EurekAlert! News by Subject: Tech & Engineering - News by Subject: Tech & Engineering

Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 2-Apr-2026 14:16 ET (2-Apr-2026 18:16 GMT/UTC)

Tubulin prevents toxic protein clumps in the brain, fighting back neurodegeneration

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have discovered a potential new strategy to fight back against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, conditions that are linked to the toxic accumulation of Tau and alpha synuclein protein clumps in the brain. The team reports that tubulin, the building block of microtubules, the cell’s internal ‘railway tracks,’ can stop Tau and alpha synuclein from forming toxic clumps and instead steer them into their normal, healthy roles. The findings support redefining tubulin, from a passive casualty of disease to an active protector against toxic protein aggregation.

Journal: Nature Communications

Study reveals multiple types of post-amputation pain, each needing different treatment

University of Colorado Anschutz
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz have identified a critical gap in how post-amputation pain is evaluated and treated. The study shows that pain after lower limb amputation is not a single uniform condition but a set of distinct experiences that change depending on activity level and prosthetic design. These findings could influence care strategies for the nearly two million Americans living with limb loss, a number expected to grow in the coming decades.

Journal: PM&R

New model may predict preeclampsia in late pregnancy

Weill Cornell Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A machine-learning model developed by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators may provide clinicians with an early warning of a complication that can occur late in pregnancy.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

Large area MoS₂ reduces energy loss in magnetic memory films

University of Manchester
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered that placing magnetic films on atomically thin molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) fundamentally changes how they lose energy, a finding that could bring 2D‑material spintronics a step closer to real devices.

Journal: Physical Review Applied

Breaking down the battery problem

University of Texas at Austin
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New research explores a framework that could be used to advance a crucial part of lithium-ion batteries. Roughly 75% of the cost of lithium-ion batteries is the materials, and the majority of these batteries use expensive oxide cathodes. This is the problem Manthiram and his students are tackling: How do we begin to make these oxide cathodes more efficient?

Journal: Nature Energy

Researchers find that landowner trust, experience influence feral hog management

University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Trust in others and prior experience with feral hogs were significant factors in whether landowners would commit effort and dollars to controlling feral hogs, two studies have found. Nana Tian is a forest economics researcher for the Arkansas Forest Resources Center who studies human dimensions and economic issues in natural resource management. When it comes to feral hogs, her research informs education and management plans. Tian is the corresponding author of two studies that address these issues: “Private Landowners’ Perspectives on Managing Feral Swine in Arkansas, Louisiana, and East Texas,” published in the Journal of Wildlife Management and “Private Landowners’ Willingness to Pay for Managing Feral Swine in the West Gulf Region,” published in the Journal of Sustainability Research.

Journal: Journal of Wildlife Management

Concrete as a carbon sink

Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)
Business Announcement

The rule until now has been “no concrete without cement,” but concrete’s traditional binding agent has a high carbon footprint. In cooperation with partners from four European countries, researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are working in the EU-financed C-SINC project on a climate-friendly material that can partly replace cement. They are using magnesium silicates to permanently bind carbon dioxide in mineral form. Not only does concrete produced with this cement substitute cause significantly lower emissions, it actively stores carbon and removes it from the atmosphere.