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Feature Stories

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Oct-2025 19:11 ET (29-Oct-2025 23:11 GMT/UTC)

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

UofL, UofL Health investigate new pathways for treating ischemic strokes

University of Louisville

Recognizing the urgent need for improved stroke therapies, UofL Health – UofL Hospital and the University of Louisville are actively participating in a pivotal clinical trial known as the Strategy for Improving Stroke Treatment Response (SISTER). This study focuses on patients who come to the emergency department 4.5 to 24 hours after the onset of an ischemic stroke and who are not candidates for standard treatment methods, such as previously approved clot-dissolving medications or mechanical interventions.

Funder: Translational Sciences, Inc.

Exploring links between AI and the brain as Texas weighs Proposition 14

Rice University

LLMs and the Brain, a symposium featuring researchers from Rice, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas, the Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Montreal and other institutions explored the intersection between neuroscience and AI. The conversation around brain research extends beyond the university and is unfolding at the state level. On Nov. 4, Texas voters will decide on Proposition 14, which would fund the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT) with $3 billion over 10 years, creating the largest state-funded dementia research program in the country.

Research uses machine learning to identify ‘thermal switch’

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Xiangyu Li and Shaodong Zhang at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville developed a machine learning-assisted model to predict heat flow in advanced materials like graphene foam. Their research enables intelligent thermal switches, advancing energy-efficient electronics, wearable devices, and streamlined material development through precise molecular simulations. Sponsored by the AI Tennessee Initiative, their work bridges atomic-scale accuracy with practical applications.

ISE project helps DOD manage parts supply chain

University of Tennessee at Knoxville

University of Tennessee, Knoxville researchers are developing an AI agent for the U.S. Department of Defense to manage parts obsolescence in military systems. The tool aims to reduce downtime, optimize inventory, and identify cost-saving opportunities, ensuring readiness and mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities for aging equipment.

Advanced tools could help build safer, longer-lasting and faster-charging batteries

University of Surrey

New microdevices developed at the University of Surrey give researchers their first-ever look inside a battery while it is running – opening the door to safer, smarter and more sustainable energy storage.

How two PhD students fixed the focus on the James Webb Space Telescope

University of Sydney

Two students have engineered a fix to improve the imaging from the James Webb Space Telescope interferometer. They did this without having to launch a space mission - like NASA did to fix imaging on the Hubble in the 1990s. The two are so thrilled, they've had tattoos inked on their arms of the 'non redundant mask' they have provided a fix for.

Journal: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
Funder: Australian Research Council, Big Questions Institute, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, National Research Council Canada, U.S. National Science Foundation, NASA Headquarters

A phone book-sized surgical kit designed for the world’s most extreme environments

Texas A&M University

A portable pack brings the operating room directly to the patient — enabling lifesaving surgery in military, disaster, wilderness and humanitarian care missions.

Journal: Annals of Emergency Medicine

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