Natural Sciences

Popularity runs in families

f identical versions of 20 people lived out their lives in dozens of different worlds, would the same people be popular in each world?

Biologists construct a ‘periodic table’ for cell nuclei

A team of biologists studying the tree of life has unveiled a new classification system for cell nuclei, and discovered a method for transmuting one type of cell nucleus into another.

Bacteria have sensors to shut toxin down

Researchers at Rice University and the University of Idaho helped identify a protein that senses and binds to formaldehyde to tell cells that toxic formaldehyde is building up.

Pristine quantum criticality found

U.S. and Austrian physicists searching for evidence of quantum criticality in topological materials have found one of the most pristine examples yet observed.

Thin is now in to turn terahertz polarization

Rice lab’s discovery of ‘magic angle’ builds on its ultrathin, highly aligned nanotube films

Abercrombie coming down

Demolition of Rice’s historic Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory began on May 17 with the first ceremonial bites taken out of the building’s north face by Rice President David Leebron, Provost Reginald DesRoches and engineering professor Michael Wong.

Unconventional Students at Rice 2021: Nithya Gillipelli bridges the gap between languages

In junior high, Nithya Gillipelli fell in love with the Spanish language and Hispanic culture. 

Feds back probe of understudied gut nervous system

Rice University neurobiologist Rosa Uribe has won a five-year, $2 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how the enteric nervous system develops.

How planets form controls elements essential for life

How a planet comes together has implications for whether it retains the nitrogen, carbon and water that eventually give rise to life.

Rice physicist Stanislav Sazykin dies at 49

Stanislav Sazykin, an associate research professor of physics and astronomy who was highly respected in his field of space science, died suddenly on May 3 at 49. The cause of his death has not yet been determined.

In graphene process, resistance is useful

Lab uses laser-induced graphene process to create micron-scale patterns in photoresist for consumer electronics and more.

Silver ions hurry up, then wait as they disperse

There’s gold in them thar nanoparticles, and there used to be a lot of silver, too. But much of the silver has leached away, and researchers want to know how.

Touchless temperature made simple

Getting around during the pandemic often requires getting your temperature taken to check for COVID-19. A team of seniors at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering wants to make that practice more practical for facilities around the world.

Rice team vying for $1 million Solar Desalination Prize

A Rice team's clever design uses the power of the sun to make fresh water from saltwater, even at night.

Rice’s Walker beams down from space station

Rice alumna Shannon Walker and crewmate Kate Rubins, aboard the International Space Station, joined a conversation with students in Houston, Scotland and Ecuador.