In a groundbreaking study, University of Utah researchers found strong evidence that exposure to industrial pollutionduring pregnancy can shape a grandchild’s neurodevelopment. A child has a higher risk of an intellectual disability if their grandmothers lived near industrial facilities while pregnant with a parent, especially the mother. Higher density of industrial facilities corresponded to higher risk for the grandchild.

Harvard researchers have created a soft, wearable robotic device that provides personalized movement assistance for individuals with upper-limb impairment, such as stroke and ALS patients.

When SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, began spreading worldwide in 2020, many research teams immediately set to work developing a vaccine against it. Building on decades of previous work on mRNA technology and on other viral vaccines, including HIV, they achieved their goal within the year. The most widely used mRNA vaccine design contains the genetic instructions for the body to make the spike protein that the virus uses to enter cells. The resulting immune response protects against infection and, more importantly, disease and death. However, developing a vaccine for HIV has proven much more difficult.