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Tech Xplore / A smelly snapshot of the current state of electronic noses for robots

Robots are getting better at sniffing out smells thanks to improvements in electronic noses (e-noses). A comprehensive review of the state of robot olfaction, published in the journal npj Robotics, has surveyed recent advances ...

Jan 31, 2026 in Robotics
Phys.org / Plastic pollution promotes hazardous water conditions, new study finds

Dangerous concentrations of algae such as "red tides" have been consistently emerging in locations around the world. A region in Southern Australia is experiencing a nine-month toxic algae bloom that spans thousands of miles ...

Feb 1, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Are cats 'vegan' meat eaters? Why isotopic signatures of feline fur could trick us into thinking that way

Cats—unlike humans—are true carnivores: they must eat meat to survive because their bodies can't draw some essential nutrients from plants. By looking at tissues, researchers can get a good understanding of what foods ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Biology
Phys.org / Scientists outline case for next-generation ocean iron fertilization field trials

A team of ocean and climate researchers is calling for a new generation of carefully designed ocean iron fertilization (OIF) field trials to determine whether this marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) method can safely and ...

Feb 5, 2026 in Earth
Medical Xpress / Scientists build a 'Rosetta Stone' to decode chronic pain neurons

Researchers from the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute of Neurophysiology at Uniklinik RWTH Aachen in Germany have deciphered the molecular signature of so-called sleeping nociceptors—a type ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Neuroscience
Phys.org / Two huge hot blobs of rock influence Earth's magnetic field, study reveals

Exploring Earth's deep interior is a far bigger challenge than exploring the solar system. While we have traveled 25 billion km into space, the deepest we have ever gone below our feet is just over 12 km. Consequently, little ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Medical Xpress / Pancreatic tumors eliminated in mice without resistance developing

Current drugs for pancreatic cancer lose effectiveness within months because the tumor becomes resistant. Now, a group from Spain's National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) has been able to avoid the development of resistance ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Oncology & Cancer
Phys.org / Biochemists find solution that lets bacteriophages bypass bacterial immunity

Antimicrobial resistance—when bacteria and fungi defend themselves against the drugs designed to kill them—is an urgent threat to global public health, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To combat ...

Feb 2, 2026 in Chemistry
Medical Xpress / Pink noise reduces REM sleep and may harm sleep quality

Pink noise—often used to promote sleep—may reduce restorative REM sleep and interfere with sleep recovery. In contrast, earplugs were found to be significantly more effective in protecting sleep against traffic noise, ...

Feb 2, 2026 in Sleep disorders
Tech Xplore / A programmable, Lego-like material for robots emulates life's flexibility

Mechanical engineers at Duke University have demonstrated a proof-of-concept method for programming mechanical properties into solid Lego-like building blocks. By controlling the solidity of hundreds of individual cells in ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Robotics
Tech Xplore / Neptunium study yields plutonium insights for space exploration

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are breathing new life into the scientific understanding of neptunium, a unique, radioactive, metallic element—and a key precursor for production of ...

Feb 3, 2026 in Energy & Green Tech
Medical Xpress / Modeling decades of muscle atrophy in weeks with new transgenic zebrafish

As people age, muscles naturally lose mass and strength, a condition known as sarcopenia. The decline can make everyday activities harder and increases the risk of falls, disability, and early death. At the moment, the best ...

Feb 4, 2026 in Genetics