Diagnosing simultaneous infections of multiple respiratory viruses is challenging. Researchers from Korea have now addressed this issue by developing a TwinDemic Detection (TDD) system, a point-of-care diagnostic tool that leverages a novel, non-enzymatic signal amplification method. By testing its performance using human nasopharyngeal samples, TDD was shown to detect SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A virus simultaneously, highlighting its potential application in rapid on-site testing for a wider range of viruses.

Clay Klein has been announced as the 2025 recipient of the $10,000 Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics, and Siemens EDA — formally Mentor, a Siemens company — for potential contributions to advanced lithography or a related field. Klein will also be honored during 2025’s SPIE Advanced Lithography + Patterning conference.

The annual Nick Cobb scholarship recognizes an exemplary graduate student working in the field of lithography for semiconductor manufacturing. The award honors the memory of Nick Cobb, who was an SPIE Senior Member and chief engineer at Mentor. His groundbreaking contributions enabled optical and process proximity correction for integrated circuit manufacturing. Originally funded for three years for the period ending in 2021, the Nick Cobb Memorial Scholarship partnership has been extended and is now scheduled to be awarded through 2027.

Using state-of-the-art, high resolution micro-CT scanning, FAU researchers have scanned a full skeleton of a very rare vaquita specimen from the 1960s. The objective of scanning this rare specimen for display purposes is to facilitate the creation of replicas to be commercially available to further education and conservation efforts of this critically endangered species. The completed scans, which required approximately 165 hours, resulted in a total of three terabytes of data.