Telemedicine commonly uses video calls to reach patients near and far, but the technology limits what senses caregivers can use during their evaluation. Dr. Pijuan Yu and his collaborators at Texas A&M University are seeking to go beyond telemedicine’s use of audio and video. They want to add an entirely new dimension: touch.

Inspired by naturally-occurring mats and balls of seaweed, researchers have created highly-porous, superadhesive meshes that are capable of capturing both large and small microplastic particles – a longstanding challenge in the field. The mesh can clean microplastics from both saltwater and freshwater and is made from sustainable and widely available biopolymers.

SUMMARY: The U.S. National Science Foundation National Solar Observatory (NSF NSO) announced today a major breakthrough in solar physics. Using the world's most powerful solar telescope, the NSF Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope near the summit of Maui’s Haleakalā, combined with computer simulations, an international team of scientists from the NSO, NSF NCAR High Altitude Observatory (HAO), and the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) found the signature of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), tiny swirling patterns like small whirlpools, on the Sun's surface. Researchers suggest that KHI might be a key reason why the Sun's outer atmosphere gets so hot, and why magnetic energy builds up and moves around on the Sun. Magnetic energy fuels solar flares and eruptions—the kind of solar activity that can send bursts of energy toward Earth and affect satellites, power grids, and other technology. The discovery opens a new window into the fundamental physics of the Sun and other stars while underscoring the unmatched capabilities of the Inouye Solar Telescope.

Drawing on examples from across the Great Lakes Basin, a new synthesis paper is examining the ecological structures and processes that help ecosystems withstand disturbances while continuing to provide the benefits that people and wildlife depend on. It highlights the importance of what ecologists call "portfolio effects": the stabilizing influence that arises when ecosystems contain a diversity of species, habitats, and ecological interactions operating across multiple levels of ecological organization. Much like a diversified financial portfolio reduces risk, ecological diversity can buffer ecosystems against environmental change and help maintain the production of natural resources over time.

The ghostly white corals of Mo’orea tell a story of a reef in crisis—and a hidden story of survival. New Texas A&M University-led research reveals that adult survivors of the deadly 2019 heat wave passed heat-tolerant genetic variants linked to survival to the next generation, providing one of the clearest records of rapid evolution in the wild.

The cloud lab will give researchers nationwide remote access to Georgia Tech’s Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility, pairing AI with autonomous experimentation to accelerate new materials discovery.