A transdisciplinary team of University of Pittsburgh and Kenyan researchers has developed a discrete event simulation (DES), a computer-based model, that reveals gaps in the blood transfusion continuum to help optimize the “vein-to-vein” process from collection to storage to delivery and transfusion in Kenya. The research, which provides the first quantitative model of the blood continuum in a low- to middle-income country (LMIC), is published in the article “Simulating the blood transfusion system in Kenya: Modelling methods and exploratory analyses” (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0004587) in PLOS Global Public Health. I

During magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures, contrast agents, such as the rare metal gadolinium, can pose potential health risks. Researchers at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) have spent years developing contrast-free scanning technology and successfully developed AI-powered virtual MRI imaging for accurate turmour detection, offering a safer and smarter diagnostic approach. 

Researchers from Georgia Tech have created a material inspired by seashells to help improve the process of recycling plastics and make the resulting material more reliable.

The structures they created greatly reduced the variability of mechanical properties typically found in recycled plastic. Their product also maintained the performance of the original plastic materials.

Six Binghamton University, State University of New York faculty members have received more than $4.4 million in National Science Foundation CAREER Awards to pursue groundbreaking research in materials science, psychology, high-tech manufacturing and more.

Passive daytime radiative cooling materials are promising for energy-free cooling as global energy consumption rises. SrZrO₃ crystals, with their wide band gap and infrared photon lattice vibration absorption, are potential candidates for such applications. Most importantly, Zn doping has been shown to enhance both solar reflectivity and atmospheric window emissivity, which are critical for cooling performance. Despite the recognized potential of SrZrO₃-based materials, the systematic understanding of how specific dopants like Zn synergistically modify the spectral radiative characteristics, and ultimately the passive cooling performance through combined effects on electronic structure, grain morphology, and lattice symmetry has yet to be comprehensively established. Filling this research gap is imperative for the rational design of high-performance radiative cooling materials.

Electric and hybrid propulsion systems are developing rapidly, but they do not yet offer a practical alternative for the high-power engines used in marine and off-road applications. Therefore, more climate-friendly solutions must be developed within the constraints of the current engine fleet. A new doctoral dissertation from the University of Vaasa, Finland, investigates how renewable naphtha, derived from crude tall oil, and marine gas oil refined from recycled lubricants, can serve as alternative fuels. 

A public-private partnership between PPPL and Commonwealth Fusion Systems has led to a new artificial intelligence approach that is significantly faster at finding the magnetic shadows in a fusion vessel: safe havens protected from the intense heat of the plasma. Speeding up these calculations, which predict where the heat will hit and what parts of the tokamak will lie safe in the shadows of other parts, brings fusion power one step closer to reality.