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. Graphene, the "wonder material," has shaped much of Suprem Das's research career. From nano-manufacturing to advanced printing for applications such as sensing and energy, Das is committed to finding graphene solutions with real-world impact. Das and his team manufacture graphene in the form of printable ink for various applications. https://phys.org/news/2026-06-nanoscale-phosphate-electrochemical-sensor.html Bio & Medicine Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:00:01 EDT news699770221 Researchers at Kumamoto University have discovered that a purely inorganic crystal grown from water solution can emit circularly polarized light, a special form of light whose "handedness" distinguishes left from right. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-bulk-inorganic-crystals-grown-emit.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 14 Jan 2026 14:33:27 EST news687623581 We all scream for ice-cream, especially as temperatures soar in the summer. Ancient civilizations had the same desire for a cold, sweet treat to cope with heat waves. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-scoop-year-history-ice-cream.html Archaeology Fri, 02 Jan 2026 11:30:03 EST news686575400 Farmers are under pressure. Fertilizer costs have soared in recent years. Tariffs are increasing equipment costs and cutting Canadian farmers off from key foreign markets. And climate change is bringing its own set of challenges. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-precision-agriculture.html Biotechnology Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:50:01 EDT news677939535 Ephemeral desert rivers known as wadis—lifelines for biodiversity and water in some of the world's driest landscapes—are being dangerously constricted by human activity, new research has found. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-human-oman-fragile-rivers-scientists.html Earth Sciences Tue, 23 Sep 2025 12:11:03 EDT news677848261 The TV series Alien:Earth has introduced a number of new creatures to the much loved, albeit terrifying, Alien franchise. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-alien-earth-realistic-extraterrestrials-experts.html Astrobiology Thu, 11 Sep 2025 10:44:05 EDT news676806242 In a leap forward for solar fuel technology, researchers from Japan have developed nanosized, porous oxyhalide photocatalysts (Pb2Ti2O5.4F1.2) that achieved record performance in producing hydrogen from water and converting carbon dioxide to formic acid using sunlight, outperforming previous oxyhalide catalysts by ~60 times. This breakthrough offers a scalable, eco-friendly approach to solar fuel production and highlights the importance of controlling particle size and structure to enhance efficiency. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-nano-photocatalyst-milestone-solar-fuel.html Nanomaterials Wed, 30 Jul 2025 08:59:04 EDT news673084742 Abscisic acid (ABA), a key environmental response hormone, strongly inhibits seed germination and serves as a central regulator in this process. While significant progress has been made in deciphering the molecular mechanisms of ABA-mediated germination suppression, the potential specificity of ABA signaling and seed germination regulation under specific environmental conditions remains unclear. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-nitrate-hormone-inhibition-boost-seed.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:21:02 EDT news662386861 Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a method that can track chemical changes in molten salt in real time—helping to pave the way for the deployment of molten salt reactors for energy production. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-laser-breakdown-spectroscopy-real-chemical.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 19 Mar 2025 11:46:03 EDT news661603561 Developing greener alternatives for industrial chemicals that have a smaller impact on the environment isn't always straightforward. In fact, engineering environmentally friendly compounds usually involves tradeoffs: eco-friendly characteristics often come at the expense of other unfavorable properties, like chemical instability, for a specific application and condition. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-cocrystallization-mitigate-troublesome-chemical-properties.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 03 Feb 2025 11:42:04 EST news657805321 From the RMS Titanic to the SS Endurance, shipwrecks offer valuable—yet swiftly deteriorating—windows into the past. Conservators slowly dry marine wooden artifacts to preserve them, but doing so can inflict damage. To better care for delicate marine artifacts, researchers in ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering developed a new hydrogel that quickly neutralizes harmful acids and stabilizes waterlogged wood from an 800-year-old shipwreck. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-hydrogel-waterlogged-wood-shipwrecks.html Polymers Tue, 03 Dec 2024 11:48:02 EST news652448881 Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants' capacity to reproduce, according to an article published in the American Journal of Botany describing a study of this mechanism in Chamaecrista latistipula, a legume belonging to the Fabaceae family, which includes beans and peas. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-presence-bacteria-soil-pollinators.html Plants & Animals Thu, 26 Sep 2024 16:22:04 EDT news646586522 A combination of X-ray absorption spectroscopy and computational methods has revealed the unique bonding environment of potassium associated with organic acids. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-unraveling-potassium-bound-soil-minerals.html Biochemistry Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:40:08 EDT news641054405 In 2023, around 16 billion liters of biodiesel and HVO diesel were produced in the European Union, based on maize, rapeseed, or partially on waste materials from agricultural production. A by-product of biodiesel production is glycerol, which can be used as a building block for the production of valuable chemicals such as dihydroxyacetone, formic acid, glyceraldehyde and glycolaldehyde via a glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR). Glycerol can be oxidized electrochemically in (photo)electrochemical (PEC) reactors, which are currently being developed specifically for the production of green hydrogen. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-electrolytes-glycerol-oxidation.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 01 Jul 2024 16:02:39 EDT news639068557 Ion-sensitive field-effect transistors (ISFETs) are compact, durable and easy to integrate. This makes them ideal for precise pH measurement and the accurate determination of the concentration of many ions in water, thus making them powerful tools in environmental and bioanalytics. Due to their resistance to breakage, they are already widely used in pH measurement technology, especially in food production. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-parallel-multiple-parameters-sensor-chip.html Biotechnology Thu, 23 May 2024 16:21:02 EDT news635700061 An interdisciplinary team led by University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists has developed a new technique that could help farmers extract useful nutrients such as ammonia and potassium from livestock manure to efficiently make fertilizer and other useful chemical products. