Feature Stories
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 30-Oct-2025 23:11 ET (31-Oct-2025 03:11 GMT/UTC)
9-May-2025
                                                
            A battery breakthrough inspired by a can of compressed air
University of California - San Diego
                Breakthroughs often begin with simple curiosities. In this Q&A, UC San Diego engineering alumnus Cyrus Rustomji reflects on how his ponderings about a can of compressed air, along with support from the university ecosystem and federal funding, fueled the development of a battery technology that can perform well at record low temperatures—an in turn, the founding of San Diego-based battery company South 8 Technologies.
            
        9-May-2025
                                  Why taking your research to new global audiences matters: An Alliance scientist’s experience
The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
                International engagement by scientists in the Global South, or those in relatively "obscure" or new fields, shows that research advances are increasingly tied to mutltidisciplinary, multinational collaboration.
            
        9-May-2025
                                  Climate change increases flooding and drought – researchers develop solutions for water management
University of TurkuClimate change disrupts the water cycle on Earth, causing potentially life-threatening flooding and drought. Researchers are developing solutions for predicting extreme situations and managing water.
9-May-2025
                                  New building will meet Tennessee’s growing demand for chemical industry workforce
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
                The Tennessee General Assembly has set aside $165.5 million in its fiscal year 2025-26 budget for a new chemistry building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a groundbreaking scheduled for September and projected completion in 2029.
            
        8-May-2025
                                  It's hard to get meds to the lungs: breathable algae offer a new path
University of California - San Diego
                UC San Diego engineers have uncovered a new, non-invasive way to deliver pneumonia-treating microrobots to the lungs—using breathable algae. This sort of breakthrough, which could one day be a game-changing medical treatment, is made possible by federal funding.
            
        - Journal
- Nature Communications
- Funder
- Defense Threat Reduction Agency
8-May-2025
                                                
            Mayo Clinic Q and A: How belly breathing benefits your body, mind
Mayo Clinic
                When it comes to the correct way to breathe, it doesn't matter whether you breathe through your nose or your mouth. Where you breathe from matters — your belly and not your chest. 
            
        8-May-2025
                                  Jesse Labbé: Innovating biotechnology for energy, security and health
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
                Microbiologist and entrepreneur Jesse Labbé excels at cultivating discovery and innovation. As the new director of the Biosciences Division at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, he’s leading a team focused on science and technologies to boost U.S. competitiveness, strengthen national and energy security and advance human health.
            
        - Funder
- U.S. Department of Energy
8-May-2025
                                  The Eastern Innovation Landscape Network
USDA Forest Service ‑ Southern Research Station
                Fire scientists and practitioners are working together to coproduce new tools for managing wildfires and making prescribed fires safer and easier to implement. Prescribed fires can reduce hazardous fuels, and many ecosystems are fire-adapted which means they require regular fire to stay healthy. 
            
        8-May-2025
                                  Lehigh Univ. and Ultrahuman partner on wearable tech to advance women's health
Lehigh University
                Wearable tech can play a significant role in addressing women's health, particularly when it comes to understanding the physiological effects of their menstrual cycles. Assistant Professor Dhruv Seshadri and his team in Lehigh University's Department of Bioengineering have partnered with Ultrahuman, an India-based company that calls itself "the world's most comprehensive self-quantification platform," on two projects designed to address areas of unmet need relating to women's health.
            
        