Bigger, tastier tomatoes and eggplants could soon grace our dinner plates thanks to Johns Hopkins scientists who have discovered genes that control how large the fruits will grow. Findings were published in the journal Nature. 

Working with colleagues on four continents, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Zachary Lippman has established the pan-genome for an agriculturally crucial group of plants that includes all tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. The pan-genome could help make genome editing more predictable and empower plant breeders across the globe to improve crop selection and resiliency.

By assessing how “sticky” tumor cells are, UC San Diego researchers have found a potential way to predict whether a patient’s early-stage breast cancer is likely to spread. The discovery could help doctors identify high-risk patients and tailor their treatments accordingly.

A pilot study in a rural Florida community tested an intergenerational program to help older adults adopt mobile health technology using smartwatches and assessed daily brain health behaviors. Despite challenges with digital literacy, 91% of participants engaged with health surveys delivered via the devices. Social contact was positively linked to physical activity, mental engagement and cognitive well-being. The participants, aged 53-84, successfully used the smartwatches regardless of their health literacy or technological skills, highlighting the potential of such programs in supporting aging in place.

Architect Masoud Akbarzadeh of the Weitzman School of Design at the Univeisity of Pennsylvania led a team of engineers and designers that defied conventional engineering by constructing a 30-foot-long bridge entirely from 16 millimeter hollow glass units. Their effort is now showcased at the Corning Museum of Glass and Akbarzadeh has recently published a book about the techniques used to design the bridge, "Polyhedral Graphical Statics: For Funicular Structural Form Finding."

An advanced imaging system developed at the University of Arizona boasts a shape-shifting mirror that delivers observing details typically reserved for space-based telescopes.

In the March 4, 2025, online issue of the journal Geology, Utah State University geoscientists Jordan Jensen and Alexis Ault describe a new forensic tool to help researchers understand the creation of unconformities by tracking natural “rusting” reaction that occurs in the Earth’s near surface.

Researchers deployed a robotic feeding arm in a pair of studies outside the lab. In the first, six users with motor impairments used the robot to feed themselves a meal in a UW cafeteria, an office or a conference room. In the second study, a community researcher and co-author on the research used the system at home for five days.