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. In a development that could shift our basic understanding of fluid mechanics, researchers from Drexel University have reported that, given the right circumstances, it is possible to induce a simple liquid to fracture like a solid object. Recently published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the research shows how viscous liquids can suddenly break if stretched with enough force. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-liquids-fracture-solids.html Soft Matter Sat, 28 Mar 2026 08:00:03 EDT news693752698 For decades, lab-grown cells have been studied in materials that don't reflect the softness and flexibility of human tissue. Now researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a water-rich, Jell-O-like material that more closely mimics how real tissues move, stretch and relax; and whose liquid or solid state can be precisely controlled by light. The work was recently published in the journal Matter and was directed by Distinguished Professor Kristi Anseth. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-hydrogel-mimics-soft-human-tissue.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 16 Mar 2026 17:50:04 EDT news692899741 Slippery, drippy goop makes Ralstonia bacteria devastating killers of plants, causing rapid wilting in tomato, potato, and a wide range of other crops, according to new research. The work, published Jan. 22 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, comes from an unusual collaboration between plant pathologists and engineers at the University of California, Davis. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-biologists-goopy-clues-wilting-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:14:21 EST news688396441 When a droplet of liquid the size of a grain of icing sugar hits a water-repelling surface, like plastics or certain plant leaves, it can meet one of two fates: stick or bounce. Until now, scientists thought bouncing depended only on how repellent the surface was and how the droplet lost its impact energy. Speed, they assumed, didn't matter. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-tiny-droplets-physics-size.html General Physics Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:38:04 EDT news676712281 Atoms slip against one another, eventually sticking in various combinations. Tectonic plates do the same, sliding across each other until they stick in a stationary state. Everything from the tiniest particles to unfathomably large landmasses possesses this fundamental stick and slip characteristic, but only now are scientists beginning to understand the mechanics of the friction underpinning this property. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-simple-smooth-friction-mystery.html General Physics Mon, 23 Jun 2025 14:06:03 EDT news669906361 Earthworms often form a cluster, from which they can barely free themselves. A similarly active, writhing structure forms when the tentacles of lion's mane jellyfish become entangled. Robotic grippers utilize this principle by using multiple synthetic flexible arms to grip and move objects. And such interlinked self-propelled filaments can also be found at the smaller micrometer scale, for example in a biological cell. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-movement-entangled-cluster-worms-polymer.html Soft Matter Mon, 16 Jun 2025 12:51:04 EDT news669297062 Pounding on the bottom of a glass bottle of ketchup is one of life's small annoyances. Getting that sweet, red concoction from its solid phase to a liquid takes too long when you're hungry and could even require messy strategies with a butter knife. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ketchup-solid-phase-properties-reveal.html General Physics Mon, 02 Jun 2025 10:39:48 EDT news668079579 An international research collaboration led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists that examined microscopic blobs of protein found in human cells has discovered that some morph from an almost honey-like substance to a hard candy-like solid. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-scientists-reveal-protein-linked-parkinson.html Cell & Microbiology Fri, 18 Apr 2025 14:00:03 EDT news664167770 The melting of crystals is the process by which an increase in temperature induces the disruption of the ordered crystalline lattice, leading to the disordered structure and highly fluctuating dynamic behavior of liquids. At the glass transition, where an amorphous solid (a glass) turns into a liquid, there is no obvious change in structure, and only the dynamics of the atoms change, going from strongly localized dynamics in space (in the glass state) to the highly fluctuating (diffusive) dynamics in the liquid. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-crystal-glass-transition-obey-physical.html Condensed Matter Thu, 03 Apr 2025 07:10:01 EDT news662731528 Soft viscoelastic solids are flexible materials that can return to their original shape after being stretched. Due to the unique properties driving their deformation, these materials can sometimes behave and change shape in unexpected ways. