The U.S. has traditionally been an agricultural powerhouse with a healthy trade surplus. But global dynamics are changing due to a confluence of political and economic factors. U.S. agricultural imports now exceed exports, and the trade deficit is projected to worsen in the coming years. In a new study, researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Texas Tech University discuss recent developments affecting the U.S. trade in row crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton.

Fueled by a $2.7 million award from the National Institutes of Health, an interdisciplinary research team is developing non-invasive imaging technology that will help clinicians overcome current challenges of obtaining high-resolution images from deep inside tissue.

Renowned data scientist Paul Boutros, PhD, MBA, has been named the new director of the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He is the first computational biologist to oversee an NCI-designated cancer center, a network of 73 basic, clinical and comprehensive centers created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971.

In lieu of animal experiments, researchers from the University of Rochester are using state-of-the-art microchips with human tissue to better understand how the brain operates under healthy conditions and is damaged through neurodegenerative diseases or conditions like sepsis.

As drones become increasingly common in U.S. skies – delivering packages, inspecting bridges, even monitoring crops – the danger of cyberattacks has grown too. A drone hijacked by hackers could suddenly veer off course, speed up, stall in midair, or crash. Once compromised, the machine is useless, often left as little more than expensive junk. Florida International University researchers have found a way to fight back. At the IEEE International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, FIU computer scientists unveiled SHIELD, a defensive system that can detect and neutralize cyberattacks on drones in real time and, crucially, allow the drone to finish its mission.