EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering - News by Subject: Tech & Engineering

Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Jan-2026 16:11 ET (28-Jan-2026 21:11 GMT/UTC)

27-Jan-2026

Metal-fluorine bonds promote photoelectrochemical CH3OH oxidation to HCHO on BiVO4 photoanode

Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The metal-F bond formed on the fluorinated BiVO₄ photoanode in a near-neutral electrolyte promotes the adsorption and activation of CH₃OH, thereby significantly enhancing both the efficiency and selectivity of its photoelectrochemical oxidation to HCHO.The metal-F bond formed on the fluorinated BiVO₄ photoanode in a near-neutral electrolyte promotes the adsorption and activation of CH₃OH, thereby significantly enhancing both the efficiency and selectivity of its photoelectrochemical oxidation to HCHO.

Journal: Chinese Journal of Catalysis

27-Jan-2026

AAVLINK: Potent DNA-recombination method for large cargo delivery in gene therapy

Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a study published in Cell on Jan. 27, Prof. LU Zhonghua's team from the Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and collaborators from Peking University First Hospital, developed the AAV with translocation LINKage (AAVLINK), which harnesses Cre/lox-mediated intermolecular DNA recombination to enable in vivo reassembly of large genes.

27-Jan-2026

Grant to expand self-cloning crop technology for Indian farmers

University of California - Davis
Grant and Award Announcement

Venkatesan Sundaresan, a Distinguished Professor of plant biology and plant sciences at UC Davis, has been awarded a Gates Foundation grant to develop self-cloning crops for Indian farmers. The five-year, $4.9 million project is a collaboration with researchers Myeong-Je Cho at UC Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI), Viswanathan Chinnusamy at the ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (ICAR-IARI), New Delhi and Ravi Maruthachalam at the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER-Thiruvananthapuram). The project aims to sustainably improve agricultural productivity by producing high-yielding crops that clone themselves, allowing farmers to save their superior seeds from one season to the next.

Funder: Gates Foundation

27-Jan-2026

Counting the carbon cost of E-waste

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As the world upgrades to the latest gadgets, our old smartphones, refrigerators, and televisions are fueling the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet: E-waste. While recycling is often seen as a purely "green" endeavor, a groundbreaking study published in Carbon Research reveals that the process of dismantling these electronics carries its own significant carbon price tag.

Journal: Carbon Research

27-Jan-2026

Worcester Polytechnic Institute-led study finds AI model can predict and help contain disease outbreaks in confined spaces

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Six years after COVID surged through the Diamond Princess cruise ship. A new model uses advanced AI and 3D mapping and agent-based simulations to predict disease spread and improve containment. The study is published in PNAS.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

27-Jan-2026

International team led by HonorHealth Research Institute and U of A develop 3D chip platform for laboratory testing in cancer research

HonorHealth Research Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cancer research laboratory tests can now be done using micro-physiological systems mimicking the human physiology, allowing greater predictive accuracy for human patient responses, thanks to an international scientific team led by HonorHealth Research Institute and the University of Arizona.

Journal: iScience
Funder: National Cancer Institute, NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

27-Jan-2026

Physicists predict significant growth for cadmium telluride photovoltaics

University of Toledo
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Cadmium telluride photovoltaics, a solar energy generation technology once considered limited in its potential, is poised for significant growth in the United States, according to a team of scientists analyzed challenges and proposed corresponding research goals in new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Joule.

Journal: Joule