A new study reviews how machine learning (ML) is being used to help communities recover critical infrastructure after natural hazards such as earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes. The research synthesizes global studies and shows that ML can support recovery by characterizing recovery trends, predicting recovery times, and optimizing recovery schedules. The authors also identify key challenges, such as limited data availability, and outline future directions for building more resilient infrastructure systems using ML.

Cryopreservation is not a new technology, but there is still much to explore and perfect in the field. Current methods use slow freezing, a method that is conducive to ice formation, cell dehydration and an increase in cryoprotective agents (CPAs). These are not ideal circumstances for achieving immaculately cryopreserved cells. Researchers from the University of Tokyo use vitrification, a process that transforms a substance into a noncrystalline solid by rapid cooling. This cooling yields favorable outcomes in biological samples, even those that are typically difficult to freeze and thaw successfully. Despite challenges within this method, the future of regenerative medicine research may be greatly, and positively, impacted by the use of vitrification for cell cryopreservation.

A newly developed 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi receiver from Science Tokyo can survive radiation levels found inside nuclear reactors. With a radiation tolerance of up to 500 kGy, the chip allows robots used in nuclear plant decommissioning to be controlled wirelessly. Such receivers reduce the need for wired connections and can improve worker protection during decommissioning and cleanup operations at contaminated sites such as the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

In a paper published on aBIOTECH, the authors developed a method termed TnpB-GMRE, which integrates a generative protein model for TnpB with a virtual screening pipeline based on the minimum recovery rate and energy minimization, to obtain a TnpB-TD mutant with enhanced editing activity.