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Feature Stories

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Nov-2025 10:11 ET (5-Nov-2025 15:11 GMT/UTC)

Toward multitasking drug carriers that do more than just deliver

Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Drug delivery systems (DDSs) like nanoparticles, hydrogels, micelles, or liposomes improve drug availability while minimizing off-target distribution and side effects. Nanoparticle-based DDSs further enhance functionality owing to their larger surface area, leading to better stability, targeted delivery, and controlled drug release. But their low drug-loading capacity hinders desired therapeutic effect. Now, however, Professor Motoichi Kurisawa from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology addresses this challenge with a green tea nanoparticle-based DDSs.

Bridging the emotional gap in human-AI communication

Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Professor Shogo Okada leads the Social Signal and Multimodal Interaction Laboratory at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST). His lab focuses on developing computational models of multimodal social signals – speech, voice tone, body language – to understand their impact on social skills. His lab develops emotionally sensitive AI systems by combining multimodal sensing technology, AI, and cognitive science. Prof. Okada aims to build a harmonious future where technological advances and humane abilities go hand-in-hand.

Unfolding patterns: The computer science behind origami, puzzles, and games

Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Origami, or the art of paper folding, finds its roots in Japanese tradition, where it is widely practiced even today. Drawing inspiration from this traditional art form, an emerging field of theoretical computer science, known as Computational Origami, has taken shape. Building on this idea, Professor Ryuhei Uehara from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Japan, is working towards building algorithms for finding effective solutions to complex puzzles and patterns.

Accelerating materials design with high-throughput experiments and data science

Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

At Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), Professor Toshiaki Taniike’s lab – Laboratory of Materials Informatics, is pioneering a new era of materials discovery by combining automation, custom-built instruments, and data-driven methods. Their cutting-edge approach is accelerating the search for entirely new reactions, paving the way for carbon-neutral technologies, energy innovation, and a more sustainable future. His efforts are focused on developing a smarter, faster, and more sustainable approach to materials design.

Ph.D. researcher harnesses AI to transform skin cancer diagnosis in remote areas

Heriot-Watt University

A researcher at Heriot-Watt University is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to give patients living in remote parts access to timely and potentially lifesaving medical diagnosis.

Funder: Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

Powering down to survive viral attack

Viruses infect cells with a goal of taking control to churn out new copies. Cells have learned a sneaky way to fight back.

Journal: Genes & Development
Funder: National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Music can both harm and heal the mind

University of the Arts Helsinki

Comparative studies suggest that music therapy is just as effective and impactful as cognitive psychotherapy. Increasingly, it is being used alongside other methods to support therapy patients suffering from trauma caused by torture or fleeing their homeland.

University of Tennessee chemist researches micro- and nanoplastics to reduce future harm to health and environment

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are studying microplastics and nanoplastics to determine how they form in the environment—and how to reduce or even prevent their formation.

Journal: Nature Communications

Can 100-year-old research lead to the discovery of novel mechanisms of inheritance?

Tel-Aviv University

In 1902, three prominent Jewish biologists established the Biologische Versuchsanstalt (BVA) in then Austro-Hungarian Vienna. Now, an international team led by Tel Aviv University’s Prof. Oded Rechavi has been awarded a $1.2 million grant by the prestigious Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) to follow in their footsteps. HFSP is known for its highly competitive selection process, approving only 4% of proposals submitted each year, and indeed the team’s project is truly exceptional, both scientifically and historically.

Low herd inventory ripples through U.S. beef market

Texas A&M AgriLife Communications

Constrained cattle supplies and strong beef demand continue to fuel record prices at all levels of the U.S. beef market – from sale barns to grocery aisles, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.

Jason Cleere, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension statewide beef cattle specialist in the Texas A&M Department of Animal Science, Bryan-College Station, said cow/calf producers are realizing strong calf sale prices as a result of strong consumer demand for beef and low cattle supplies.

The national cattle herd continues to hover at historically low numbers following bouts of drought across major beef-producing states, including back-to-back years of extreme drought across Texas.

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