International collaborative research led by Aakash Project^* researchers at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) show an unequivocal contribution of crop residue burning (CRB) to air pollution in the rural/semi-urban regions of Punjab and Haryana, and a relatively lower contribution than previously thought to the Delhi national capital region (NCR). We have installed 30 units of compact and useful PM_2.5^** in situ instrument with gas sensors (CUPI-Gs) and have continuously recorded air pollutants in 2022 and 2023. New analytical methods have been developed to assess and predict the formation and transport of air pollutants due to emissions from CRB.

Researchers from the Ateneo de Manila University and from National University- Mall of Asia Campus have found that geopolymer mortar made from Taal volcanic ash has strong radiation attenuation properties.

A new platform for studying neuroinflammatory diseases, utilizing advanced 3D bioprinting technology was developed by POSTECH in collaboration with Seoul National University Hospital.

Sustainability certificates such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Cocoa Life promise to improve the livelihoods of small-scale cocoa producers while preserving the biodiversity on their plantations. Together with the European Commission's Joint Research Centre, researchers from the University of Göttingen have investigated whether sustainability certificates actually achieve both these goals. To find out, they carried out an analysis within the Ghanaian cocoa production sector. Their results show that although certification improves both cocoa yield and cocoa income for small-scale producers, they were unable to find any effects on biodiversity in the cocoa plantations. The results were published in the journal Ecological Economics.

Caio Vieira, assistant professor of soybean breeding and a researcher for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, tested 31 soybean genotypes over two growing seasons to see how they would respond to four-day flooding in early reproductive stages.

The study found that some genotypes visually classified as “moderately tolerant” to flooding had higher yields than those classified as “tolerant.” Another surprising discovery was that four-day flooding in the early reproductive stage did not significantly alter the soybean seed composition of any of the varieties tested compared to the non-flooded control group.