Researchers at Arc Institute developed MULTI-evolve, an AI-guided framework that compresses protein engineering from months of iterative experimentation into weeks using as few as 200 strategic lab measurements. By training neural networks on pairwise combinations of beneficial mutations, the approach learns the rules of how mutations interact and accurately predicts complex multi-mutant proteins, achieving up to 256-fold activity improvements in a single experimental round. Published in Science, the framework and open-source tools are applicable to enzymes, genome editors, and therapeutic proteins.

Harvard researchers have developed OpenMetabolics, an open-source, smartphone-based activity monitor that uses machine learning and leg motion to estimate calories burned.

SAN ANTONIO — February 19, 2026 — New research by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF-NCAR) has developed a new tool providing a first step toward the ability to forecast space weather weeks in advance, instead of just hours. This advance warning could allow agencies and industries to mitigate impacts to GPS, power grids, astronaut safety and more.

Pygmy sperm whales are elusive deep divers rarely seen alive. Scientists rely on stranded individuals, especially along the southeastern U.S., to study them. Researchers analyzed more than 20 years of stranding data and identified three previously unknown Helicobacter genotypes in whale stomach tissue. Detected through histopathology, molecular diagnostics and DNA sequencing, the bacteria were linked to ulcers and inflammation, expanding knowledge of this little-known species and ocean microbes.