For new research, published in the journal Ocean and Coastal Management, ten fishermen working around islands in the Aegean Sea were asked to pinpoint areas where they believed seagrass beds could be found along the coastlines of their respective islands. The maps they produced were then compared with satellite data of the same regions, with analysis showing an average accuracy of 78% – and a high of 92%. Researchers from the University of Plymouth and the Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation say the results are a clear demonstration of the value of tapping into local knowledge, and how doing so can be a low-cost means of generating environmental data without compromising the high accuracy needed for the data to be still valuable for policy use.

Researchers at University of Tsukuba have developed a vector that integrates the Cre enzyme gene with the specific DNA sequence loxP, which is its target. This vector allows to create Cre-loxP organisms, which are widely used in the functional analysis of specific genes, in a single step and thus to significantly reduce the time and cost of production.

Research team proposed the e-calculus, a process calculus for modeling epistemic interactions between agents in concurrency situations. It captures asynchrony via a shared buffer pool and has advantages in modeling asynchrony compared to existing methods.

This review provides a cutting-edge perspective on recent advances in tandem ECR (T-ECR) technology, highlighting the rational design of nanostructured multifunctional catalysts in tandem configurations while discussing optimization strategies for both tandem electrocatalytic pathways and cascade reactor engineering.

Physician-scientists Preet Chaudhary, M.D., Ph.D., and Michael Selsted, M.D., Ph.D., both from the Keck School of Medicine, have been elected as senior members of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), an organization that recognizes inventors holding U.S. patents and promotes academic technology and innovation to benefit society.  Chaudhary holds 12 allowed/issued U.S. patents, 16 allowed/issued international patents, and more than 120 pending applications. These are for next-generation treatments, genetically tailored for individual patients, that help a patient’s own immune system target multiple types of cancer—leukemias, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, and solid tumors. The overarching goal is to equip human immune cells to combat internal threats such as cancer in the same way they fend off external invaders such as viruses. Selsted has made pivotal contributions to the field of innate immunity, with innovations resulting in 60 US patents, 130 international patents, and another 80 pending applications. Selsted and his team were the first to identify and characterize theta defensins, a type of protein found only in old-world primates such as baboons and rhesus monkeys, that act as a crucial first line of defense against infection and disease. The team is developing synthetic versions of theta defensin as drug candidates for treating rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, sepsis, and cancer. 

Researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Microfluidics and Microdevices Laboratory (AMMLab) have developed an innovative sensing system that restores the missing tactile feedback in minimally invasive surgery (MIS), enhancing precision, ease of use, and safety. The new "off-the-jaw" system integrates force and angle sensors into the handle of laparoscopic tools, providing surgeons with real-time measurements of grasping forces and insights into tissue stiffness and thickness.