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-unveils-extrusion-instabilities-viscoelastic-materials.html General Physics Tue, 18 Feb 2025 10:20:54 EST news659096445 A new method based on optical tweezers can measure viscoelasticity of biological materials in a simpler and more versatile way. In an article published in Nature Nanotechnology, the researchers report three novel results in the field of mechanobiology, including the finding that viscoelasticity of tissues inside living animals changes with age. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-optical-tweezer-technique-reveals-disease.html Biotechnology Wed, 08 Jan 2025 12:56:05 EST news655563361 Currently employed computational methods to simulate materials and their mechanical behavior are based on molecular dynamics (MD) with atomistic force-fields. These methods provide an excellent description of the thermodynamically stable phases of materials with arbitrary chemical and microstructural complexity. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-scientists-hardest-problems-atomic-scale.html Polymers Mon, 09 Dec 2024 10:17:08 EST news652961823 With the flick of a light, researchers have found a way to rearrange life's basic tapestry, bending DNA strands back on themselves to reveal the material nature of the genome. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-dna-strands-revealing-genome.html Biotechnology Tue, 10 Sep 2024 10:33:05 EDT news645183182 Biomolecular condensates are membraneless hubs of condensed proteins and nucleic acids within cells, which researchers are realizing are tied to an increasing number of cellular processes and diseases. Studies of biomolecular condensate formation have uncovered layers of complexity, including their ability to behave like a viscoelastic material. However, the molecular basis for this putty-like property was unknown. https://phys.org/news/2024-07-biomolecular-condensate-molecular-putty-properties.html Molecular & Computational biology Tue, 02 Jul 2024 11:13:03 EDT news639137581 The shearing of fluids—meaning the sliding of fluid layers over each other under shear forces—is an important concept in nature and in rheology, the science that studies the flow behavior of matter, including liquids and soft solids. Shear forces are lateral forces applied parallel to a material, inducing deformation or slippage between its layers. https://phys.org/news/2024-04-physics-complex-fluids-polymers-unexpected.html General Physics Thu, 04 Apr 2024 11:28:03 EDT news631448881 The cell nucleus is considered to be the control center of vital cellular processes, but its material properties continue to puzzle scientists. An international research team led by MedUni Vienna has now developed a new technique that provides a previously unattainable view of the mechanical properties inside this control center. https://phys.org/news/2024-01-technique-visualizes-mechanical-cell-nucleus.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 18 Jan 2024 10:26:03 EST news624795961 Sniffles, snorts and blows of runny noses are the hallmarks of cold and flu season—and that increase in mucus is exactly what bacteria use to mount a coordinated attack on the immune system, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State. The team found that the thicker the mucus, the better the bacteria are able to swarm. The findings could have implications for treatments that reduce the ability of bacteria to spread. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-bacteria-mucus-maneuvers-reveals-snot.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 05 Dec 2023 15:22:04 EST news621012122 Recent advancements in the development of hybrid and electric vehicles have increased the need for highly performing battery technologies. Research teams worldwide have thus been working on a wide range of alternative battery solutions, while also trying to identify new promising electrolytes for these batteries. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-electrolytes-solid-state-batteries-based-viscoelastic.html Materials Science Thu, 02 Nov 2023 09:19:15 EDT news618135549 American beach town boardwalks often boast numerous storefronts advertising saltwater taffies. The candy calls to mind summer vacations, a rainbow assortment of colors and flavors, and a sweetness that sticks to the roof of your mouth. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-sweet-physics-saltwater-taffy.html Soft Matter Tue, 12 Sep 2023 11:00:01 EDT news613727544 A University of Virginia-led study about a class of materials called associative polymers appears to challenge a long-held understanding of how the materials, which have unique self-healing and flow properties, function at the molecular level. