University of Tennessee AgResearch hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center highlighting new on-site facilities, precision agriculture equipment and laboratory renovations funded through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

A study of elephants, giraffes and other wildlife in Namibia’s Etosha National Park underscores the ways in which the environment, biological sex, and anatomical distinctions can drive variation in the gut microbiomes across plant-eating species. Because the gut microbiome plays a critical role in animal health, the work can be used to inform conservation efforts.

Organoids are three-dimensional, self-organizing structures derived from stem cells that faithfully mimic the complexity of human organs. This review explores the innovations in organoid technology, covering their construction, applications, and future challenges. By replicating in vivo conditions, organoids have become indispensable tools for disease modeling, drug screening, and personalized medicine, with growing significance in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) research.

A Harvard team has demonstrated that robots can be designed to react to their environment and perform tasks by programming intelligence into their structure. 

Loneliness can be seen in a physical workplace, but remote work often hides the signs. To visualize communication and identify employees at risk in increasingly diverse work environments, researchers at Kyushu University analyzed workplace chat logs from platforms like Slack, and developed two new indicators—contribution to communication and strength of relationships between users. The team is now partnering with companies to explore wider practical applications.

AnalySwift LLC, a composite simulation software provider, has launched a new artificial intelligence platform to help users more quickly develop composite materials and structures without requiring in-depth technical jargon or knowledge. CEO Allan Wood said one application of the free platform is for the air mobility industry to design composite rotor blades and propellers. AnalySwift partnered with Wenbin Yu, the Milton Clauser Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University, to create CompositesAI.

What gives shark skin its toughness and sleek glide? Tiny, tooth-like scales called dermal denticles. Made of the same material as teeth, these structures protect sharks and reduce drag—especially crucial during mating. To uncover how denticles change with age and between sexes, researchers used high-powered electron microscopy on bonnethead sharks. The ultra-detailed images revealed striking variations in denticle shape and size across life stages and body regions. The findings offer a rare glimpse into how shark skin evolves as both armor and adaptation.