Stanford-led study finds small-scale tree cover in Costa Rica boosts biodiversity while limiting dangerous mosquito species

A new study in iScience integrated mathematical modeling with advanced imaging to discover that the physical shape of the fruit fly egg chamber, combined with chemical signals, significantly influences how cells move. Cell migration is critical in wound healing, immune responses, and cancer metastasis, so the work has potential to advance a range of medical treatments. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that actively considers the role of both chemical and structural signals in cell migration.

The Tijuana River flows from Baja California into the United States and discharges millions of gallons of wastewater into the Pacific Ocean every day, making it the dominant source of coastal pollution in the region. A new study from UC San Diego examines how pollutants in wastewater travel and are transmitted in the atmosphere through coastal aerosols. In the study, researchers found that a mixture of illicit drugs, drug metabolites, and chemicals from tires and personal care products aerosolize from wastewater and are detectable in both air and water.

University of Utah engineers have developed a multifunctional, reconfigurable component for an optical computing system that could be a game changer in electronics.

MIT engineers developed a fuel cell that offers more than three times as much energy per pound compared to lithium-ion batteries. Powered by a reaction between sodium metal and air, the device could be lightweight enough to enable the electrification of airplanes, trucks, or ships.

Inspiration can hit anytime, anywhere—and come from just about anything. “I was walking my dog and watching a squirrel jump from tree branch to tree branch,” says David Saldaña, an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Lehigh University. “I started thinking about how quickly the animal has to adapt to the different properties of each branch and to the forces generated by their movement. And that’s when the idea hit me—how could we get robots, especially aerial robots, to adapt like that?” Saldaña, who leads the SwarmsLab, recently received nearly $600,000 in funding through the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program to answer that question. His research will explore how to expand the capabilities of aerial robots so they can manipulate and transport flexible objects such as cables, rods, hoses, and plastic sheets. Potential applications could range from construction and disaster response to industrial automation.