Biodegradable plastics have been advertised as one solution to the plastic pollution problem bedeviling the world, but today's "compostable" plastic bags, utensils and cup lids don't break down during typical composting and ...
Polymers
Apr 21, 2021
4
1345
Whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microresonators are opening up many new research directions that enable the detection of proteins, enzymes and DNA, down to single molecules. A new class of sensors makes use of active microresonators ...
Optics & Photonics
Mar 16, 2021
0
7
Light microscopes have revolutionized our understanding of the microcosmos, but their resolution is limited to about 100 nanometers. To see how molecules bond, break, or change their structure, we need at least 1000 times ...
Materials Science
Mar 9, 2021
0
3318
One of the dreams of physicists today is being able to harvest electricity back from dissipated heat. The key to this probably resides in circuits that contain single molecules. Instead of being limited to classical conductance, ...
Nanophysics
Mar 1, 2021
0
42
Who hasn't looked at the sky on a mild summer night and thought about the vastness of the universe? The trained eye can see the Andromeda galaxy as a distant spot. Thanks to the latest telescopes, we know that it consists ...
Biotechnology
Feb 26, 2021
1
24
The transition from single-cell to multicellular organisms was a major step in the evolution of complex life forms. Multicellular organisms arose hundreds of millions of years ago, but the forces underlying this event remain ...
Evolution
Feb 24, 2021
0
42
Scientists have developed a pioneering new technique that could revolutionize the accuracy, precision and clarity of super-resolution imaging systems.
Biotechnology
Jan 21, 2021
1
54
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 ...
Nanophysics
Jan 20, 2021
0
50
Normally the word "chaos" evokes a lack of order: a hectic day, a teenager's bedroom, tax season. And the physical understanding of chaos is not far off. It's something that is extremely difficult to predict, like the weather. ...
General Physics
Jan 7, 2021
1
227
The addition and removal of methyl groups on DNA plays an important role in gene regulation. In order to study these mechanisms more precisely, a German team has developed a new method by which specific methylation sites ...
Biochemistry
Nov 24, 2020
0
19
