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. Fluorescent dyes have long been used in biological research to identify and visualize structures within living cells. Although effective, they have several drawbacks, including altering the cells under study, limiting the number of structures that can be examined at once and reducing measurement accuracy. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-ramanomics-major-obstacle-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 06 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705240841 The global development of civilization diseases is a challenge that requires many modern solutions, not only in terms of treatment, but first and foremost in terms of early diagnostics. One of the highly sensitive methods enabling fast identification of even ultralow concentrations of biomarkers or drugs in complex samples with high accuracy is surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). https://phys.org/news/2026-02-molecule-sers-steadier-cb7.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 09 Feb 2026 17:15:23 EST news689879701 On the edge of California's Monterey Bay, ecologist Matthew Savoca and a team of volunteers sift through sand and seawater for microplastics, one of the planet's most pervasive forms of pollution. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-tracking-microplastics-sea-body.html Earth Sciences Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:20:01 EDT news678455559 An international research team coordinated by Ca' Foscari University of Venice has identified the presence of indigotin—a blue dye compound—on stone pebbles dating back to the Upper Paleolithic. This molecule, derived from the leaves of Isatis tinctoria L., a biennial plant in the Brassicaceae family native to the Caucasus and commonly known as woad, was found on ground stone tools. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-blue-indigo-year-tools-paleolithic.html Archaeology Tue, 02 Sep 2025 09:37:30 EDT news676024636 Just as overlapping ripples on a pond can amplify or cancel each other out, waves of many kinds—including light, sound and atomic vibrations—can interfere with one another. At the quantum level, this kind of interference powers high-precision sensors and could be harnessed for quantum computing. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-powerful-quantum-paves-phonon-based.html Condensed Matter Mon, 11 Aug 2025 14:39:04 EDT news674141941 Street art takes many forms, and the vibrant murals on the Berlin Wall both before and after its fall are expressions of people's opinions. But there was often secrecy around the processes for creating the paintings, which makes them hard to preserve. Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of the American Chemical Society have uncovered information about this historic site from paint chips by combining a handheld detector and artificial intelligence (AI) data analysis. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-uncovering-pigments-techniques-berlin-wall.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:22:04 EST news653138521 In a recent study, researchers from the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) and the Friedrich Schiller University Jena have shown how they can non-invasively and non-destructively investigate the growth and interactions of the green alga Ulva and its bacterial community using Raman spectroscopy. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-raman-spectroscopy-decodes-symbiotic-interactions.html Ecology Mon, 30 Sep 2024 11:38:03 EDT news646915081 If you come across brightly colored, cloth-bound books from the Victorian era, you might want to handle them gently, or even steer clear altogether. Some of their attractive hues come from dyes that could pose a health risk to readers, collectors or librarians. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-evidence-stacks-poisonous-toxic-dyes.html Analytical Chemistry Sun, 18 Aug 2024 05:00:01 EDT news643017314 Pigments in fossil snail shells from Austria dating back 12 million years are the oldest known preserved dyes from the polyene group, as scientists from the Natural History Museum Vienna and the University of Göttingen have now demonstrated. The research is published in the journal Palaeontology. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-austria-oldest-dyes-miocene-snail.html Paleontology & Fossils Thu, 08 Feb 2024 10:20:03 EST news626610002 When microscopes struggle to pick up faint signals, it's like trying to spot subtle details in a painting or photograph without your glasses. For researchers, this makes it difficult to catch the small things happening in cells or other materials. In new research, Boston University Moustakas Chair Professor in Photonics and Optoelectronics, Dr. Ji-Xin Cheng, and collaborators are creating more advanced techniques to make microscopes better at seeing tiny sample details without needing special dyes. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-qa-unveiling-era-imagingengineers-breakthrough.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 04 Dec 2023 15:17:04 EST news620925421 CÚRAM researchers at University of Galway, together with colleagues at the Centre for Molecular Nanometrology at University of Strathclyde have published work unveiling the inner workings of cells. