Timing is critical in diagnosing diseases such as cancer. Researchers within The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign used a historically underappreciated tiny powerhouse to detect diseases sooner. 

A clean energy future hinges on minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium and rare earth elements. But the race to secure them puts pressure on the places where they are mined, often affecting communities contributing the least to climate change. To secure CRM sources, the United States and European Union are moving supply chains to aligned regions. But simply shuffling where minerals are mined does not automatically make extraction more ethical or sustainable. In a commentary published in Nature Energy, researchers propose a new framework of “just-shoring” to shift focus from competition and security to the rights and interests of those whose lands are most at risk.