Okinawa and its surrounding waters represent what marine biologists call a "shark and ray hotspot" in terms of both diversity and conservation significance. In this episode of the OIST podcast, Dr. Fabienne Ziadi-Künzli, a marine biologist and shark researcher at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), explained that this region creates unique habitats for sharks throughout their different life stages.

Barrier islands, which cover a majority of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, protect coastal infrastructure, beach towns and ecosystems — such as marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows — from damaging storms and high-energy waves. In a recent study, researchers from Texas A&M University led by Dr. Orencio Duran Vinent gained a better understanding of what makes a barrier island a “barrier.” 

Texas A&M University doctoral student Andrea Porter’s research explores a better fit for women in body armor.

Laser-plasma accelerators can accelerate particles over distances that are up to 1000 times shorter than those required by conventional accelerators. The technology promises compact systems that have enormous potential to open up new applications for accelerators, for example in medicine or industry. However, the current prototypes have one drawback: most can only accelerate a few particle bunches per second – not enough for practical applications. DESY’s new flagship laser KALDERA has now made a decisive step forward: driving the compact plasma accelerator MAGMA, the innovative laser has shown to accelerate 100 particle bunches per second. This increased repetition rate opens the path to actively stabilise the plasma accelerator performance in the future which will bring it a good deal closer to first applications.

The rush for silver helped establish Nevada as the 36th state in 1864, and a wealth of resources has continued to fuel mining in the state. The industry supports around 15,000 direct jobs, along with another 28,000 adjacent positions. But working in mines involves inherent risks from the air pollution created by coring into the Earth. To help protect miners and assist mine managers in reducing hazardous exposures, DRI scientists Xiaoliang Wang, Judy Chow, and John Watson are conducting free trainings to raise awareness about health risks and effective protection methods.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) is committed to promoting research in the transmission of humanities and cultural conservation. A scholar from the PolyU School of Design (PolyU Design) has made outstanding contributions to the study of urban visual culture by photo-documenting neon signs across Hong Kong. His project has been recognised with a prize in popular science publication category of the 9th Higher Education Outstanding Scientific Research Output Awards (Humanities and Social Sciences) by the Ministry of Education (MoE).