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:57:11 EST news618836228 A team of archaeologists from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Institute of Archaeology, Sorbonne Universite and Conservatoire national des arts et métiers has found the oldest-known example of the use of organic red pigments to color an object—in this case, beads. In their study, reported on the open-access site PLOS ONE, the group used a variety of techniques to identify the source of red coloring on shell beads found in an Israeli cave decades ago. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-beads-israel-oldest-red-pigments.html Archaeology Thu, 26 Oct 2023 10:20:02 EDT news617533925 A new form of low-cost, 3D-printed water pollution sensor could make a splash in the world of environmental monitoring, its developers say. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-team-low-cost-3d-printed-pollution-sensor.html Nanomaterials Mon, 05 Jun 2023 10:10:05 EDT news605178596 Raman imaging offers a greater potential for detecting multiple enzyme activities than fluorescence imaging, demonstrate Tokyo Tech researchers by developing 9CN-rhodol-based activatable Raman probes using a novel mechanism for Raman signal activation. The strategy allows a synthesis of highly activatable Raman probes with high aggregation and multiplexing ability, making it a promising tool for extending the range of Raman probes for the detection of multiple enzyme activities in heterogeneous biological tissues. https://phys.org/news/2023-04-highly-sensitive-raman-probe-enzyme.html Biochemistry Tue, 25 Apr 2023 08:42:04 EDT news601630922 A new platform established by researchers at the Single-Cell Center, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QIBEBT/CAS) improves accuracy, throughput, and stability in profiling dynamic metabolic features of cells—the basic building blocks of all life forms on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-cytometry-tool-methods-rapidly-human.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 30 Mar 2023 09:35:04 EDT news599387701 Raman scattering is an inelastic scattering process that exchanges energies between photons and molecules to carry information on molecular vibrations. Raman micro-spectroscopy has become an indispensable analytical tool in biology and medical surgery mainly due to its two "frees": label-free and water background-free. https://phys.org/news/2023-03-coherent-raman-microscopy-fusion-instruments.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 20 Mar 2023 16:03:04 EDT news598546981 Lasers are intense beams of colored light. Depending on their color and other properties, they can scan your groceries, cut through metal, eradicate tumors, and even trigger nuclear fusion. But not every laser color is available with the right properties for a specific job. https://phys.org/news/2023-01-strategy-ionic-liquids-laser-ease.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 19 Jan 2023 17:06:09 EST news593370362 Researchers at Duke University have developed a unique type of nanoparticle called a "nanorattle" that greatly enhances light emitted from within its outer shell. https://phys.org/news/2022-09-nanorattles-possibilities-disease.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 13 Sep 2022 17:10:04 EDT news582307797 From life-like faces to elaborate nature scenes, tattoos are a true art form. Although people have decorated their bodies for millennia for ceremonial and religious reasons, many people today adorn themselves with these images as a form of self-expression. But the inks used for tattoos are unregulated in the U.S., resulting in products whose components are largely a mystery. Now, researchers have analyzed almost 100 inks and report that even when these products include an ingredient label, the lists often aren't accurate. The team also detected small particles that could be harmful to cells. https://phys.org/news/2022-08-exposing-tattoo-ink.html Materials Science Wed, 24 Aug 2022 05:00:02 EDT news580535002 Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a tiny sensor for detecting pesticides on fruit in just a few minutes. The technique, described as a proof-of-concept in a paper in the journal Advanced Science, uses flame-sprayed nanoparticles made from silver to increase the signal of chemicals. While still at an early stage, the researchers hope these nano-sensors could help uncover food pesticides before consumption. https://phys.org/news/2022-06-nano-sensor-pesticides-fruit-minutes.html Bio & Medicine Tue, 07 Jun 2022 03:10:01 EDT news573747856 A research team from Carnegie Mellon University and Columbia have combined two emerging imaging technologies to better view a wide range of biomolecules, including proteins, lipids and DNA, at the nanoscale. Their technique, which brings together expansion microscopy and stimulated Raman scattering microscopy, is detailed in Advanced Science. https://phys.org/news/2022-05-magnify-hidden-biological-combining-srs.html Biochemistry Wed, 18 May 2022 16:20:32 EDT news572109629 Photocatalysts are an essential component of hydrogen production through water-splitting. Scientists at Shinshu University and Georgia Institute of Technology worked on improving a titania surface study previously published in 2020. Hydrophilicity of the surface of titania photocatalysts is improved during ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. It has long been predicted that basic surface hydroxyl groups are generated on the titania photocatalyst surface when irradiated with UV light, which can be the origin of the light-induced hydrophilicity. However, the amount of the light-induced surface hydroxyl groups was small and it was difficult to observe with the sensitivity of the conventional method. