The NSF-backed project, I-ACED, integrates internships and research experiences to prepare students for careers in engineering. The grant will support 220 students from low-income backgrounds seeking master's degrees in STEM disciplines.
The NSF has renewed the Physics of Living Systems graduate research network at Rice for five years, connecting students and educators across institutions to share resources and data. The award will fund local expenses and training programs, as well as efforts to grow faculty and student numbers in the field.
Researchers at Rice University have made a groundbreaking discovery about the reproductive habits of dinoflagellate algae, which can help coral reefs adapt to climate change. By studying sex in these tiny creatures, scientists hope to breed strains that are more tolerant of environmental stress.
Bioengineer Kevin McHugh is developing a platform to improve the performance of injectable drugs, which often release diminishing amounts of medication over time. The goal is to create predictable, long-lasting delivery systems for better patient outcomes and reduced dosing frequency.
Researchers at Rice University have been awarded a four-year, $1.2 million National Institutes of Health grant to advance the art and science of creating custom-designed microbial colonies. The grant will enable the development of technologies like synthetic tissues that enhance soils or gut microbiomes.
Researchers at Rice University have refined models to analyze gadolinium-based contrast agents, which are used in 40% of MRIs worldwide. The team's goal is to design better and more customizable contrast agents that improve image quality while minimizing risks.
Researchers investigate light smashups to create new physics beyond the Standard Model, building on previous discoveries that matter can be generated from light. The study reveals implications for understanding primordial plasma and the strong force.
A Rice University professor has received a $2.4 million grant from the NIH to develop open-source software for designing personalized treatments for movement impairments using computational modeling and simulation. The software will create customized computer models of individual patients, optimizing treatment solutions.
Researchers have found that certain peptides can target the internal mechanisms of bacteria, making them effective against antibiotic-resistant microbes. The study suggests that these peptides could be used to design therapeutic agents that succeed where standard antibiotics fail.
Researchers discovered that amyloid beta peptides, which form gummy plaques in Alzheimer's disease, go through several intermediate stages of frustration as they dock and lock to growing fibrils. This suggests that drugs might be developed to stabilize the fibril tips and block further aggregation by targeting the 'Achilles' heel' of f...
The university will acquire an optical tweezer to study colloidal copolymer chains, protein binding strength and other phenomena. The instrument will be made available to Rice researchers and collaborators.
Researchers are using tree rings and sediments to reconstruct Atlantic hurricane history over millennia. By combining these natural archives with global climate model simulations, they aim to refine the record of history's hurricanes.
The Welch Institute has appointed Matthew Tirrell, a renowned material scientist, to chair its Scientific Advisory Board. His expertise in nanotechnology and biomolecular engineering will help the institute accelerate discovery and innovation in advanced materials.
Researchers found that spin-orbit coupling induces asymmetric interactions between electrons in chromium triiodide, affecting its topological excitations. This discovery could exist in other 2D van der Waals magnets and has implications for spintronics.
A Rice University lab developed a 'smart' shirt that gathers accurate EKGs and heart rates using conductive nanotube thread. The fibers, just as conductive as metal wires but washable and comfortable, provided better data than standard chest-strap monitors.
Yang Gao's lab has received a $1.9 million NIH grant to investigate the mechanisms of proteins that produce copies of genomic DNA, with potential implications for cancer treatment. The research aims to understand how DNA replication and repair processes can be targeted to develop new therapies.
Researchers have discovered a room-temperature transition between 1D and 2D electrical conduction states in topological crystals of bismuth and iodine. The material's electronic behavior changes at a transition temperature around 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Isaac Hilton is using non-integrating episomal DNA viruses to create a new platform technology for cell and gene therapies. He aims to hijack these viruses to safely program medicinal functions in human cells.
The center will provide a one-stop shop for custom DNA constructs, accelerating cancer research through access to state-of-the-art tools. The facility will enable transformative, large-scale experimental projects that were previously impossible for individual labs.
Researchers at Rice and Baylor are expanding their efforts to halt bone cancer metastasis using a molecule targeting osteoporosis and HER2 protein. Their goal is to improve drug concentration at tumor sites, inhibit secondary metastasis, and explore the therapeutic effect mechanism.
A Rice University study finds that teams benefit from diverse emotional states, with 'negative affect' promoting critical thinking and 'positive affect' fostering broad thinking. This 'dual-tuning' leads to greater team creativity.
Researchers have developed a new material that can convert heat into energy, with potential applications in textiles and electronics. The woven nanotube fibers show promise as building blocks for fiber and textile electronics, and could also be used to cool sensitive electronics.
Researchers at Rice University found that cool stars have dynamic surface behaviors influencing their magnetic environments and planetary habitability. This study suggests that small stars share similar properties with the sun, enabling predictions for exoplanet conditions.
A new study from Rice University finds that middle-class people who made plans to stay in their neighborhoods before flooding are less likely to relocate even if they suffered significant damage. Long-term planning and social pressure played a key role in residents' decisions to stay or leave flooded homes.
Researchers at Rice University are developing novel computational approaches to track environmental microbiome dynamics over time, across species and after perturbations. The team will use biofilm-based 'species abundance networks' on scaffolds to observe how they form their own genome-exchange networks.
