Excess nitrogen entering rivers, lakes, and groundwater is a major environmental challenge worldwide. Fertilizers, livestock waste, domestic sewage, atmospheric deposition, and other diffuse sources can all contribute to nitrogen pollution, yet determining exactly where the nitrogen comes from and how it moves through a watershed remains difficult.

The few millimeters of soil surrounding plant roots may be small in scale, but they are among the most biologically and chemically active regions on Earth. In a new review published in Biochar, researchers propose that biochar should be viewed not simply as a soil amendment, but as a “rhizosphere interface engineer” capable of coordinating physical, chemical and biological processes around plant roots.

Northwestern Medicine scientists have developed an AI tool that rapidly and successfully measures colonoscopy quality by reviewing footage of the procedure.

Industry had the floor at Materials and Manufacturing Innovation Days, where more than 350 leaders from industry, government and the research community gathered on Aug. 19-20 at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Discussions focused on barriers slowing the deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies and on how national laboratory capabilities and partnerships could help move those technologies toward production.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded $20 million to renew the Artificial Intelligence Institute for Advances in Optimization (AI4OPT) through 2031. Led by Georgia Tech in partnership with USC and the University of California, Berkeley, the institute combines expertise in AI and optimization.

Satellite remote sensing reveals how efficiently terrestrial ecosystems convert water loss into carbon gain, but product choice shapes the answer. 

A new £12.6 million UK research programme has been launched to accelerate the development of next-generation photonic and quantum technologies. Bringing together researchers from The University of Manchester, Imperial College London and the University of Leeds, the programme will use atomic-scale materials engineering to unlock new capabilities in communications, sensing and computing. 

A working prototype that can see, remember and interact with the world like the human brain could one day underpin smart bionic eyes, while using far less energy than today's technologies.

The invention from RMIT University combines sensing, memory and information processing within the same system, reducing the need to constantly move data between separate sensors, memory banks and processors.

While still an early-stage research demonstration, the neuromorphic vision innovation could dramatically reduce the amount of data and energy required to perform complex visual tasks.