3-Aug-2026 Mitigating the soil carbon deficit of annual agriculture with perennial bioenergy crops in the U.S. Midwest University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment A recent Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) study explored the ability of perennial bioenergy crops to restore agricultural soils to pre-cultivation prairie conditions by comparing soil organic carbon under perennial bioenergy crops planted on former corn/soy fields to maize-based annual cropping and native prairie. Soil organic carbon increased in the first 5 years under mature bioenergy crops at four of seven sites. Journal Geoderma Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Optimization of pre-commercial enzymes dosage for a potential lignocellulosic biorefinery University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) assessed enzyme dosages of cellulase and hemicellulase on hydrothermally pretreated lignocellulosic substrates to maximize sugar and ethanol yields and improve cost analysis. Optimal enzyme dosages for the selected feedstocks were identified for both sugar release and ethanol yield. These enzyme dosages could improve the overall bioprocess economics of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Journal Green Chemistry Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Multisite field evaluation of oil accumulation and agronomic performance in grain and sweet sorghums engineered for lipid hyperaccumulation University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment In a new study by Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), researchers evaluated oil sorghum lines in Nebraska and Illinois over 2 years to quantify genotype-by-environment effects on agronomic performance and triacylglycerol accumulation. This study confirms vegetative lipid accumulation as a viable strategy for high-biomass sorghum, supporting its potential as a dual-purpose feedstock for sustainable aviation fuel. Journal Plant Biotechnology Journal Funder U.S. Department of Agriculture
3-Aug-2026 Finding a hidden culprit in quantum biosensors University of Chicago An interdisciplinary research from UChicago PME and the University of Iowa, originally aimed at making diamond-based quantum biosensors less toxic, less inflammatory, and overall easier on cells, unexpectedly revealed new insights that overturned a major assumption limiting the sensors' effectiveness. Journal Advanced Materials
3-Aug-2026 The first laser retroreflector on the lunar far side onboard China's Chang'e-6 lander Beijing Institute of Technology Press Co., Ltd In a newly published research article in Space: Science & Technology, an international team of researchers from the Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN); the China Academy of Space Technology; the National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and the China University of Geosciences jointly presents a detailed account of the successful deployment of the INRRI laser retroreflector on the lunar farside by the Chang’e-6 mission. Journal Space: Science & Technology
31-Jul-2026 AI: Not always a team player University of Texas at Austin In a business environment, AI boosts team learning in the short term but can lead to long-term decline, according to new research from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. “If you bring in AI, it’s going to have implications for how teams coordinate and develop a shared vision with what they’re trying to do with their work,” says Edward Anderson, professor of information, risk, and operations management. Journal Strategic Organization
31-Jul-2026 "Restoring the joy of eating": KIST overcomes dysphagia through 3D food printing technology National Research Council of Science & Technology The Natural Product Institute at the Gangneung Institute of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST, President Oh Sang-Rok) has long conducted research leveraging natural-product-based core technologies to improve public quality of life. Building on this research foundation, a team led by Dr. Koo Song Yi, Senior Researcher at the Center for Natural Product Systems Biology, has developed a 3D food printing-based manufacturing technology for customized medi-foods. To address the mealtime challenges faced by dysphagia patients, the team engineered a composite ink for 3D printing that allows precise control of physical properties tailored to each patient's individual swallowing ability. Journal Food Hydrocolloids Funder Ministry of Science and ICT
30-Jul-2026 Can one screening strategy find many cancers? Artificial Intelligence is bringing the idea closer Intelligent Medicine What if cancer screening no longer had to look for one cancer at a time? Cancer screening has long followed a one-organ-at-a-time model: mammography for breast cancer, colonoscopy for colorectal cancer, low-dose CT for lung cancer, and cervical testing for cervical cancer. These programs save lives, but they also leave gaps. Many cancers still lack routine screening, while patients often face multiple appointments, tests, and follow-up procedures. Journal Intelligent Medicine Funder National Science and Technology Major Project, National Key Research and Development Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Tianjin Science and Technology Committee Foundation, Tianjin Key Medical Discipline (Specialty) Construction Project
