An interdisciplinary project led by Ashok K. Shetty, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Genetics at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine, and Ya Wang, associate professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering at the Texas A&M College of Engineering, is opening a new frontier in Alzheimer’s treatment research. The project pairs a promising Alzheimer’s drug with nanocarriers engineered to deliver the drug to the brain through the nose.

An 82-year-old man credits a coronary artery calcium test he received in 2001 with leading to changes in his lifestyle and medical therapy that are keeping him alive and healthy today. This type of assessment has now become part of routine clinical care for some adults with intermediate-level risk for atherosclerosis and follows 25 years of research dedicated to improving cardiovascular disease risk prediction and prevention.

Jérémie Calais, MD, PhD, an internationally recognized leader in theranostics and cancer imaging, presented the Dr. Sanjiv “Sam” Gambhir Annual Lecture in Nuclear Medicine Treatments and Diagnostics at the SNMMI Theranostics Conference. Established by SNMMI, the annual lecture honors Gambhir’s visionary work in early detection and precision medicine and spotlights advances that enable earlier intervention and improve patient outcomes. Calais’ lecture was titled “Seeing and Treating Earlier: Theranostics on the Path to Cure?” 

Forty young sea turtles are back in the ocean, but their future raises a troubling question: Where are the males? After more than two decades of monitoring, FAU researchers are finding increasingly female-biased hatchling populations, with some years producing virtually no males. As warming beach temperatures alter the conditions that determine sea turtle sex, scientists warn that today’s imbalance could threaten the next generation decades from now.

Ilya Kovalenko, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and industrial and manufacturing engineering at Penn State, discusses the state of U.S. manufacturing, the exciting technologies set to shake up the field and where he sees the most room for future research breakthroughs and workforce growth.

Deep beneath the Antarctic ice lies a telescope unlike any other—one that uses the ice itself to explore the universe in ways no conventional telescope can. The IceCube Neutrino Observatory (IceCube) is the world’s largest neutrino telescope, with 5,160 high-precision photodetectors embedded 1,450 to 2,450 meters beneath the South Pole. Since its completion in 2011, IceCube has opened a new window on the universe, detecting elusive neutrinos from some of the most energetic objects beyond our galaxy—sources that cannot be fully understood through light alone.

Now, scientists are taking the next step with IceCube-Gen2 (Gen2), a next-generation observatory designed to be more than five times as sensitive as the current detector. At the heart of this ambitious project is Professor Aya Ishihara of the Institute for Advanced Academic Research and International Center for Hadron Astrophysics, who is leading the development of high-precision photodetectors for Gen2. What can we learn by turning the Antarctic ice into a giant telescope? And what might the next generation of IceCube reveal about the high-energy universe? We spoke with Professor Ishihara about the journey so far, the challenges ahead, and what continues to drive her curiosity as a researcher.

In recognition of lung cancer awareness month, throughout November, the American College of Chest Physicians will display white ribbons around its Glenview, Illinois headquarters to raise awareness for lung cancer screening and early detection.