As the world works to meet net-zero carbon goals, a new study offers a critical reminder: precision matters. The researchers suggest refining how we assess a natural carbon storage strategy to ensure the technology lives up to its potential as a climate change solution.

Dr. Arum Han, the Texas Instruments Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his lab, created a technology named NOVAsort (Next-generation Opto-Volume-based Accurate droplet sorter), a system that allows high throughput screening of molecules and cells at significantly reduced error rates. Whereas previous research has focused on increasing the speed of assays (a type of laboratory test), the team’s findings, which were published in Nature Communications, are among the first to significantly improve accuracy without compromising the speed of assays.

Under the Health Care Malpractice Act, updated in 2023, minors can recant their consent before age 25 if they develop a “permanent injury” from their treatment, with the argument that their doctor should have anticipated the patient’s health outcome and subsequent regret. Allowing patients to withdraw informed consent retroactively places an extreme burden on clinicians, limits access to gender-affirming care, and acutely threatens the legal infrastructure supporting US healthcare, according to a new perspective article by Boston University School of Public Health and Cornell Law School researchers.