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An illustration shows how optical trapping could be used to investigate collective, force-generating properties in a complex of motor molecules. A National Science Foundation grant to Rice University to acquire an optical tweezer will advance researchers’ investigation of biological and inorganic molecules. (Credit: Diehl Lab/Rice University)

Tweezer grant pleases Rice researchers

September 8, 2021

Rice researchers have won an NSF grant to acquire a sophisticated optical tweezer microscope to manipulate, measure and monitor micron-scale particles.

The North Atlantic network of sites that preserve records of hurricanes stretches along the coast from Canada to Central America, but with significant gaps. A new study led by scientists at Rice University shows filling those gaps with data from the mid-Atlantic states will help improve the historical record of storms over the past several thousand years and could aid in predictions of future storms in a time of climate change. Illustration by Elizabeth Wallace

Nature’s archive reveals Atlantic tempests through time

September 7, 2021

Rice scientists uncover how natural archives can record Atlantic hurricane frequency over the past 1,000 years. SUMMARY: Rice University scientists uncover how natural archives can record Atlantic hurricane frequency over the past 1,000 years. More data is needed to help model how climate change will affect storms in the future.

Rice announces new faculty funding opportunities

September 7, 2021

Rice's Office of Research launches three Creative Ventures Funds to seed faculty initiatives and guide them towards commercialization.

Rice University graduate student Lebing Chen used a high-temperature furnace to make chromium triiodide crystals

Rice physicists find 'magnon' origins in 2D magnet

September 1, 2021

Rice physicists have confirmed the topological origins of magnons, magnetic features they discovered three years ago in a 2D material that could prove useful for spintronics.

Rice University theorists have calculated flexoelectric effects in double-walled carbon nanotubes. The electrical potential (P) of atoms on either side of a graphene sheet (top) are identical, but not when the sheet is curved into a nanotube. Double-walled nanotubes (bottom) show unique effects as band gaps in inner and outer tubes are staggered. (Credit: Yakobson Research Group/Rice University)

Double-walled nanotubes have electro-optical advantages

August 31, 2021

Rice theorists find that flexoelectric effects in double-walled carbon nanotubes could be highly useful for photovoltaic applications.

Simulations by scientists at the Rice University-based Center for Theoretical Biological Physics suggest how the SARS-CoV-2 spike infects cells. The illustration shows how the spike reconfigures itself in microseconds as it goes from pre- to post-fusion with target cells. The researchers suggest their work to reveal the mechanism by which the virus spreads could lead to new strategies to defeat COVID-19.

Sim shows how COVID virus infects cells

August 31, 2021

A simulation shows the complicated mechanism by which the SARS-CoV-2 virus may infect cells, leading to COVID-19.

An illustration depicts the atomic structure of double-layer borophene. In this image, all atoms are boron, with the pink atoms specifically involved in bonding between the layers. Courtesy of Northwestern University

Bilayer borophene is a first

August 30, 2021

Scientists make bilayer borophene for the first time. The versatile 2D material shows promise for quantum electronics, energy storage and sensors.

‘Smart’ shirt keeps tabs on the heart

August 30, 2021

Carbon nanotube thread woven into athletic shirts gathered electrocardiogram and heart rate data that matched standard monitors and beat chest-strap monitors. The fibers are flexible and the shirts are machine washable.

A study of stress on bacteriophage T7 will help Rice structural biologist Yang Gao and his team to reveal the atomic-scale mechanisms of DNA replication. Illustration courtesy of the Yang Gao Lab

Rice lab dives deep for DNA’s secrets

August 27, 2021

Structural biologist Yang Gao receives a five-year National Institutes of Health grant to detail how complex protein chains replicate DNA and fix errors on the fly. What they find could help treat genomic disease, including cancer.

Rice University has been awarded a $4 million grant by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to establish the Genetic Design and Engineering Center. (Credit: Illustration by Olivia Flynn/Bashor Lab)

CPRIT grant establishes Genetic Design and Engineering Center

August 20, 2021

Rice faculty members led by bioengineer Gang Bao have been awarded a $4 million CPRIT grant to establish the Genetic Design and Engineering Center.

Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy in a project developed at Rice University. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power

August 16, 2021

Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy.

Sample trajectories of the paths traveled by fluorescently tagged Myxococcus xanthus cells that were aggregating in mounds. The trajectories are superimposed on a fluorescent image in which the aggregates appear white. (Image courtesy of C. Cotter/UGA)

When many act as one, data-driven models can reveal key behaviors

August 4, 2021

Data science approaches can reveal subtle clues about the origins of such collective behaviors as aggregation of bacteria.

Rice University researchers introduced noncanonical amino acid building blocks into proteins in living cells, pioneering a powerful tool for investigating and manipulating the structure and function of proteins. The resulting unnatural organism, a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria, is able to monitor low levels of oxidative stress. (Credit: Xiao Lab/Rice University)

Programmed bacteria have something extra

July 30, 2021

Rice chemists expand genetic code of E. coli to produce 21st amino acid, giving it new abilities.

Biochar’s benefits for the long-term sequestration of carbon and nitrogen on American farms are clear, but new research from Rice University shows it can help farmers save money on irrigation as well. The study showed that sandy soil, in particular, gains ability to retain more water when amended with biochar. (Credit: Masiello Lab/Rice University)

Biochar helps hold water, saves money

July 21, 2021

Biochar’s benefits for long-term storage of carbon and nitrogen on American farms are clear, but new research from Rice University shows it can help farmers save money on irrigation as well.

At left, top and side views of the crystal structures of perovskite-derived Cs3Bi2I9, a material synthesized at Rice University that shows valleytronics capabilities. Each unit cell contains two neighboring layers with a weak van der Waals interaction in between. At right: an image shows triangles of the material on a mica substrate. (Credit: Lou Group/Rice University)

Odds are good for unique 2D compound

July 20, 2021

Rice University engineers make 2D materials for valleytronics, a platform for information processing and storage that relies on the manipulation of electrons’ positions in energetic “valleys.”