral industry globally. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-composting-cremation-eco-credentials-alternatives.html Environment Tue, 14 Jul 2026 14:20:02 EDT news703250161 Tissue engineers are finding ways to grow living organs and tissues from cells, with the aim of replacing diseased and damaged counterparts in the body. Scientists have successfully grown artificial muscles, livers, kidneys, skin and other tissues. But there's been no reliable way to engineer precisely patterned networks of blood vessels, some of which can be finer than a human hair. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-precise-artificial-blood-vessels.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:30:02 EDT news703241819 If you visit the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, on the edge of London, you will see a brightly painted skeleton of a dead oak tree. The tree, known as the climate-changed oak, succumbed in the heat wave of 2022. Instead of removing it, Kew left it in place as a reminder that climate change is already taking its toll on Britain's trees. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-british-trees-dying.html Ecology Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:00:22 EDT news702820681 Quantum computers still face limits when it comes to storing information. Researchers at ETH Zurich are now turning to mechanical vibrations rather than electromagnetic memory. Their new vibrating memory can store significantly more information in a smaller volume. Combined with a suitable computer architecture, it also enables the efficient solution of complex computational problems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-mechanical-vibrations-magnetic-memory-quantum.html General Physics Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:40:17 EDT news702807933 Researchers have found an ingenious way to make soft robots and wearable technology more than three times more powerful by harnessing the surface tension of a tiny liquid metal droplet smaller than a raindrop. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-scientists-smart-supercharge-soft-robotics.html Materials Science Mon, 06 Jul 2026 10:40:05 EDT news702550645 A few years ago, Austin Wrenn noticed something unsettling in his strawberry greenhouses at Wrenn's Farm in Zebulon, North Carolina. He was one of the first growers in the state to experience losses from an unexpected, aggressive fungal pathogen known as Neopestalotiopsis, or Neo-P. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-emerging-threat-strawberry-crops.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 03 Jul 2026 10:00:07 EDT news702287003 In the development of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, cancer, Ebola and dengue, numerous chemical reactions take place within and between cells that contribute to disease progression. These changes can occur in less than the blink of an eye—within microseconds or faster—making them difficult to analyze. Quantum sensing offers a way to monitor these changes, helping researchers determine when, where and how rapid biological processes occur. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-biosensor-rapid-invisible-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 22 Jun 2026 21:40:02 EDT news701338909 Our body contains an intricate system of tiny vessels through which blood, water and other molecules flow. When the size of the pipes shrinks to the nanoscale, where only a few molecules can fit side by side, the classical laws of physics governing the behavior of water are influenced by the atomic structure of the walls. "It's not that classical hydrodynamics breaks down, but rather that it gets mixed with the condensed matter physics of the solid walls," says Nikita Kavokine, tenure-track assistant professor and leader of the EPFL Quantum Plumbing Lab. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-quantum-molecular-plumbing-nanofluidics.html Condensed Matter Mon, 22 Jun 2026 10:00:01 EDT news701338983 Silicon chips have powered computing for half a century. Increasingly, they are also becoming platforms to read and manipulate biology at scale—recording from many neurons, reading many DNA sequences and now synthesizing DNA. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-semiconductor-chip-dna-sequences-enzymatic.html Biotechnology Wed, 17 Jun 2026 11:47:12 EDT news700915316 A research team from Tohoku University and Kyocera Corp. has developed a new magneto-optical material—a nanocomposite magnetic garnet film—that can be deposited directly onto silicon substrates while delivering a magneto-optical figure of merit four times higher than conventional polycrystalline films. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-silicon-compatible-nanocomposite-garnet-enables.html Nanophysics Tue, 16 Jun 2026 15:00:01 EDT news700829521 Most people have seen nylon listed as a material on their clothing tags, but nylon is used in an array of other products, too, including automotive parts, wire insulation and medical supplies. Unfortunately, one of the building blocks of nylon, adipic acid, is produced from petroleum-derived benzene through energy-intensive processes and has a rather high carbon footprint. However, there may be a better way to produce this ubiquitous polymer. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-years-overlooked-material-poised-reshape.html Biochemistry Sun, 14 Jun 2026 12:40:01 EDT news700402907 Since NASA's Artemis II crew members safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 10 after their record-setting mission around the moon, science teams have been busy collecting more data and combing through observations collected on the test flight. Results from these science investigations will help support safe human exploration of deep space and provide a blueprint for how future missions will conduct science on the lunar surface as NASA builds a moon base and develops an enduring human presence there. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-artemis-ii-moon-mission-earth.html Space Exploration Mon, 08 Jun 2026 21:00:03 EDT news700146841 Researchers from the University of Cambridge and GlitterinTech, a startup founded by the same research group, have unveiled a fundamentally new type of optical spectrometer that delivers laboratory-grade precision in a device small enough to be embedded in portable and wearable technologies. By rethinking how spectra are measured and processed, the team has demonstrated a spectrometer costing only around $10, operating at a centimeter scale, and capable of applications ranging from industrial quality control to real-time health care monitoring. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-spectrometer-chip-real-chemical-wearables.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 08 Jun 2026 17:40:04 EDT news700146465 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 You skip the pesticides, you remove weeds by hand, you choose heirloom seeds. Organic methods give you comfort in knowing that your vegetables are grown without excessive chemicals. