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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 13-Sep-2025 16:11 ET (13-Sep-2025 20:11 GMT/UTC)

ERC Advanced Grant: Frank Buchholz (TUD) once again receives the highest endowed EU funding award for precise genome editing

Technische Universität Dresden
Grant and Award Announcement

The prospect of a cure for hereditary and infectious diseases is driving research in the field of genome editing forward at a rapid pace. Numerous ongoing clinical trials and the approval of the first genome editing therapy point to a wide range of treatment options for diseases that were previously considered incurable. Usually, scientists attempt to repair the disease-causing DNA segment in the host cell. Researchers at the Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden led by molecular biologist Prof. Frank Buchholz now want to use highly specific editing tools to develop a new class of genome editing technologies that will significantly expand the potential for life-saving therapies. For his DC-PGE project (DNA-binding domain Conditioned Precision Genome Editing), Prof. Frank Buchholz has been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), the highest endowed European funding of almost EUR 2.4 million over a period of five years. Frank Buchholz has thus succeeded in acquiring his second ERC Advanced Grant.

Funder: European Research Council

Living near an ocean polluted by microplastics may increase cardiometabolic disease risk

American Heart Association
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study of microplastics in U.S. coastal waters found that residents of counties adjacent to the most heavily microplastic-polluted waters had significantly higher rates of Type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease (plaque-clogged blood vessels feeding the heart) and stroke compared to similar counties located near waters with low levels of microplastic pollution.

Journal: Journal of the American Heart Association

AI paves the way towards green cement

Paul Scherrer Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The cement industry produces around eight percent of global CO₂ emissions – more than the entire aviation sector worldwide. Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have developed an AI-based model that helps to accelerate the discovery of new cement formulations that could yield the same material quality with a better carbon footprint.

Journal: Materials and Structures

NTU Singapore and WHO collaborate to modernize global food safety standards

Nanyang Technological University
Business Announcement

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are collaborating on a new project to bolster global capabilities in food safety risk assessment, in support of the WHO Global Strategy for Food Safety 2022–2030.

Electric cars and their warning signals difficult to locate at low speed

Chalmers University of Technology
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As electric cars become more common, vulnerable road users are encountering more and more warning signals from them. Now, new research from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, shows that one of the most common signal types is very difficult for humans to locate, especially when multiple similar vehicles are in motion simultaneously.

Journal: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

In an era where empathy feels unfamiliar, AI now translates emotions

Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH)
Peer-Reviewed Publication

POSTECH Develops Personalized Emotion Translation AI 'EmoSync'… Ranks in Top 5% at International Conference.

Can enzymes from fungi be used to extract plant components for biofuels and bioplastics?

Wiley
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Plant cell wall components such as cellulose are abundant sources of carbohydrates that are widely used in biofuels and bioproducts; however, extraction of these components from plant biomass is relatively difficult due to their complexity. In research in FEBS Open Bio, investigators have found that a combination of fungal enzymes can efficiently degrade plant biomass to allow for extraction.

Journal: FEBS Open Bio