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-proton-titania-surface-dye-photocatalysis.html Materials Science Mon, 08 Nov 2021 10:46:39 EST news555590797 Recently, Professor Yang Liangbao, from the Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS), developed a general surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) method for actively capturing target molecules in small gaps based on nano-capillary pumping model. Relevant results were detailed in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. https://phys.org/news/2021-05-raman-method-captures-molecules-small.html Materials Science Fri, 21 May 2021 07:32:12 EDT news540801129 True super-resolution imaging beyond the diffraction limit remains a major challenge for far-field Raman microscopy especially in biological applications. Harnessing Stimulated Raman Excited Fluorescence (SREF) as an ultrasensitive vibrational contrast, a team at Columbia University has recently invented a novel super-resolution vibrational microscopy. Their new method opens up super-resolution, nanometer-spectral-resolution multicolor vibrational imaging of biological systems. https://phys.org/news/2021-04-vibrational-microscopy-super-resolution.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 21 Apr 2021 12:07:36 EDT news538225654 Even the smallest molecule can tell a big story. For instance, observing a single molecule can throw light on underlying biological processes in the human body. In fact, molecular imaging procedures—which are noninvasive and painless—are being used to diagnose and manage the treatment of COVID-19, cancer, heart disease, and other serious health conditions. https://phys.org/news/2021-01-tiny-powerful-optical-imaging.html Nanophysics Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:53:10 EST news530355187 In crime scene investigations, a single strand of hair can make a huge difference in the evolution of a case or trial. In most cases, forensic scientists must look for clues hidden in minuscule amounts of substances or materials found at crime scenes. If a fallen strand of hair with root cells attached is found, a DNA test can reveal the identity of a criminal; unfortunately, this seldom happens. Even though other types of DNA analysis can be conducted using the mitochondrial DNA embedded in the hair shaft itself, such tests are not sufficient to reliably identify a person and usually call for additional evidence. https://phys.org/news/2020-12-hair-breadthforensic-identification-dyed-strand.html Analytical Chemistry Wed, 09 Dec 2020 12:35:21 EST news526739718 Sponges are filter feeders that live on particulate matter—but they can also ingest microscopic fragments of plastics and other pollutants of anthropogenic origin. They can therefore serve as useful bioindicators of the health of marine ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-sponges-biomonitors-micropollution.html Environment Thu, 22 Oct 2020 09:00:10 EDT news522576008 An optical device that resembles a miniaturized lighthouse lens can make it easier to peer into Petri dishes and observe molecular-level details of biological processes, including cancer cell growth. Developed by KAUST, the new lens is also very cost effective. https://phys.org/news/2020-10-custom-fabricated-microscope-lens-lighthouse.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 05 Oct 2020 09:41:12 EDT news521109668 With many people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, blue jeans are a more popular wardrobe choice than ever. But most people don't think about microscopic remnants of their comfy jeans and other clothing that are shed during laundering. Now, researchers reporting in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology Letters have detected indigo denim microfibers not only in wastewater effluent, but also in lakes and remote Arctic marine sediments. https://phys.org/news/2020-09-widespread-footprint-blue-jean-microfibers.html Environment Wed, 02 Sep 2020 09:11:02 EDT news518256653 Russian researchers from the Federal Research Clinical Center of Physical-Chemical Medicine, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, and Lomonosov Moscow State University showed the possibility of blending two incompatible components—a protein and a polymer—in one electrospun fiber. Published in RSC Advances, the study also demonstrates that the resulting mat can gradually release the protein. Blended mats containing proteins are promising for biomedical applications as burn and wound dressings, matrices for drug delivery and release, and in tissue engineering. https://phys.org/news/2020-03-biophysicists-blend-incompatible-components-nanofiber.html Biochemistry Mon, 16 Mar 2020 12:31:03 EDT news503580659