Science & Technology

Weedy rice is a closely related cousin of crop rice that aggressively competes with cultivated rice in the field. Scientists from Washington University and the University of Arkansas report that the crop pest has become widely herbicide resistant. The study highlights challenges facing U.S. rice farmers when they battle a weedy enemy that is closely related to a desirable crop plant.

Researchers led by the McKelvey School of Engineering’s Hong Chen recently invented a technique for generating ultrasound waves that can self-bend, like a rainbow.

Ismael Seáñez received a five-year $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to lead interdisciplinary spinal cord injury research.

Jianjun Guan at the McKelvey School of Engineering was awarded a four-year $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a new dressing for chronic wounds in people with diabetes.

Research from the McKelvey School of Engineering and School of Medicine aims to overcome a critical barrier in kidney disease research with a new way to culture specific kidney cells.

Louis Woodhams and Phil Bayly’s team at the McKelvey School of Engineering built a model to better understand how certain cilia — tiny, hairlike structures throughout our body — beat.

Biologists in the laboratory of Hani Zaher in Arts & Sciences examined the modified nucleotides used in COVID-19 vaccines. The modifications faithfully produce the protein products as designed, a welcome sign for future RNA therapeutics.

A new technological pairing from the lab of Quing Zhu at the McKelvey School of Engineering may lead to an improved diagnostic tool for colorectal cancer.

Biologist Susanne Renner in Arts & Sciences investigated the oldest known seeds from watermelon relatives. Her research team shared two new genomes of the ancient seeds and described how Neolithic humans in Libya likely used the seeds, not the bitter flesh, from the melons.

A grant from the National Science Foundation will allow Amit Pathak to take a closer look at how certain cells use priming and memory to respond to new tissues.