Salk scientist Terrence Sejnowski will receive the inaugural World Digital Technology Academy Scientific Breakthrough Award alongside Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton for their foundational development of the Boltzmann machine—a precursor to modern AI tools. The WDFT Awards were launched in 2025 at the United Nations World Summit for Social Development in Doha to celebrate “groundbreaking contributions across science, engineering, societal impact, and global collaboration in the era of digital technologies.”
 

Relatively simple habitat management can influence population genetics, providing conservation managers with the opportunity to support genetic resilience not only through breeding programs or translocations, but also by changing how essential resources are distributed in the wild, thereby avoiding more invasive methods that may harm populations.

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) will house the first two Max Planck Centres in Southeast Asia, the Max Planck – Singapore Centre for Data-Driven Chemistry and the Max Planck – NTU Singapore Centre for Biocultural Worlding.

 

These centres are flagship collaborative research initiatives between the Max Planck Society (MPG) in Germany and leading international research institutions. They serve as hubs of scientific excellence, bringing together top researchers from around the world to address frontier questions across diverse disciplines.

 

The Max Planck – Singapore Centre for Data Driven Chemistry aims to study how the complex volume of chemical research data can be digitalised and analysed effectively to better understand chemical processes and shed light on new reactions.

 

The Max Planck – NTU Singapore Centre for Biocultural Worlding will study how the close connection between nature and human cultures shape the future of our planet, and what kinds of knowledge and approaches are needed to respond effectively.

In a new study of tropical amphibians, a team led by Penn State biologists found that amphibians in connected natural forests and aquatic habitats were more likely to host beneficial skin microbes that inhibit a deadly fungal pathogen.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is among the most common chronic liver diseases, and, when untreated, can progress to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Salk Institute scientists found that production of a protein called FGF1 in the liver varies throughout the day to affect fat release timing from the liver into the bloodstream, acting as a circadian pacemaker for liver fat metabolism. These findings illuminate a previously unknown circadian lipid trafficking mechanism in the liver, with implications for understanding how disrupted body clocks drive metabolic disease.

A University of Texas at Arlington researcher is leading a new study that investigates cardio-sarcopenia—the combined loss of heart and muscle health in aging adults.