The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture recently entered a five-year agreement with the Indian National Horticulture Board and Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to help fruit farmers in India improve agricultural production by limiting spread of pathogens. Ioannis Tzanetakis, director of the Arkansas Clean Plant Center and professor of plant virology for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, has been working on the Indian Clean Plant Program for almost three years. The project’s goal is to establish nine clean plant centers in India. The Arkansas Clean Plant Center is a part of the experiment station, the research arm of the Division of Agriculture.

A major international webinar will take place on November 26 to present new scientific breakthroughs that could accelerate the global transition toward clean hydrogen. The event will feature Dr. Muhammad Aziz, Associate Professor and Lab Head at the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo, who will unveil recent advances in chemical looping technology that enable efficient hydrogen production, inherent carbon capture, and recovery of useful heat or power in a single integrated system.

A controlled feeding study out of South Dakota State University showed that older adults who ate fewer ultra-processed foods naturally consumed fewer calories, lost weight and abdominal fat, and showed improvements in insulin, nutrient-sensing hormones and inflammation.

Cancer-fighting antibody drugs are designed to penetrate tumor cells and release a lethal payload deep within, but too often they don’t make it that far. A new study shows how this Trojan Horse strategy works better by exploiting calcium differences outside and inside cells. A research team led by Sophia Hober, professor at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, reported the development of a calcium activated delivery system they say could enable more precise treatment, with lower doses and less collateral damage to healthy tissue. 

Tropical cyclones can unleash extensive devastation, as recent storms that swept over Jamaica and the Philippines made unmistakably clear. Accurate weather forecasts that buy more time to prepare are crucial for saving lives and are rooted in a deeper understanding of climate systems. Driving this forward, researchers at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and others have successfully identified a previously unknown cyclic climate pattern by historical reanalysis of datasets and satellite observations. The findings are published in PNAS.

Protected areas are often seen as refuges for plants and animals – yet they are also places where people live, work and relax. A new study led by the University of Göttingen in Germany, in collaboration with the Universities of Kassel in Germany, Jyväskylä in Finland, and Stockholm in Sweden, shows how deeply people are connected to these landscapes. The research team analyzed personal stories from residents, land managers, and visitors in protected areas of the district of Göttingen. Their findings reveal that protected areas foster local identity, support learning about nature, and provide spaces for recreation, working together and community engagement. The study was published in the journal People and Nature.

Two engineers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been elevated to senior membership in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Researchers receiving the honor include Bryan Maldonado in the Building Envelope Materials Research Group and Jin Dong in the Interactive Controls Group.