3-Aug-2026 Durability management and planning for concrete structures in the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau link: data-driven and model-based approach Civil Engineering Sciences The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Link’s concrete structures are engineered to achieve a design service life of 120 years, necessitating a robust, science-based framework for long-term durability management. This paper systematically reviews data-driven and physics-informed modeling approaches; establishes a smart, self-cleaning, and self-predictive durability database; integrates validated, application-oriented durability models; develops a life-cycle cost-optimized planning methodology; and proposes performance-aligned maintenance strategies—thereby identifying critical technical and managerial challenges in sustaining structural durability over the whole service life. Journal Civil Engineering Sciences Funder National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Key Research and Development Program of China
3-Aug-2026 Polyketide synthase–like functionality acquired by plant fatty acid elongase University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment A new study by researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) aims to elucidate and harness an unusual fatty acid biosynthetic pathway in seeds of Orychophragmus limprichtianus to expand the synthetic biology toolbox for plant/microbe-based bioproducts. This work reveals unprecedented evolutionary plasticity in plant lipid metabolism, breaking traditional boundaries of fatty acid engineering. The researchers successfully reconstructed this pathway in an engineered oilseed host, establishing a powerful synthetic biology toolkit to produce high-value oil. This work provides a scalable bio-based source for industrial lubricants, which can support the bioeconomy. Journal Science Advances Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Mitigating the soil carbon deficit of annual agriculture with perennial bioenergy crops in the U.S. Midwest University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment A recent Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) study explored the ability of perennial bioenergy crops to restore agricultural soils to pre-cultivation prairie conditions by comparing soil organic carbon under perennial bioenergy crops planted on former corn/soy fields to maize-based annual cropping and native prairie. Soil organic carbon increased in the first 5 years under mature bioenergy crops at four of seven sites. Journal Geoderma Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Optimization of pre-commercial enzymes dosage for a potential lignocellulosic biorefinery University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) assessed enzyme dosages of cellulase and hemicellulase on hydrothermally pretreated lignocellulosic substrates to maximize sugar and ethanol yields and improve cost analysis. Optimal enzyme dosages for the selected feedstocks were identified for both sugar release and ethanol yield. These enzyme dosages could improve the overall bioprocess economics of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Journal Green Chemistry Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Multisite field evaluation of oil accumulation and agronomic performance in grain and sweet sorghums engineered for lipid hyperaccumulation University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment In a new study by Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), researchers evaluated oil sorghum lines in Nebraska and Illinois over 2 years to quantify genotype-by-environment effects on agronomic performance and triacylglycerol accumulation. This study confirms vegetative lipid accumulation as a viable strategy for high-biomass sorghum, supporting its potential as a dual-purpose feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. Journal Plant Biotechnology Journal Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Finding a hidden culprit in quantum biosensors University of Chicago An interdisciplinary research from UChicago PME and the University of Iowa, originally aimed at making diamond-based quantum biosensors less toxic, less inflammatory, and overall easier on cells, unexpectedly revealed new insights that overturned a major assumption limiting the sensors' effectiveness. Journal Advanced Materials
3-Aug-2026 The first laser retroreflector on the lunar far side onboard China's Chang'e-6 lander Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd In a newly published research article in Space: Science & Technology, an international team of researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN); the China Academy of Space Technology; the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and the China University of Geosciences jointly presents a detailed account of the successful deployment of the INRRI laser retroreflector on the lunar farside by the Chang’e-6 mission. Journal Space: Science & Technology
31-Jul-2026 AI: Not always a team player University of Texas at Austin In a business environment, AI boosts team learning in the short term but can lead to long-term decline, according to new research from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. “If you bring in AI, it’s going to have implications for how teams coordinate and develop a shared vision with what they’re trying to do with their work,” says Edward Anderson, professor of information, risk, and operations management. Journal Strategic Organization
