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. Like the folds in crumpled sheets or the footprints on recently trodden sand, certain materials mark their histories. Now, Yale researchers show that networks of flowing water and other fluids can store their own memories—similar to how a computer chip does—an innovation that could steer robots and provide insight into some simple organisms. The results are published in Physical Review X. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-memory-chip.html General Physics Wed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:27 EDT news711190396 Some bacteria can sense when they bump into each other and use these interactions to shape how the group organizes and moves. This discovery reveals a new way microbes explore their environments using physical feedback rather than chemical signals. https://phys.org/news/2026-10-bacteria-collisions-crowded-environments-micro.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:40:20 EDT news710496721 Cephalopods are a group of soft-bodied marine mollusks that include cuttlefish, octopuses, squid and nautiluses. Many of these mollusks have muscular suckers on their arms that allow them to seize prey or grip other surfaces in their surroundings. https://phys.org/news/2026-09-cuttlefish-suckers-reveal-rough-prey.html Plants & Animals Thu, 17 Sep 2026 07:40:04 EDT news708600523 Researchers from Skoltech and their colleagues from Harbin Institute of Technology in China and ITMO University in Russia have devised a way to deposit elaborate geometric patterns of carbon nanotubes without wasting material. Such patterns are used in advanced optical devices and mechanical strain sensors for structural integrity monitoring. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-reusable-stencils-carbon-nanotube-patterns.html Nanophysics Tue, 25 Aug 2026 23:20:01 EDT news706880285 Roses are known for their thorns, the sharp structures that can sting and prickle the skin. Thorns, botanically known as prickles, are thought to discourage animals from feeding on plants and may also help climbing roses grip other vegetation. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-hidden-physics-rose-thorns.html Evolution Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:00:07 EDT news706868441 Polymers used for light-based 3D printing are very stable because of their chemical structure, but they are typically hard to recycle. A research team led by Professor Dr. Eva Blasco, a researcher at the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials (IMSEAM) at Heidelberg University, has designed a polymer material that can be disassembled into its individual components when needed. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-metastable-3d-ink-enables-loop.html Polymers Wed, 19 Aug 2026 13:00:08 EDT news706357321 Made entirely of muscle, with no rigid skeleton, muscular hydrostats like octopus arms, elephant trunks and human tongues can move in ways traditional mechanical systems cannot. Between crawling across the seafloor, picking up a peanut and enabling speech, scientists have long wondered how soft structures can perform so many different functions without becoming impossible to control. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-soft-bodied-sea-slug-reconfigures.html Plants & Animals Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:20:05 EDT news705841253 Researchers at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Tennessee (UT), Knoxville, have made an advance by using a natural substance from fungi called chitin to create hydrogels that are significantly stronger and tougher. This new material could lead to safer medical devices, longer-lasting coatings and other innovations that improve everyday technology and health care. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-fungal-chitin-route-tougher-hydrogels.html Biotechnology Tue, 11 Aug 2026 17:00:05 EDT news705670982 Data released by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) marks a landmark expansion in the study of accreting supermassive black holes (SMBHs). As part of the fifth generation of the survey (SDSS-V), the Black Hole Mapper (BHM) program is providing unprecedented insights into the masses, growth and physics of quasars and active galactic nuclei (AGN) across cosmic time. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-monsters-unveils-sky-views-supermassive.html Astronomy Tue, 04 Aug 2026 13:00:05 EDT news705061622 The creation of fully artificial organs is a sci-fi dream, and researchers in Japan may have brought it one step closer to reality by developing a new photofabrication technique (i.e., a light-controlled synthetic method) for constructing arteriole-scale tubular hydrogels. Their research is published in the journal Advanced Materials. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-closer-artificial-uv-arteriole-scale.html Biotechnology Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:40:06 EDT news704550301 For decades, scientists have largely relied on painstaking trial and error to coax proteins into crystalline forms. Crystallization enables scientists to determine the molecular structures of proteins, which can provide a blueprint for designing drugs, engineering enzymes and understanding disease. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-flexible-dna-proteins-atomically-crystals.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:00:05 EDT news704473861 Scientists have discovered a previously unknown law of geometry that explains why some growing surfaces, whether in nature or in engineered materials, suddenly stop being able to stay smooth and instead form dimples and folds. Until now, researchers believed they understood the geometric rules behind these shape changes, but this study reveals a new kind of "geometric frustration" that arises even when all the known rules are satisfied. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-wrinkles-suddenly-crumple.html General Physics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:20:01 EDT news704540741 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 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 An interdisciplinary student research team at the University of Waterloo has achieved an advance in materials science with the creation of a tissue-like hydrogel for artificial muscles to make soft robots move. