Replicating bacteria DNA relies on accordionlike folds to separate
Rice researchers discover that bacteria rely on repulsive forces, strengthened by the SMC family of proteins, to separate their DNA during replication.
Researchers at Rice recently convened an international group of scientists to explore how artificial intelligence and machine learning could transform one of the world’s most ambitious physics experiments: the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
Rice and IIT Madras announce recipients of Strategic Partnership Collaboration Awards
The three selected projects bring together faculty expertise from both universities in areas ranging from sustainable materials and entrepreneurship research to nuclear physics and detector technology.
Rice scientists unveil new tool to watch quantum behavior in action
Rice University researchers Jianwei Huang and Ming Yi have developed a new capability, magnetoARPES, building on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) that allows researchers to study quantum behaviors they have been unable to resolve using ARPES alone.
Material previously thought to be quantum is actually new, nonquantum state of matter
A recent study found that the material cerium magnesium hexalluminate (CeMgAl11O19) was not actually in a quantum spin liquid phase despite evidence suggesting it was.
The NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, sponsored by Texas Rep. Brian Babin (R-Woodville), moves tomorrow to consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives following unanimous approval by the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. As lawmakers consider the legislation, Rice experts are available to provide perspective on the bill’s implications for space science, engineering and aeronautics, artificial intelligence, public-private partnerships and the future aerospace workforce.
Rice hosts inaugural Houston Space Galette in honor of Texas-France Space Hub’s first anniversary
The Texas-France Space hub's first annual Houston Space Galette, held Feb. 12, fostered dialogue within the Houston space community.
Before rockets, there were stories: Rice explores human meaning of space
Two Rice scholars are asking what it would mean to treat that long human relationship with space as not just a footnote to engineering but as a central intellectual pursuit.
Books that shaped a universe: Reiff reflects on science, curiosity and imagination
For more than five decades, Patricia Reiff has explored the forces that shape Earth’s place in space. But when the Rice professor of physics and astronomy took the stage Jan. 15 for Friends of Fondren Library’s Books That Shaped My World series, her focus shifted from spacecraft and data to the books and people that have influenced how she thinks, teaches and lives.
New data-driven 3D chromosome model reveals structural and dynamic features of DNA
Rice researchers develop a new and effective approach for creating 3D maps of chromosomes from real-world data.
Newly identified protein dark energy provides insight into form vs function in protein structure
Rice researchers and collaborators recently published a paper describing the “dark energy” found in the structural protein universe.
Rice researchers awarded Hill Prize in Engineering for light-driven ammonia synthesis
Rice’s Naomi Halas, Peter Nordlander and Hossein Robajatzi have been awarded the 2026 Hill Prize in Engineering for their work advancing light-driven technologies for sustainable ammonia synthesis.
Researchers led by Guido Pagano used a specialized quantum device to simulate a vibrating molecule and track how energy moves within it.
Scientists uncover new quantum state that could power future technologies
Scientists have discovered a new quantum state of matter that connects two significant areas of physics.
Rice researchers uncover the hidden physics of knot formation in fluids
A team of researchers at Rice, Georgetown University and the University of Trento in Italy has uncovered a surprising physical mechanism that explains how a single filament can form a knot while sinking through a fluid under strong gravitational forces.