In the last year, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, swept through chicken coops across the nation, killing egg-laying hens and contributing to rising egg prices. The outbreaks underscored how vulnerable food systems can be to rapidly spreading biological threats and how urgently new predictive tools are needed to help producers respond.

Researchers have employed granulation technology to resolve the challenges of decreased CO₂ capture performance and powder elutriation in alkaline metal salt-promoted MgO sorbents. The optimized alkaline metal salt-promoted MgO sorbent pellets exhibited a CO₂ capture capacity of 11.46 mmol·g⁻¹ and a mechanical strength of 11.14 MPa. This mechanical strength was nearly three times greater than that of alkaline metal salt-promoted MgO sorbent pellets without granulation promoters. After 20 cycles, CO₂ capture capacity stabilized at 8.71 mmol·g⁻¹, while mechanical strength was maintained at 8.92 MPa.

The researchers explore the optimization and integrated application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the manufacturing of polymer composite materials. By analyzing the diversity of composite molding processes and the demand for multifunctional integration, and combining the potential of AI in areas such as process parameter optimization, real-time control, and quality prediction, the study presents practical cases and discusses future development trends, offering ideas and methods for economically viable engineering applications.

After high-profile water crises like the one in Flint, Michigan, some Americans distrust the safety of tap water, choosing to purchase drinking water from freestanding water vending machines or kiosks. Yet this more expensive water may contain different pollutants than local tap water, according to a study in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology. Researchers report that water sampled from 20 kiosks in six states sometimes contained lead at levels above public health recommendations.