Pasquali proposes splitting hydrocarbons to produce clean hydrogen energy and solid carbon materials, which could replace materials with large carbon footprints. This transition would generate robust growth in manufacturing jobs and improve production efficiency.
The Center for Adapting Flaws into Features will explore chemical defects to optimize material properties, with a focus on creating better catalysts and electronics. The team aims to develop new approaches towards transformative technologies by leveraging advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, and data science.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a model of how internal states and external stimuli shape the behavior of hydra, a tiny, jellyfish-like creature. By studying their neural networks, scientists can gain insights into fundamental principles that may apply to more complex animals.
Rice University bioengineers are developing an insulin-producing implant to regulate blood glucose levels in Type 1 diabetics. The implant uses human stem cells and 3D printing to mimic the natural behavior of the pancreas, with the goal of achieving consistent target blood glucose levels.
Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers have developed a new model for studying intestinal infections, using custom hydrogel-based platforms. The study found that softer hydrogels promote bacterial adhesion to epithelial cells, which is crucial for understanding the dynamics of infectious diseases.
Luay Nakhleh's team will use single-cell DNA data from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to identify mutations at the root of the disease and how they evolve in tumors. By building open-source models and tools, they aim to refine cancer treatments and predict patient outcomes.
Researchers at Rice University have created a coating made of soft polymer that can help keep knotty ceramic structures from shattering. The coating was tested on complex lattices called schwarzites, which were found to be up to 4.5 times more resistant to catastrophic fractures.
Rice University scientists have isolated a biocatalyst that controls the chirality of compounds, enabling more accurate drug synthesis. The discovery could lead to improved pharmaceutical production by providing a new tool for controlling stereochemistry.
Julian West's lab receives a five-year, $1.8 million NIH grant to simplify the synthesis of organic chemicals, enabling new hydrogen atom transfer modules and 'mutase-like' catalysis. This will accelerate the development of new drugs and compounds with improved properties.
Research by Ted Loch-Temzelides finds that fungal networks resemble competitive markets, where resources are allocated to maximum benefit. This understanding could aid in mitigating climate change by optimizing carbon storage in soils.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a new method to synthesize halichondrin B, a natural compound with potent antitumor properties. The 'reverse approach' simplifies the process by bonding carbon-oxygen connections first and has reduced the number of steps required to make the molecule from 25 to just 5.
RAMBO, a new method, cuts indexing times for large DNA databases from weeks to hours and search times from hours to seconds. The researchers used a data structure that has a significantly faster query time than state-of-the-art genome indexing methods.
Researchers aim to understand neural pathways in Hydra vulgaris, a tiny animal with simple circuits, to create designer neural circuits. The goal is to program behaviors from scratch and develop self-healing 'biorobots' for various applications.
Rice University engineers developed a strategy to increase the number of transition-metal single atoms that can be loaded onto a carbon carrier using graphene quantum dots. The new technique showed significant improvement in electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide compared to lower metal loading catalysts.
Researchers have developed an antibody conjugate called BonTarg that delivers drugs to bone tumors and inhibits metastasis. The combination of a breast cancer drug with a bone-targeting antibody was found to significantly enhance the concentration of the antibody at tumor sites, and inhibit secondary metastasis from infected organs.
The study found ADCs made with cleavable linkers can decrease small-cell lung cancer tumor size in PDX mouse models, showing promise for improved efficacy. The 'bystander effect' kills nearby nontargeted cancer cells often found near malignant tumors.
Scientists at Rice University have developed a new model to detect magnetospheres in distant solar systems using nightside radio signals. This could provide valuable information about the characteristics of exoplanets, including their ability to protect themselves from solar winds.
Rice University engineers have developed a method to grow remarkably uniform 2D perovskite crystals using microscopic seeds. This breakthrough addresses production issues and enables the creation of highly efficient photovoltaic devices with stable performance.
Researchers develop method to control flash Joule heating process to produce valuable allotropes, including fluorinated nanodiamonds and graphene. The process uses organic fluorine compounds and fluoride precursors to create the desired structures.
Researchers found that textured-surface breast implants stimulate pro-inflammatory T cell responses, which may lead to chronic inflammation and cancer. Smooth-surface implants showed less immune cell activity, suggesting a potential link between rougher surfaces and breast implant-associated large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL).
A new study by Rice University found that offering a set of rewards allows employees to choose the most effective incentive, leading to increased creative ideas and improved creativity levels. The study also discovered that rewards aimed at helping others can be particularly powerful in boosting creativity.
Ajo-Franklin's lab is developing advanced fiber-optic sensors to monitor CO2 storage sites, allowing for the detection of small faults that could lead to leakage. The project aims to enhance safety and security at storage sites using distributed acoustic sensing technology.
The Rice University engineers have unveiled the process of MoS2's synthesis in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) furnace. Their simulations showed that it takes three steps to deposit an atomically thin lattice onto a surface, involving sublimation, reaction with sulfur atoms, and crystallization.
Research from Rice University and the University of Windsor found that leaders who encourage on-job learning and listen to employees are more effective in building resilient teams. Teams that learn from mistakes and receive verbal rewards for a learning mindset tend to be more resilient.
Researchers at Rice University have developed a simple chemical process to create light and highly absorbent aerogels that can take a beating. The aerogels, which are customizable in shape and size, showed superior remediation properties compared to traditional COF powders.