In a recent study, Dr. Maria Koliou and other Texas A&M University researchers investigated the potential benefits of retrofitting older buildings to increase their resilience against earthquakes and other disasters, creating shorter recovery times for affected communities.

Cement manufacturing and repair could be significantly improved by using biocement-producing bacteria, but growing the microbes at construction sites remains a challenge. Now, researchers report a freeze-drying approach in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that preserves the bacteria, potentially allowing construction workers to ultimately use powder out of a packet to quickly make tiles, repair oil wells or strengthen the ground for makeshift roads or camps.

Binary neutron star mergers emit gravitational waves followed by light. To fully exploit these observations and avoid missing key signals, speed is crucial. In a study to be published in Nature on March 5, 2025, an interdisciplinary team of researchers presents a novel machine learning method that can analyze gravitational waves emitted by neutron star collisions almost instantaneously – even before the merger is fully observed. A neural network processes the data and enables a fast search for visible light and other electromagnetic signals emitted during the collisions. This new method could be instrumental in preparing the field for the next generation of observatories.

Bone tool production 1.5 million years ago was patterned and systematic. This is the main conclusion of the discovery made by a team led by CSIC- Spanish National Research Council at Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), renowned as the Cradle of Humankind. The study, published in Nature, is a milestone in the archaeology of human origins, for prior to the discovery of this bone tool assemblage it was thought that bone technology was barely known among our earlier ancestors.

Working with colleagues on four continents, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Professor Zachary Lippman has established the pan-genome for an agriculturally crucial group of plants that includes all tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants. The pan-genome could help make genome editing more predictable and empower plant breeders across the globe to improve crop selection and resiliency.