Particles caused by tyre, brake and road surface wear are now responsible for the majority of traffic-related particulate matter and microplastics pollution. When stricter air quality limits come into force across the EU in 2030, it will be virtually impossible to comply with them without a reduction in wear-related emissions. As part of the new Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) Lead Project NExT – Non-Exhaust Emission Topics, researchers at TU Graz will be developing the necessary foundations for the reliable assessment and effective reduction of non-exhaust emissions over the next three years. To this end, interdisciplinary teams from five institutes under the project management of Cornelia Lex and Stefan Hausberger are conducting research into the formation of tyre, brake, road and rail wear particles. They are developing standardised, realistic test procedures for various vehicle classes and components as well as technical solutions that can significantly reduce emissions.

The research team led by Dr. Hak Joon Kim, Principal Researcher at Department of Urban Environment Research of the Korea Institute of Machinery & Materials (President Seog-Hyeon Ryu, hereinafter referred to as KIMM) has developed an eco-friendly air purification technology that reduces ultrafine particulate matters without the use of filters.

Winter sea ice cover in the Arctic was the lowest it’s ever been at its annual peak on March 22, 2025. At 5.53 million square miles (14.33 million square kilometers), the maximum extent fell below the prior low of 5.56 million square miles (14.41 million square kilometers) in 2017. Globally, ice cover reached a record low in mid-February. 

To make sense of the new administration's recent tariff announcements and policy changes, Robert Johnson, the Brian and Jeannelle Brady Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame, explains how tariffs affect global economies and what this means for U.S. engagement in global trade.

A clinical team from the Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine at the LKS Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong (HKUMed), in collaboration with Queen Mary Hospital, has spearheaded the use of CAR-T cell therapy for blood cancers. The researchers recently treated the first myeloma patient with this therapy (patient case details in Appendix A), resulting in a very good response without severe complications. The expansion of this innovative treatment to myeloma patients offers new hope for those who have not responded to traditional treatment, marking a significant milestone in advancing healthcare in Hong Kong. Importantly, the treatment for these patients represents the first time advanced CAR-T cellular therapy manufactured in the mainland has been used in Hong Kong, opening new possibilities for the use of novel advanced cellular therapies from the mainland in Hong Kong and potentially benefitting a broader range of patients in the future.

“Creating a clean energy source is the dream we are all striving for,” says Texas A&M engineer Dr. T.S. Satish Bukkapatnam who is on a team of researchers tapped by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to improve the components for nuclear fusion. The process for precision polishing the tiny ablator capsule — a spherical shell just around two millimeters in diameter — creates an ultra-smooth surface. The team devised an innovative system utilizing sensors to collect data during the polishing process, and AI to detect defects in real time. Practically speaking, we could be a decade or more away from being able to use nuclear fusion as source of sustainable energy. As the project continues, this research team will examine different sources of anomalies, as well as ways to produce high-quality fuel shells more efficiently.