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-urban-gardens-hidden-health.html Ecology Tue, 19 May 2026 14:20:03 EDT news698411821 A two-dimensional lamellar crystal composed of atomically thin layers of lead iodide (PbI2) could be used to manufacture a new generation of circuits that use light and mechanical vibrations (rather than electrons) to transmit information in the terahertz frequency range. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-inexpensive-material-compresses-paving-photonic.html Condensed Matter Tue, 05 May 2026 15:50:01 EDT news697212182 For decades, coral reefs throughout the Caribbean have been suffering from disease, pollution, overfishing and rising sea temperatures, yet most have continued to grow—until now. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-massive-marine-caribbean-coral-reefs.html Environment Tue, 05 May 2026 15:00:03 EDT news697202401 The rare earths so essential to our modern technology have become a new diplomatic weapon—used to leverage influence and wield power, reshape global alliances, and exert economic dominance. For centuries, says Boston University historian Benjamin R. Siegel, opium was used in much the same way. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-qa-legal-opium-global-opioid.html Economics & Business Fri, 01 May 2026 15:00:02 EDT news696859021 Scientists have created the first microlasers capable of detecting individual molecules and even single atomic ions, a breakthrough that could significantly advance early disease diagnosis and molecular-scale medical testing. Researchers at the University of Exeter's Living Systems Institute have published their work in Nature Photonics. The paper opens up new possibilities for microlaser biosensing technology, including "lab-on-a-chip" technology capable of instant medical testing and diagnosis. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-microlasers-capable-individual-molecules-ions.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 25 Mar 2026 06:00:05 EDT news693565580 Animal studies often fail to predict human tissue responses to new drugs or newly developed therapies. Besides generating tremendous costs for clinical studies, it also raises significant ethical concerns. Therefore, novel approaches to mimicking natural human environments like vascular system growth control, are broadly developed to deliver a reproducible model to test novel drugs. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-magnetic-fields-lab-grown-blood.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 19 Mar 2026 18:50:02 EDT news693147081 The COVID-19 pandemic brought messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines to the forefront of global health care. After their clinical trial stages, the first COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was administered on 8 December 2020 and mathematical models suggest that mRNA vaccines prevented at least 14.4 million deaths from COVID-19 in the first year alone. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dna-origami-vaccine-rivals-mrna.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:40:01 EDT news692459881 Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a chip-scale device that can dynamically control the "handedness" of light as it passes through—also known as its optical chirality—with a simple twist of two specially designed photonic crystals. The study is published in the journal Optica. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-bilayer-photonic-crystals-dynamically-tune.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 11 Mar 2026 15:30:06 EDT news692460662 How do you make the complex reality of chips and electronics accessible to a broad audience? TU/e researcher Elles Raaijmakers believes an educational game can do just that. In the game I.C. Tycoon (working title), players take on the role of chip designer and manufacturer. They work for demanding clients and solve problems that are surprisingly close to reality. The project is led by postdoc Raaijmakers, under the guidance of experienced TU/e professor Peter Baltus. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-logic-science-tangible-classroom.html Education Thu, 19 Feb 2026 08:54:21 EST news690713641 Imagine a "smart fluid" whose internal structure can be rearranged just by changing temperature. In a new study published in Matter, researchers report a way to overcome a long-standing limitation in a class of "smart fluids" called nematic liquid crystal microcolloids, allowing for reconfigurable self-assembly of micrometer-sized particles dispersed in a nematic liquid crystal host. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-smart-fluid-reconfigured-temperature.html Optics & Photonics Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:20:23 EST news690553201 Researchers led by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Savaş Taşoğlu from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Koç University have developed a new, open-access and machine learning-assisted design tool aimed at automating microfluidic chip design. The research is published in Science Advances. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-automating-microfluidic-chip-hybrid-approach.html Biotechnology Mon, 02 Feb 2026 17:17:43 EST news689275021 Researchers at the University of Basel and the ETH in Zurich have succeeded in changing the polarity of a special ferromagnet using a laser beam. In the future, this method could be used to create adaptable electronic circuits with light. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-laser-flips-ferromagnet-polarity-material.html Condensed Matter Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:00:26 EST news688731602 Over Christmas, vegetables, bananas and insulation foam washed up on beaches along England's southeast coast. They were from 16 containers spilled by the cargo ship Baltic Klipper in rough seas. In the new year, a further 24 containers fell from two vessels during Storm Goretti, with chips and onions among the goods appearing on the Sussex shoreline. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-onions-chips-england-south-coast.html Environment Sat, 24 Jan 2026 15:20:01 EST news688375208 Skoltech researchers and their colleagues from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, Nanjing University of China, and the National Institute for Materials Science of Japan have developed a method for depositing organic molecules on a two-dimensional semiconductor in a highly controlled manner. In this proof-of-concept study, the technique uses self-assembled DNA origami nanostructures to carry organic dye molecules in a predefined pattern covered by a 2D semiconductor. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-dna-origami-enables-precise-patterning.html Nanophysics Sat, 24 Jan 2026 10:00:06 EST news688298393