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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 29-Oct-2026 21:16 ET (30-Oct-2026 01:16 GMT/UTC)

New World Health Summit Academic Alliance-Lancet commission to strengthen academic responsibility and trust in science

Boston University School of Public Health
Business Announcement

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the World Health Summit Academic Alliance and leading medical journal The Lancet have launched a joint commission that will examine and strengthen the core responsibilities of academic institutions to health research and to society, and work to restore public trust in scientific institutions. The 30-member commission includes Dr. Adnan Hyder, dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at Boston University School of Public Health, who coauthored a new commentary in The Lancet to announce this initiative and call for international, cross-sector collaborations to combat health and science misinformation.

Flash heating and layered design create tougher, greener materials that block electromagnetic interference

Shenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As wireless devices, high-frequency electronics, and communication technologies become increasingly common, electromagnetic interference, or EMI, is becoming a growing concern for device reliability, signal quality, and information security. Conventional shielding materials often work mainly by reflecting electromagnetic waves, which can create unwanted secondary radiation. Researchers are therefore seeking lightweight materials that can absorb electromagnetic energy while remaining strong, flexible, and sustainable.

Journal: Sustainable Carbon Materials

Large language models could help turn fragmented environmental research into usable knowledge

Shenyang Agricultural University Collaborative Journals
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Environmental scientists face a growing problem: there is more research available than ever before, but much of the useful information remains scattered across papers, tables, figures, and inconsistent reporting formats. A new review suggests that large language models, or LLMs, could help researchers organize this fragmented evidence more efficiently, provided that their outputs remain traceable, validated, and subject to expert review.

Long-term biochar use may help conserve nitrogen deep in alkaline paddy soils

Biochar Editorial Office, Shenyang Agricultural University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Nitrogen applied to agricultural soils does not always remain available to crops. Microorganisms can transform nitrate through several competing pathways, some of which conserve nitrogen in the soil while others ultimately remove it from the system. A new study published in Biochar shows that long-term biochar amendment can reshape this competition throughout the soil profile, promoting nitrogen retention in deep alkaline paddy soils.

Journal: Biochar

Who gets the kidney? AI chatbots do not make the same moral choices humans do

Penn State
Reports and Proceedings

Artificial intelligence (AI) models prioritize starkly different attributes than humans when making high-stakes decisions, and they don't express indecision like humans do, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers, raising questions about the role of AI in decision support for ethically sensitive situations like medical decisions.

Meeting: 2026 ACM FAccT Conference

UTIA appoints new precision agriculture Extension specialist for row crops

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
Business Announcement

The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) has appointed José Peiretti as its new precision agriculture Extenson specialist for row crops.

IMLS grants support information science projects from Illinois researchers

University of Illinois School of Information Sciences
Grant and Award Announcement

The role of AI in libraries, American history as told to middle-grade students, and library services for older adults are the topics of projects by faculty at the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences that received funding by the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences.

Funder: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Institute of Museum and Library Services

Stanford Medicine-developed AI model opens new horizons for cell biology

Stanford Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

An artificial intelligence cell model, trained on more than 100 million cells from a dozen species, will make it easier to compare cells between species.

University at Buffalo to lead $2 million National Science Foundation project on wildfire resilience

University at Buffalo
Grant and Award Announcement

The University at Buffalo is leading a $2 million National Science Foundation project to improve wildfire resilience. The three-year REKINDLE initiative combines artificial intelligence, infrastructure modeling, Earth-observation data, and social science to understand cascading impacts such as debris flows, flash floods, and failures in power, water, and transportation systems. Researchers will study communities in California, develop predictive tools, and examine household responses. The project aims to guide infrastructure investments, emergency planning, recovery efforts, education, and workforce development.