Plantations of native fine-flavour cacao in countries like Peru have become rare due to the dominance of high-yielding cacao varieties for mass production. This threatens the valuable native cacao crop’s genetic diversity. An international research team, led by the University of Göttingen and Bioversity International, studied the use of selected genotypes of the native variety “Blanco de Piura”, known by local farmers for their high productivity, for grafting fully grown cacao trees. The researchers found that grafted trees yielded 59% more than non-grafted controls after three years. They also quantified the contribution of management practices, as well as plantation designs using either one or multiple clones of the native cacao variety. Results were published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.

Scientists created an AI system to automate behavioral studies of capuchins monkeys in the wild. The novel method provides a roadmap for the first scalable, systematic way to evaluate and monitor the cognitive abilities of wild primates.

Wireless charging is nothing new for our phones, watches, earbuds, and other tech. Now, researchers want to bring wireless power to the skies—recharging drones mid-flight by beaming a laser under their wings. 

Reporting July 29 in the Cell Press journal Matter & Light, researchers engineered a lightweight receiver based on solar cell design that captures energy from a laser beam and turns it into electricity. To keep the device cool, the researchers strategically placed it on the wings of a drone and utilized heat-blocking technology, allowing the receiver to convert more of the laser’s energy into usable power. 

Researchers at Duke University School of Medicine have developed an artificial intelligence framework that can redesign proteins on a scale previously seen only in natural evolution. The tool can create shorter, longer, and highly modified versions of proteins while preserving their structure and function.

Researchers at Colorado State University have developed a process to transform naturally occurring and highly stable carbon dioxide into recyclable, high-performance materials that could replace today’s plastics in many situations.

Scientists at Imperial College London and The University of Manchester have developed a promising new way to create safer and more effective treatments for life-threatening fungal infections.

ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, today announced the appointment of Alison Derbenwick Miller as its Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, effective August 3, 2026.

Harvard bioengineers have developed a way to create customized synthetic vascular grafts in minutes. 

Coho salmon released by recreational anglers are far more likely to survive when handled without a landing net, according to new research. In salmon fisheries where anglers may be required to release salmon that are undersized, wild or not the target species, post-release survival is critical to conservation efforts.