“Position 4” didn’t seem important until researchers took a long look at a particular peptide. That part of the peptide drawn from a SARS-CoV virus turned out to have an unexpected but significant influence on how it stably binds with a receptor central to the immune system’s ability to attack diseased cells. In a study […]
The COVID-19 pandemic was met with a rush of research on the many factors related to the crisis, including the accuracy of different testing methods. However, many of the studies conducted in the early stages of the pandemic did not meet the usual rigorous scientific standards, according to researchers at Rice University and Baylor College […]
American and Italian engineers have demonstrated the first nanophotonic platform capable of manipulating polarized light 1 trillion times per second. “Polarized light can be used to encode bits of information, and we’ve shown it’s possible to modulate such light at terahertz frequencies,” said Rice University’s Alessandro Alabastri, co-corresponding author of a study published this week […]
Education has long been linked to health — the more schooling people have, the healthier they are likely to be. But a new study from Rice University sociologists found that the health benefits of a good education are less evident among well-educated bisexual adults. “Education and health: The joint role of gender and sexual identity” […]
Engineers and musicians from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and the Houston Symphony determined social distancing will not be enough to keep musicians safe while performing on-stage. Using a high-speed camera, researchers studied air released by musicians who were singing or playing wind instruments. Ashok Veeraraghavan, a Rice imaging expert, said social distancing is […]
Bioengineers and surgeons from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improves the cells’ ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks. In a study using rodents, a team led by Rice’s Omid Veiseh and Baylor’s Ravi Ghanta showed it could make capsules […]
Researchers at Rice University find that charcoal, and other materials described in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Applied Nano Materials, could aid treatment COVID-19 patients. In the project co-led by Rice chemist James Tour, researchers found oxidized charcoal nanoparticles are not only effective antioxidants, but can also be made from an activated carbon source that […]
Rice University researchers are teaming with nonprofit VotingWorks to validate and improve open-source technology for voting by mail, work that will give local elections officials an important option if they’re flooded with applications from voters asking to cast mail ballots in November due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is funded by a National Science […]
Celebrating successes, admitting mistakes, and encouraging honest communication among employees are some of the steps health care leaders should take to improve teamwork during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new paper from researchers at Rice University. “Managing teamwork in the face of pandemic: evidence-based tips“ appears in a recent edition of BMJ Quality & Safety. […]
Rice advances manufacture of complex shapeshifters for soft robots, biomedical implants. Soft robots and biomedical implants that reconfigure themselves upon demand are closer to reality with a new way to print shape-shifting materials. Rafael Verduzco and graduate student Morgan Barnes of Rice’s Brown School of Engineering developed a method to print objects that can be manipulated to take on alternate forms […]