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-discovery-year-old-dogma-associative-polymers.html Polymers Fri, 02 Jun 2023 15:03:54 EDT news604937022 Scientists from the University of Tsukuba obtained a new theoretical equation for the propagation of ultrasonic waves through liquids containing encapsulated bubbles. They found that including the compressibility of the bubble shell was vital for accurately predicting the behavior of sound waves. This work may lead to improved resolution of ultrasound imaging based on the development of improved contrast agents. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-propagation-ultrasonic-liquids-encapsulated.html General Physics Fri, 02 Jun 2023 13:18:03 EDT news604930681 Semicrystalline polymers are solids that are assumed to flow only above their melting temperature. In a new study published in Science Advances, Chien-Hua Tu and a research team at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Germany and the University of Ioannina Greece confined crystals within nanoscopic cylindrical pores to show the flowing nature of semicrystalline polymers below their melting point, alongside an intermediate state of viscosity to the melt and crystal states. https://phys.org/news/2023-05-crystals-semicrystalline-polymer-shown-temperatures.html Condensed Matter Fri, 19 May 2023 09:20:01 EDT news603706233 Materials scientists at UNSW Sydney have shown that human pluripotent stem cells in a lab can initiate a process resembling the gastrulation phase—where cells begin differentiating into new cell types—much earlier than occurs in mother nature. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-scientists-hydrogel-materials-stem-cells.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 15 Dec 2022 10:37:05 EST news590323018 We all know that genes influence how cells and tissues grow and develop, but new research has shed light on the importance of another factor: whether the environment around them is firm like Jell-O or fluid like honey. https://phys.org/news/2022-12-tissue-growth-local-environment-firm.html Cell & Microbiology Thu, 01 Dec 2022 11:00:10 EST news589111265 Electrostatic actuators are simple and lightweight devices that emulate human muscles. However, their usage has primarily been restricted to moving small devices since they need high voltages to generate significant forces. Now, however, it may be possible to use electrostatic actuators in artificial muscles thanks to research from Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) that makes use of ferroelectric materials to create an electrostatic actuator that can generate a strong force at a low driving voltage. https://phys.org/news/2022-11-high-power-electrostatic-actuators-artificial-muscles.html General Physics Thu, 17 Nov 2022 11:12:56 EST news587905958 Scientists in Japan have made a tuneable, elastic and temperature-sensitive gel by using complementary DNA strands to connect star-shaped polymer molecules together. The gel, and the method used to develop it, could lead to advances in tissue regeneration, drug delivery and soft robotics. Xiang Li at Hokkaido University led the team of researchers who reported their findings in the journal Polymer Science. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-dna-polymer-gels.html Polymers Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:59:57 EST news564224394 Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered how the sponginess and stickiness of stem cell nuclei controls how they "differentiate" into specialized cells. They found that the nucleus starts solid-like but becomes more fluid-like over time. Less force is transmitted to its inner parts, leaving cells to commit to a certain differentiation pathway. How stem cells choose and keep to differentiation paths continues to be a crucial question for medical science. https://phys.org/news/2022-01-sponginess-cell-nuclei-future.html Cell & Microbiology Mon, 03 Jan 2022 09:00:03 EST news560422595 Liquid droplets of protein and RNA have traits reminiscent of a childhood joy: Silly Putty. https://phys.org/news/2021-11-illuminates-properties-protein-rna-droplets.html Soft Matter Tue, 16 Nov 2021 13:14:44 EST news556290880 Over the past few decades, some physicists worldwide have been trying to use the second layer of 4He films adsorbed on a graphite substrate to study the interplay between superfluid and supersolid phases of matter. Some teams have collected torsional oscillator (TO) measurements on this layer, including P.A. Crowell, F.W. Van Keuls and J.D. Reppy at Cornell University, as well as Dr. Jan Nyeki and his colleagues at Royal Holloway. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-unequivocal-experimental-evidence-superfluid-state.html Condensed Matter Thu, 14 Oct 2021 09:30:04 EDT news553415780 New research led by Georgia Tech's College of Engineering finds that honey bees have developed a way to transform pollen particles into a viscoelastic pellet, allowing them to transport pollen efficiently, quickly, and reliably to their hive. The study also suggests the insects remove pollen from their bodies at speeds 2–10 times slower than their typical grooming speeds. https://phys.org/news/2021-10-honey-bees-pollen-particles-viscoelastic.html Plants & Animals Thu, 07 Oct 2021 08:21:00 EDT news552813658