1-Sep-2026 ARPA-H funds HMS-led pilot project to develop new class of RNA medicines Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS)-led team awarded up to $4.4 million for a one-year pilot project to lay the foundation for a new class of medicines. Researchers from HMS, MIT, and RNAV8 Bio seek to find genetic switches called riboswitches in human cells and use them to control when and where medications work inside the body. The goal is to one day create precision drugs for numerous diseases that turn on only when and where they are needed, increasing treatment specificity and efficacy and limiting side effects.
1-Sep-2026 Harvesting the critical minerals future DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Scientists are betting on a resource-efficient, highly effective strategy to recover critical minerals: Using engineered plants and symbiotic microbes to absorb minerals directly from the Earth in a process called phytomining. At the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, researchers have created an agentic artificial intelligence system that is proving to be a powerful ally in the race to develop crops that act like living sponges, selectively hyperaccumulating critical minerals from the soil until they are harvested and processed to recover the valuable metals. Funder U.S. Department of Energy
1-Sep-2026 Engineering experts work toward a hurricane-resilient Texas Texas A&M University Torrential downpours. Storm surge floods. Thunder and lightning. High winds over 100 miles per hour. Hurricanes are one of the most devastating natural hazards to affect Texans. Damages cause many disruptions like road closures, power outages and closing of essential facilities like schools and grocery stores. Some side effects of hurricanes, such as downed branches from high winds, may be inevitable — but severe damage may be avoided. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers, including Texas A&M University College of Engineering faculty, are working to increase community resilience — creating a future where major disruptions from hurricanes are few and far between.
1-Sep-2026 Postdoc’s recipe for research: Creating new 3D models to test drugs in pediatric sarcoma Medical University of South Carolina Creating 3D models of Ewing sarcoma is allowing researchers to better investigate therapies for this rare cancer.
1-Sep-2026 Skin is our most accessible organ. Could it reveal new clues about aging and frailty? Jackson Laboratory When it comes to aging skin, scientists think of much more than wrinkles. They think of an organ with multitudes of microbes, immune cells, structural proteins, and chemical signals that constantly interact with one another. Journal Science
1-Sep-2026 A new, precision surgical approach to diagnosing and treating early-stage lung cancer University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences UCLA Health's thoracic surgery, interventional pulmonology and pathology teams have adopted a novel, streamlined approach that combines diagnosis, staging, localization and treatment into a single operating room session under one anesthetic event.
1-Sep-2026 For 25 years, California program has helped uninsured men get prostate cancer treatment University of California - Los Angeles Health Sciences As the program marks its 25th anniversary, Dr. Litwin reflects on its origins, how the needs of patients have evolved, and why its mission remains as important as ever.
31-Aug-2026 How do you get middle schoolers to eat more fruit? Give them smoothies. University of Maine A three-year study led by researchers found that offering frozen fruit smoothies during lunch increased the amount of fruit students selected and consumed while sharply reducing waste. The work also showed something broader: Asking adolescents what they want — and involving them in designing a solution — can change their food choices.
31-Aug-2026 For your health — what to know about dementia — and ways to prevent it Washington University in St. Louis Division of Public Health Sciences Dementia touches many lives — in many different ways. And most of us likely have some firsthand experience with it, whether it’s with an aging family member or friend or neighbor. Over 6 million people in the U.S. have some type of dementia, and these numbers are expected to accelerate in the coming years as the population gets older. There are steps, though, that we can take to boost our brain health and help lower the risk of developing dementia. A recent international report estimated that close to half of cases could be prevented or delayed — and mostly from changes many of us can make.
31-Aug-2026 New engineering undergrad degree blends multiple areas University of Texas at Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas is introducing a new bachelor’s degree in materials science and engineering, giving students the opportunity to build expertise across disciplines and specialize in areas such as microelectronics and energy.
