Families, particularly those already vulnerable to food insecurity, can face difficulties obtaining food in the aftermath of natural disasters. University of Houston researchers will utilize artificial intelligence to develop an online resource for food pantries, aiming to streamline stakeholder collaboration and distribute resources to families in need.

A new technology, presented by University at Buffalo scientists in a study published in Nature Communications, centers on a pig enzyme called ST3Gal1. Researchers retrained it to bind to glycans instead of building them. This new glycan-binding enzyme, which scientists named sCore2, could help analyze and treat diseases via sugar patterns found on the surface of cells.

The SETI Institute awarded the Davie Postdoctoral Fellowship for AI/ML-driven exoplanet discovery to Isabel Angelo. Machine learning is changing the way we search for exoplanets and making it possible to discover patterns in massive datasets. Angelo’s research will refine and expand ML-driven pipelines for detecting exoplanets, and she will work with SETI Institute researcher Dr. Vishal Gajjar and his team and collaborators at the SETI Institute and IIT Tirupati in India.

The project will enhance supervised Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) architectures and integrate anomaly-detection techniques to identify subtle or unconventional exoplanet candidates hidden in massive datasets. These could include ringed or disintegrating worlds, exocomets, complex multi-planet systems and possibly signs of alien megastructures.

Since its emergence in US dairy cattle, highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu, H5N1) has defied control, spreading to other species and disrupting every stage of the dairy sector. A newly published invited review in the Journal of Dairy Science presents the most comprehensive look yet at the virus’s impact and calls for a unified response. With current science pointing to complex transmission dynamics and broad consequences, the authors argue that only a One Health approach, taking into account the intersection of animal and human health with that of the environment, can effectively combat H5N1 and prevent future outbreaks.