Natural Sciences

Physicists probe light smashups to guide future research

For some peptides, killing bacteria an inside job

Rice scientists study the dynamics of the immune system’s antimicrobial peptides, which attack and eliminate harmful bacteria. They find peptides that invade bacteria and do their damage from the inside are underrated.

Crop-eating moths will flourish as climate warms

Climate change in this century will allow one of the world's costliest agricultural pests, the diamondback moth, to both thrive year-round and rapidly evolve resistance to pesticides in large parts of the United States, Europe and China where it previously died each winter, according to a study by U.S. and Chinese researchers.

Docking peptides, slow to lock, open possible path to treat Alzheimer’s

Researchers have identified a possible “Achilles’ heel” in the frustration of amyloid beta peptides as they dock to the fibrils that form plaques in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

Tweezer grant pleases Rice researchers

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

Nature’s archive reveals Atlantic tempests through time

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 physicists find 'magnon' origins in 2D magnet

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.

Sim shows how COVID virus infects cells

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

Rice lab dives deep for DNA’s secrets

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.

Physicists find room-temperature, 2D-to-1D topological transition

Physicists have discovered a room-temperature transition between 1D and 2D electrical conduction states in the topological insulator bismuth iodide.

CPRIT grant establishes Genetic Design and Engineering Center

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

Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power

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.

People, papers and presentations for Aug. 16, 2021

The Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program, has been awarded the 2021 Emerging Scholars Policy Prize

'Cool' kids in the cosmos may not be so unique

Rice University scientists show that "cool" stars like the sun share dynamic surface behaviors that influence their energetic and magnetic environments. Stellar magnetic activity is key to whether a given star can host planets that support life.

NSF grant kicks off Center for Adapting Flaws into Features

Rice University has won a Phase I National Science Foundation grant to establish the NSF Center for Adapting Flaws into Features to investigate nanoscale chemical phenomena and optimize the structures and electronic properties of materials.