Renowned data scientist Paul Boutros, PhD, MBA, has been named the new director of the National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. He is the first computational biologist to oversee an NCI-designated cancer center, a network of 73 basic, clinical and comprehensive centers created as part of the National Cancer Act of 1971.

In lieu of animal experiments, researchers from the University of Rochester are using state-of-the-art microchips with human tissue to better understand how the brain operates under healthy conditions and is damaged through neurodegenerative diseases or conditions like sepsis.

As drones become increasingly common in U.S. skies – delivering packages, inspecting bridges, even monitoring crops – the danger of cyberattacks has grown too. A drone hijacked by hackers could suddenly veer off course, speed up, stall in midair, or crash. Once compromised, the machine is useless, often left as little more than expensive junk. Florida International University researchers have found a way to fight back. At the IEEE International Conference on Dependable Systems and Networks, FIU computer scientists unveiled SHIELD, a defensive system that can detect and neutralize cyberattacks on drones in real time and, crucially, allow the drone to finish its mission.

As renewable energy technologies advance, researchers aim to make solar power more efficient, affordable, and durable. Scientists from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania, in collaboration with international partners, have achieved one of the highest efficiencies ever reported for fully inorganic perovskite solar cells. They have also demonstrated for the first time that these cells can operate stably for hundreds of hours, approaching the reliability of commercial silicon solar cells.

Rice University researchers, in collaboration with international partners, have developed the first eco-friendly technology to rapidly capture and destroy toxic “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in water. The findings, recently published in Advanced Materials, mark a major step toward addressing one of the world’s most persistent environmental threats.