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Feature Stories

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Oct-2025 07:11 ET (29-Oct-2025 11:11 GMT/UTC)

Surrey’s low-cost vaccine vial monitors that detect damaging heat exposure brought to market

University of Surrey

A colour-changing label could help prevent millions of vaccine doses from going to waste, say scientists from the University of Surrey. The innovation, now being commercialised through a partnership with MM PACKAGING GmbH (MM) Group and leading materials specialists Advanced Material Development Ltd (AMD), provides a low-cost and reliable way to show whether vaccines have been exposed to damaging heat.

Rice, Houston Methodist developing soft ‘sleep cap’ to advance dementia prevention research

Rice University

Rice University researchers are working with physician scientists at Houston Methodist to develop a soft, wearable “sleep cap” designed to measure and improve deep sleep, a process critical for protecting the brain against dementia and related diseases. The project, a collaboration between mechanical engineers Daniel J. Preston and Vanessa Sanchez, electrical and computer engineer Behnaam Aazhang, Houston Methodist neurologist Dr. Timea Hodics and Dr. Gavin Britz, director of the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery, is part of Rice’s broader commitment to brain health research and its support for the Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).

Applying design to agriculture for a new approach to agroforestry

University of Pennsylvania

Agriculture is a key sector of the U.S. economy, but conventional agricultural practices also pose environmental challenges. At New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania researchers are using principles of agroforestry, a land management system that integrates trees with crops or pastures, to address this problem. This is part of a broader initiative to promote the Center as a living laboratory for studying the interface between animal agriculture and the natural world.

University of Tennessee and Y-12 advance East Tennessee nuclear renaissance

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Y-12 National Security Complex are advancing nuclear energy and national security through the National Security Prototype Center. This collaboration accelerates manufacturing innovations, reducing timelines from years to weeks, fostering economic growth in Tennessee while addressing critical defense and energy challenges.

Walkthrough screening system enhances security at airports nationwide

MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Lincoln Laboratory's 3D microwave imaging technology for detecting concealed threats was integrated into HEXWAVE, commercially developed by Liberty Defense.

Essential oil-based solution protects fruit from fungi

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

FAPESP-supported startup develops formulations based on bio-inputs to combat fungal infections and reduce the use of pesticides in fruit growing.

Funder: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo

From a vision of AI in plant science to the reality of Pest-ID in global agriculture

Iowa State University

Nine years after exploring a vision of AI tools helping plant scientists, Iowa State's AI in Ag team has built a web-based tool that helps farmers identify and manage crop pests. The tool was even featured at this year's Iowa State Fair.

Journal: PNAS Nexus
Funder: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture

Operation performed in Europe for the first time: Brain-computer interface for a patient with quadriplegia

Technical University of Munich (TUM)

A team at the Technical University of Munich’s TUM University Hospital has implanted a brain-computer interface in a patient paralyzed from the neck down. The five-hour procedure was the first of its kind performed in Europe. The device enables research that could one day help restore independence and improve quality of life for patients. In particular, the scientists hope to enable the 25-year-old patient to control his smartphone and a robotic arm using only his thoughts. The researchers are now seeking additional participants.

The future of immunotherapy research at MSK

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Andy Minn, the inaugural chair of MSK's Immuno-Oncology Program, discusses his vision for the the program and what it means for patients.

International journal FlexTech officially releases 2025 issue 2

Tsinghua University Press

The international scientific and technological journal FlexTech, co-launched by Tsinghua University Press and Wiley, officially released its 2025 Issue 2.

Journal: FlexTech

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