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-zapping-manure-special-electrode-efficient.html Biotechnology Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:45:04 EST news621535502 Since its initial discovery in 2004 by two professors at the University of Manchester, graphene has made a big splash in the scientific community. Its discoverers won a Nobel Prize in 2010 for developing the idea—then the race was on to find ways to produce and apply it. Roop Mahajan, the Lewis A. Hester Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Tech, has contributed a significant step forward in that race. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-mechanical-professor-coal-graphene.html Nanomaterials Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:39:25 EDT news616844361 Dr. Mutsutomo Tokizawa (Ph.D.), a post-doctoral research fellow at the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), is the lead author of a new study with Dr. Leon Kochian (Ph.D.), Canada Excellence Research Chair in Global Food Security at USask and research group lead at GIFS. The researchers have identified a novel regulatory mechanism that helps plant roots conserve resources in nitrogen-deficient soils and use them for enhanced growth of the tap root, which can grow deeper into the soil in search of areas with higher concentrations of the nutrient. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-protein-nitrogen.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 07 Sep 2023 09:46:04 EDT news613298762 A diet including a carefully selected assortment of microgreens may help address an individual's nutritional deficiencies, according to a Penn State researcher who led an international team that evaluated the mineral content in young specimens of many different plant species. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-microgreens-custom-diet-desired-nutrients.html Agriculture Wed, 30 Aug 2023 14:03:04 EDT news612622981 Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don't do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer. That's because, the studies show, corn takes up the majority of its nitrogen—about 67% on average—from sources occurring naturally in soil, not from fertilizer. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-nitrogen-corn-fertilizer-farmers.html Ecology Wed, 31 May 2023 14:12:57 EDT news604761172 Let's say you're a corn grower farming on low-fertility soil. How do you go about making that soil healthier and more fertile? Many farmers think if they add plenty of nitrogen fertilizer, that nutrient, along with carbon, will be stored in the soil as organic matter when microbes decompose crop residue. But new research from the University of Illinois suggests those efforts might not work for poor soils. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-poor-soils-carbon-crop-residue.html Ecology Mon, 15 May 2023 15:53:03 EDT news603384781 Jose Viator was hoping tourists would flock to his beachside bar on the French archipelago of Guadeloupe, but he has been forced to close because of stinky brown seaweed. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-nightmare-stinky-seaweed-smothers-french.html Ecology Tue, 02 May 2023 13:03:39 EDT news602251414 Asexual, or vegetative, reproduction in plants is controlled by environmental conditions, but the molecular signaling pathways that control this process are poorly understood. Recent research suggests that the KAI2-ligand (KL) hormone is responsible for initiating and terminating the production of gemmae, or genetically identical plantlets, on liverwort plants based on the presence or absence of specific environmental factors. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-degree-asexual-reproduction-liverwort-hormonally.html Plants & Animals Fri, 31 Mar 2023 10:56:41 EDT news599478998 For farmers and researchers, a field is often like a giant chemistry set. The timing and amounts of different fertilizers to supply nutrients can interact with each other, the soil and crops. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-potassium-potatoes-fertilizer-crop-interactions.html Agriculture Tue, 21 Mar 2023 09:16:03 EDT news598608961 To tackle the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and pollution, humanity will need to move to a circular economy, where all resources are recycled. Why not recycle our own body waste too as fertilizer, provided there is no risk that harmful microbes or traces from pharmaceuticals end up in the consumed crops? Most nutrients needed for plant growth occur in human urine and feces. Urine is especially rich in nitrogen and potassium, and also contains trace amounts of metals such as boron, zinc, and iron. Feces could in theory supply other nutrients such as phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium or valuable organic carbon to soils. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-toilets-yield-excellent-alternatives-widespread.html Agriculture Mon, 16 Jan 2023 02:31:04 EST news593058646 The climate crisis challenges our water supply in many ways, from deadly hurricanes to widespread and severe droughts. To combat water scarcity, neighborhoods and communities must reconsider the design of their wastewater systems. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-viewpoint-historic-droughts-reclaim.html Environment Thu, 15 Dec 2022 13:40:04 EST news590334001 A research team affiliated with the Laboratory of Polymeric Materials and Biosorbents at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in Araras, São Paulo state, Brazil, has produced and is testing cellulose-based materials for enhanced-efficiency fertilizers to improve the supply of nutrients to crops and reduce the release of non-biodegradable chemicals into the ecosystem. https://phys.org/news/2022-10-cellulose-slow-release-fertilizer-self-fertilizing-propagation.html Biochemistry Mon, 17 Oct 2022 16:19:04 EDT news585242341 Stationary marine organisms that don't ply the ocean, but spend their lives rooted in one spot, have evolved impressive ways to capture prey. The sea anemone Nematostella, for instance, burrows into salt marsh sediments and stays there for life. But it has specialized 'stinging cells' that hurl toxins into passing prey, immobilizing the morsel so the anemone can snatch it with its tentacles. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-current-marsh-pollution-negative-effects.html Ecology Sat, 08 Jan 2022 04:58:19 EST news560840293 For many people around the world, the very first moments of the new year will be filled with the sounds and colorful light shows of fireworks. From loud bangs to long whistles, bright reds to pale blues, there are thousands of variations of fireworks and an entire branch of chemistry that explores these fun explosions. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-fireworks-pyrotechnics-chemist-science-brilliant.html Materials Science Tue, 21 Dec 2021 11:00:07 EST news559306272 Soil organic carbon is a cornerstone of soil health. It improves soil structure while enhancing water- and nutrient-holding capacity, key factors for any agricultural production system. To build it up, farmers incorporate crop residues into soils. https://phys.org/news/2021-12-nitrogen-impact-soil-carbon-sequestration.html Earth Sciences Wed, 15 Dec 2021 12:55:22 EST news558795314