Feature Stories
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 23-Mar-2026 13:15 ET (23-Mar-2026 17:15 GMT/UTC)
10-Mar-2026
SoundCoop: Tapping the potential of marine passive acoustic monitoring big data
Big Earth Data
Marine passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has provided petabytes of data, whose proper utilization is necessary to promote species protection and lower noise in protected places. Recently, a Big Earth Data study proposes the Sound Cooperative (SoundCoop) project for efficient information extraction from marine PAM big data for military, management, industry, and science applications. This work illustrates the value of harnessing big data to enable informed decisions and scientific progress.
- Journal
- Big Earth Data
- Funder
- Integrated Ocean Observing System, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Navy Living Marine Resources, Office of Naval Research, Research Foundation Flanders, LifeWatch – Niclas Öberg Foundation, Helmholtz strategic infrastructure, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association, University of Colorado Boulder
10-Mar-2026
University of East London and Kinder launch major study into parent–child interaction through play
University of East London
New research from the Institute for the Science of Early Years at the University of East London, supported by Kinder, is exploring how shared play between parents and young children shapes communication, emotional connection and family interaction. Early findings from a UK pilot study suggest that when families play together, parents and children move closer physically, communicate more responsively and show greater emotional alignment. Using wearable sensors, video, audio and machine-learning analysis in families’ homes, the Kinder Play Study is examining how these everyday moments of play influence children’s development and family relationships.
10-Mar-2026
Chasing the rare arogos skipper butterfly from Florida fields to lab
Florida Museum of Natural History
The arogos skipper is an endangered butterfly that was once common throughout much of the United States but has since been reduced to a few small populations. Researchers are studying a population in Florida to learn more about its life cycle and create tailored conservation recommendations for land managers.
- Funder
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
10-Mar-2026
This tiny cellular portal could open vast possibilities for medicine
Rockefeller University
Michael Rout has spent decades studying the molecular machinery that controls all traffic in and out of the cell’s nucleus. His research could lead to new treatments for cancer and viral diseases.
10-Mar-2026
Exploring the machinery that surrounds DNA to stop cancer
Purdue University
Purdue University researcher Emily Dykhuizen explores how cancer takes advantage of the machinery that surrounds DNA, enabling some of its most pernicious powers, like the ability to evade the immune system, resist conventional therapies, and spread through metastasis. Her work helps researchers develop better immunotherapies against cancer.
- Journal
- Journal of Medicinal Chemistry
9-Mar-2026
Karl F. Freed, pioneering theoretical chemist and decoder of molecular complexity, 1942–2026
University of Chicago
Karl F. Freed (1942–2026) was a distinguished theoretical chemist at the University of Chicago who spent over five decades providing the rigorous mathematical foundations for modern molecular theory. He is celebrated for bridging the gap between abstract physics and complex chemistry through his pioneering work in polymer physics, electronic structure theory, and protein folding.
9-Mar-2026
Researchers develop rapid PFAS detector
DOE/Sandia National LaboratoriesWhen Sandia scientists Ryan Davis and Nathan Bays set out to find a better way to absorb and degrade PFAS in water sources, they kept running into the same issue: Detecting the chemicals in samples took too long.
So, they came up with their own solution.
They’ve developed a faster, cheaper way to test for PFAS.
9-Mar-2026
FIU researchers develop encryption to protect against future quantum computer hacks
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) researchers have developed a quantum-safe encryption system designed to protect digital content from the next generation of cyberattacks.
- Journal
- IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics
- Funder
- Army Research Office, National Science Foundation
6-Mar-2026
The University of Barcelona presents VISI-ON-BRAIN, a training and research network in neuroscience based on new-generation human models
University of Barcelona
The University of Barcelona is consolidating its position at the forefront of European research thanks to the strategic project “VISI-ON-BRAIN: Cutting-edge Human In Vitro and In Silico Biomedical Tools on Brain Disorders”. This is a training and research programme involving 15 PhD researchers focused on developing new-generation human models to advance the study of complex brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. The key point of the initiative is the paradigm shift it proposes, as the study is carried out leaving behind the animal model and seeking a more ethical science, with experimental (in vitro) and computational (in silico) models.
- Funder
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)