This review provides a cutting-edge perspective on recent advances in tandem ECR (T-ECR) technology, highlighting the rational design of nanostructured multifunctional catalysts in tandem configurations while discussing optimization strategies for both tandem electrocatalytic pathways and cascade reactor engineering.

Physician-scientists Preet Chaudhary, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Selsted, M.D., Ph.D., both from the Keck School of Medicine, have been elected as senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), an organization that recognizes inventors holding U.S. patents and promotes academic technology and innovation to benefit society.  Chaudhary holds 12 allowed/issued U.S. patents, 16 allowed/issued international patents, and more than 120 pending applications. These are for next-generation treatments, genetically tailored for individual patients, that help a patient’s own immune system target multiple types of cancer—leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and solid tumors. The overarching goal is to equip human immune cells to combat internal threats such as cancer in the same way they fend off external invaders such as viruses. Selsted has made pivotal contributions to the field of innate immunity, with innovations resulting in 60 US patents, 130 international patents, and another 80 pending applications. Selsted and his team were the first to identify and characterize theta defensins, a type of protein found only in old-world primates such as baboons and rhesus monkeys, that act as a crucial first line of defense against infection and disease. The team is developing synthetic versions of theta defensin as drug candidates for treating rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, sepsis, and cancer. 

Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) have developed an innovative sensing system that restores the missing tactile feedback in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), enhancing precision, ease of use, and safety. The new "off-the-jaw" system integrates force and angle sensors into the handle of laparoscopic tools, providing surgeons with real-time measurements of grasping forces and insights into tissue stiffness and thickness.

Miaofang Chi and Rigoberto “Gobet” Advincula, both researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, have been elected as Class of 2025 Fellows of the Materials Research Society, or MRS. Chi also holds a joint appointment at Duke University, and Advincula is jointly appointed at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Neat lanes are the norm at road crossings – until people start veering off at critical angles, then chaos ensues. New maths discovery has the potential to help planners design road crossings and other pedestrian spaces that minimise chaos and enhance safety and efficiency.