30-Jan-2026 Central Norway’s first high seat since the Viking Age Norwegian University of Science and Technology The foundations for the Viking expeditions were laid on farms. Society became more stratified during this period, and carved chairs, owned by wealthy farmers and known as ‘high seats’, were a clear status symbol.
30-Jan-2026 Transforming ammonia for food security and economic growth Texas A&M University With a new electrochemical synthesis via an electrochemical nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), achieving carbon-free ammonia production is closer to reality through work from Drs. Abdoulaye Djire and Perla Balbuena, chemical engineering professors at Texas A&M University, and graduate students David Kumar and Hao En Lai. Journal Journal of the American Chemical Society
30-Jan-2026 First successful lab colony of polyphagous shot hole borer in Western Australia Murdoch University A major breakthrough has been achieved in the fight against the invasive polyphagous shot hole borer (PSHB), Euwallacea fornicatus in Western Australia, with the establishment of the first lab colony at Murdoch University.
30-Jan-2026 Mini tornadoes spin out dried cellulose nanofibers DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory Researchers at the University of Maine and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are collaborating on a new way to dry non-aggregated cellulose nanofiber—a material that could replace plastics in a wide range of products.
30-Jan-2026 Xing’s research uses AI to improve weather, air quality forecasting University of Tennessee at Knoxville Jia Xing, a research associate professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, pioneers AI-driven atmospheric chemistry models to improve air quality and weather forecasting. Supported by NSF and NOAA grants, his work integrates meteorology and chemistry, enhancing prediction accuracy and benefiting human health, emergency response, and global scientific collaboration in climate and pollution management.
30-Jan-2026 New dashboard helps predict and plan for disease outbreaks University of California - San Diego When infectious diseases surge, timing matters. A forecasting platform developed at the UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy is helping Peru and Brazil predict outbreaks of dengue and malaria
29-Jan-2026 Key EU workshop advances pathways for identifying and restoring Key Pollinator Areas and ecological connectivity across Europe Pensoft Publishers The outcomes from a new workshop conducted through the upcoming Science Service for Biodiversity outline practical, science-based pathways to identify, map and restore Key Pollinator Areas and ecological connectivity across Europe, supporting the EU’s pollinator, biodiversity and nature restoration goals. Funder Horizon Europe
29-Jan-2026 Expert Q&A: Learning how we respond to wildfire smoke to help inform policy University of Michigan Understanding how and when people make decisions to limit their smoke exposure is key to developing programs and policies that can best support and augment individual choices, say University of Michigan researchers. Journal Environmental Research Letters Funder NASA Headquarters, Kathy and Steve Berman
29-Jan-2026 Kennesaw State researcher using VR to improve STEM education Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University associate professor of science education Preethi Titu is working on an NSF-funded project designed to use virtual reality (VR) to improve undergraduate education in STEM education.
29-Jan-2026 Can aging be treated at the cellular level? University of Pennsylvania January can be a time for resolutions, often involving goals of getting healthy or fit. Increasingly this has included a fixation on addressing aging at the cellular level, driven in part by the rise of “biohacking.” University of Pennsylvania researchers Shelley Berger, Zhihui Zhang, and Esra Sahingur explain senescence—the process of cellular aging—and discuss the complexities of developing anti-aging therapies that target these cells.
