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Tech & Engineering

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 28-Apr-2025 17:08 ET (28-Apr-2025 21:08 GMT/UTC)

Researchers develop reinforcement learning-based enhanced sampling method for studying dynamic systems

Chinese Academy of Sciences Headquarters
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by SHI Xinghua from the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with GAO Huajian's team from Tsinghua University, developed a new reinforcement learning-based enhanced sampling method called Adaptive Collective Variables Generator (Adaptive CVgen), which has been successfully applied to study protein folding and the synthesis of fullerene (C60).

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Preventing obesity in very young children could be in the palm of parents’ hands

Johns Hopkins Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study co-led by a Johns Hopkins Children’s Center clinician-researcher shows that adding text messaging and other electronic feedback to traditional in-clinic health counseling for parents about feeding habits, playtime and exercise prevents very young children from developing obesity and potentially lifelong obesity-related problems.

Journal: JAMA

Novel catalyst for charge separation in photocatalytic water splitting

University of Science and Technology of China
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A research team led by Prof. JIANG Hailong, Prof. LUO Yi, and Prof. JIANG Jun from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) discovered a metal-organic framework (MOF) that suppress charge recombination, which is a major challenge in photocatalytic overall water splitting.

Journal: Nature Chemistry

3D printing breakthrough: Stronger, more ductile alloy for extreme environments

Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A team of researchers from Xi’an Jiaotong University, Tianmushan Laboratory, and the National University of Singapore has pioneered a new method for crafting an ultra-strong, ductile alloy using 3D printing technology. This alloy—an oxygen-doped blend of niobium, titanium, and zirconium (called “NTZO”)—was fabricated using laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF), a technique that applies rapid heating and cooling to produce metals layer by layer. Through this process, they’ve achieved a unique combination of strength and flexibility, making it an ideal material for the toughest environments, from aerospace to medical applications.

Journal: Materials Futures

Vesalius’ historical “manikins” displayed together for first time

Dignity Health Arizona
Peer-Reviewed Publication

For the first time, researchers at Phoenix’s Barrow Neurological Institute have collected and displayed together the “manikins” published nearly 500 years ago by the 16th Century anatomist Andrea Vesalius – works that laid the foundation for modern surgical and neurosurgical training.

Journal: Neurosurgery

New Huntington’s treatment prevents protein aggregation

Northwestern University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Patients with Huntington’s disease have a genetic mutation that triggers proteins to misfold and clump together in the brain. These clumps interfere with cell function and eventually lead to cell death. The new treatment leverages peptide-brush polymers, which act as a shield to prevent proteins from binding to one another. In studies in mice, the treatment successfully rescued neurons to reverse symptoms.

Journal: Science Advances
Funder: International Institute of Nanotechnology Convergence Science Medicine Institute, NIH/National Institutes of Health

Mission to International Space Station launches research on brain organoids, heart muscle atrophy, and cold welding

International Space Station U.S. National Laboratory
Business Announcement

More than 25 payloads sponsored by the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory, including technology demonstrations, in-space manufacturing, student experiments, and multiple projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), are bound for the orbiting outpost. These investigations, launching on SpaceX’s 31st Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) mission for NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, aim to improve life on Earth through space-based research and foster a sustainable economy in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. (LEO).