Climate catastrophe produced instantaneous evolutionary change
A unique experiment by Rice University biologists in the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Harvey that revealed species can instantly evolve when they move in response to a climate catastrophe.
Rice, Houston Methodist to unveil state-of-the-art Center for Human Performance Oct. 10
Rice University and Houston Methodist will unveil the Houston Methodist-Rice University Center for Human Performance in an Oct. 10 kickoff event featuring demonstrations of the center’s state-of-the-art capabilities.
DREAM tool for gene therapies uses ‘locally sourced’ components
Rice bioengineers developed a tool that activates silent or insufficiently expressed genes using human-derived building blocks and a CRISPR-based genome-targeting platform.
Robotic cup helps wheelchair users stay hydrated
Rice undergraduate engineering students Thomas Kutcher and Rafe Neathery designed a robotic device that enables people with limited mobility to stay hydrated without caretaker help.
Interdisciplinary Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors
An interdisciplinary team of Rice University scientists has won a $1.9 million National Science Foundation grant for research on materials that could serve as the basis for next-generation energy-efficient computing devices.
Rice alum Louis Brus awarded Nobel Prize in chemistry
Rice alumnus Louis Brus (’65) has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Moungi Bawendi and Alexei Ekimov for the “discovery and development of quantum dots.”
Two Rice bioengineers win NIH Director’s New Innovator awards
Rice bioengineers Jerzy Szablowski and Julea Vlassakis received the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award for their respective research projects. Szablowski’s work seeks to develop a noninvasive method of mapping gene expression, while Vlassakis is studying complex, single-cell level processes and interactions in pediatric bone cancer.
NSF backs Rice processor design, chip security research
Rice computer scientists have won two grants from the National Science Foundation to explore new information processing technologies and applications that combine co-designed hardware and software to allow for more effective and efficient data stream analysis using pattern matching.
It's easier to get valuable metals from battery waste if you ‘flash’ it
A battery recycling process developed by Rice scientists can retrieve valuable metals from mixed cathode and anode waste with a yield exceeding 98% in less time than normal using low-concentration acid, reducing both the cost and negative environmental impact.
NIH funds new Baylor/Rice genome editing testing center
A five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health will help establish a joint Baylor College of Medicine/Rice University center to support the development and testing of new genome editing technologies.
Tiny CRISPR tool could help shred viruses
Rice scientists mapped out the three-dimensional structure of one of the smallest known CRISPR-Cas13 systems then used that knowledge to modify its structure and improve its accuracy.
Copper-based catalysts efficiently turn carbon dioxide into methane
Copper-based catalysts developed by Rice University materials scientists help speed up the rate of carbon dioxide-to-methane conversion.
Rice graduate students win NASA Future Investigator awards
Rice graduate students Aindrila Pal and Gregory Szypko have won NASA FINESST Awards, merit-based future investigator awards that include three-year grants to conduct research in Earth and space sciences.
Split gene-editing tool offers greater precision
To make a gene-editing tool more precise and easier to control, Rice University engineers split it into two pieces that only come back together when a third molecule is added.
DOE backs Rice study of how soils store carbon
Two Rice University scientists have won a 3-year grant from the Department of Energy to study clay mineral formation processes in a watershed in order to develop a model of how soils store carbon as organic matter.
