New Leukemia-Killing Compounds Discovered
New study highlights potential of mitochondria-targeted chemotherapies. Scientists have discovered promising new drugs that work in concert with other drugs to deliver a deadly one-two…
Rice University
A Shortcut to Preventing Cancer
A new theory suggests that mutations have few straightforward ways to establish themselves in cells and cause tumors. For many researchers, the road to cancer…
Molecular Machines: Bacteria-Killing Drills Get an Upgrade
Molecular machines that kill infectious bacteria have been taught to see their mission in a new light. New nanoscale drills have been developed that are…
Turning Plastic Waste Into Carbon-Capture Master That Can Soak Up Excess Carbon Dioxide
Rice University lab turns hard-to-process trash into carbon-capture master. Here’s another thing to do with that mountain of used plastic: make it soak up excess…
Physicists Manipulate Electrons To Create “Synthetic Dimensions”
Rice University lab manipulates ultracold Rydberg atoms to mimic quantum interactions. Our spatial sense doesn’t extend beyond the familiar three dimensions, but that doesn’t stop…
Ancient African DNA Reveals Surprises About How Early Humans Lived, Traveled and Interacted
New research provides evidence of demographic shifts in sub-Saharan Africa. A new analysis of human remains that were buried in African archaeological sites has produced…
Why Lost Birds and Mammals Spell Doom for Some Plants
Animal-dispersed plants’ ability to keep pace with climate change reduced by 60%. In one of the first studies of its kind, researchers have gauged how…
Ancient Air Bubbles Trapped in Antarctic Ice Point to Cause of Oxygen Decline
Glacial erosion likely caused atmospheric oxygen levels to dip over past 800,000 years. An unknown culprit has been removing oxygen from our atmosphere for at…
Nanotube Fibers Stand Strong – But for How Long Under Stresses and Strains?
Rice scientists calculate how carbon nanotubes and their fibers experience fatigue. Up here in the macro world, we all feel fatigue now and then. It’s…
A-List Candidate for Fault-Free Quantum Computing Delivers Puzzling Surprise
Puzzling result forces physicists to rethink ‘spin-triplet’ superconductivity. A Rice University-led study is forcing physicists to rethink superconductivity in uranium ditelluride, an A-list material in…
Rice University Creates Effective Recipe To Decontaminate Disposable COVID Facemasks at Home
Heating PPE to the right degree kills 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2 virus without degrading material. Here’s the recipe to decontaminate a disposable facemask: Heat it at…
Orbital Harmony of TRAPPIST-1 Planets Could Survive Only Limited Early Bombardment
Fragile orbits of seven exoplanets limit late arrival of water. Seven Earth-sized planets orbit the star TRAPPIST-1 in near-perfect harmony, and U.S. and European researchers…
Solar Energy Breakthrough: Ultrathin Solar Cells Using 2D Perovskites Get a Boost
Rice lab finds 2D perovskite compound has the right stuff to challenge bulkier products. Rice University engineers have achieved a new benchmark in the design…
Sex and the Symbiont: Can Algae Hookups Help Corals Survive Climate Change?
Rice biologists’ discovery can be used to help climate-challenged reefs survive for now. A little more sexy time for symbionts could help coral reefs survive…
This Pyramid Scheme Could Be Helpful: Controlled Growth of Tetrahedron-Shaped Nanoparticles
Rice chemists discover mechanism in controlled growth of tetrahedron-shaped nanoparticles. Nature clearly likes symmetry. Look at your own hands, for example. But sometimes nature produces…
Modern Simulations Could Improve MRIs to More Efficiently Find Disease
Rice engineers find more efficient models to analyze contrast agents that find disease. Gadolinium-based contrast agents, the gold standard in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the health…
Physicists Probe Light Smashups To Guide Future Research Beyond the Standard Model
Understanding photon collisions could aid search for physics beyond the Standard Model. Hot on the heels of proving an 87-year-old prediction that matter can be…
Physicists Find “Magnon” Origins in 2D Magnet – Could Prove Useful for Encoding Information
Topological feature could prove useful for encoding information in electron spins. Rice physicists have confirmed the topological origins of magnons, magnetic features they discovered three…