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-student-talent-simpler-method-artificial.html Polymers Fri, 22 May 2026 15:20:03 EDT news698670241 Seals are carnivorous marine mammals that are well adapted to hunting for fish underwater, where visibility is poor. In such conditions, seals rely on their highly sensitive whiskers to detect tiny water movements left behind by swimming fish. Like rats and cats, seals also move or "whisk" their whiskers back and forth, but the benefit of this motion was long unclear. New research by University of Groningen Ph.D. student Chinmay Gupta, Professor Ajay Kottapalli, and colleagues shows that active whisking improves sensing, helping seals accurately follow underwater trails. The findings are published in the journal npj Flexible Electronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-whisker-movement-underwater-trails-approach.html Plants & Animals Sun, 29 Mar 2026 10:00:15 EDT news693673284 Snakes may be best known for slithering. But consider that these animals also perform one of the most extreme feats of posture control found in nature: They can stand nearly straight upright on a narrow perch without falling, lifting 70% of their body length, despite having no limbs. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-snakes-ability-upright-soft-robotics.html Plants & Animals Tue, 03 Mar 2026 12:50:01 EST news691763762 Scores of sea lions continue to beach themselves along the Southern California coastline, stricken with sickness. Toxic algae blooms are to blame, though a mechanical engineering innovation could shift the tide in favor of the marine mammals. Now, UNLV-led research published in Scientific Reports has successfully developed a synthetic California sea lion pelvic region, mimicking its bone and soft tissue. This allows medical professionals to conduct blood collection training on anatomically authentic models, improving efforts to treat the live animals. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-3d-synthetic-sea-lion-pelvis.html Biotechnology Wed, 25 Feb 2026 18:10:01 EST news691258501 How can some fish, like tuna, achieve remarkable speed while others, like eels, excel in maneuverability? A research team from Peking University (PKU) has developed a novel robotic platform that sheds new light on this classic biomechanical puzzle. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-reconfigurable-robotic-fish-reveals-stiffness.html Plants & Animals Tue, 27 Jan 2026 13:17:32 EST news688742221 A low-cost, simple robotic apple picker arm developed by Washington State University researchers may someday help with fruit picking and other farm chores. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-inflatable-fabric-robotic-arm-apples.html Biotechnology Wed, 07 Jan 2026 09:25:34 EST news687000301 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 from McMaster University and the University of Pittsburgh have created the first functionally complete logic gate—a NAND gate (short for "NOT AND")—in a soft material using only beams of visible light. The discovery, published in Nature Communications, marks a significant advance in the field of materials that compute, in which materials themselves process information without traditional electronic circuitry. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-logic-gate-soft-material.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 20 Nov 2025 13:30:04 EST news682865838 Astronauts could soon be able to move more freely thanks to a soft robotic exosuit developed by researchers at the University of Bristol. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-robotic-exosuit-trousers-boost-astronauts.html Space Exploration Tue, 04 Nov 2025 11:28:04 EST news681478082 From cells that migrate to tissues that heal, nature abounds with systems capable of sensing and adapting to their surroundings. Replicating this level of adaptability in synthetic systems has remained a grand challenge in chemistry and materials science. Most artificial materials, though inspired by biology, still react to only one stimulus and lack the integrated responsiveness that characterizes living matter. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-supramolecular-robotics-enables-soft-materials.html Biochemistry Wed, 29 Oct 2025 14:10:01 EDT news680963985 A team of researchers from the Soft Robotics for Human Cooperation and Rehabilitation Lab at the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT-Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia) in Genova has conceived and developed Frasky, a new robotic prototype able to navigate and perform operations autonomously within vineyards. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-robot-vineyard-applications.html Biotechnology Thu, 18 Sep 2025 10:16:05 EDT news677409361 Strawberries are delicate and hard to harvest—easily bruised and often hidden under a canopy of leaves. This creates headaches for scientists trying to design robotic harvesters. Now a Washington State University-led team has designed one that combines an artificial-intelligence vision system, soft silicone "fingers," and a fan that gently moves leaves out of the way to get at hidden fruit. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-robotic-harvester-ai-vision-soft.html Biotechnology Thu, 04 Sep 2025 09:50:03 EDT news676198201 Farmers might be able to get help tending and harvesting crops using a new sensing technology from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI). Researchers have invented a tool called SonicBoom that can find crops like apples based on the sound they make. The novel technology, still in the early stages of development, may someday be used by farm robots for tasks like pruning vines or locating ripe apples hidden among the leaves. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-agricultural-sensor-crops-vibrations-alternative.html Biotechnology Thu, 14 Aug 2025 16:23:04 EDT news674407382 Fresh, frozen and processed berries are a multi-billion-dollar business in America. In Arkansas alone, fresh-market blackberries contribute $24.3 million each year to the state's economy. But these delicate blackberries sold in clamshells at supermarkets must be picked by hand, and farm labor has been limited in recent years. A new berry-picking robot gripper developed at the U of A could give growers a high-tech replacement for limited labor availability. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-robot-harvest-blackberries-humans.html Biotechnology Mon, 21 Jul 2025 10:01:51 EDT news672310904 In a step forward for soft robotics and biomedical devices, Rice University engineers have uncovered a powerful new way to boost the strength and durability of silicone-based soft devices without changing the materials themselves. Their study, published in a special issue of Science Advances, focuses on printed and musculoskeletal robotics and offers a predictive framework that connects silicone curing conditions with adhesion strength, enabling dramatic improvements in performance for both molded and 3D-printed elastomer components. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-smarter-silicone-bonding-enables-stronger.html Materials Science Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:18:31 EDT news671901507