BioSciences

Bacteria have sensors to shut toxin down

Researchers at Rice University and the University of Idaho helped identify a protein that senses and binds to formaldehyde to tell cells that toxic formaldehyde is building up.

Feds back probe of understudied gut nervous system

Rice University neurobiologist Rosa Uribe has won a five-year, $2 million R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how the enteric nervous system develops.

Flatfish got weird fast due to evolutionary cascade

Flatfishes rapidly evolved into the most asymmetric vertebrates by changing multiple traits at once, according to a Rice University study.

Biochem lab partners win Goldwater Scholarships

Passionate pursuit of research opportunities pays off for Syed Shams and Jim Zhang

Houston flooding polluted reefs more than 100 miles offshore

Flower Garden Banks fouled by runoff from 2017's Harvey and 2016's Tax Day floods, Rice research finds.

Does selfishness evolve? Ask a cannibal

Biologists have used one of nature's most prolific cannibals to show how social structure affects the evolution of selfish behavior. Researchers showed they could drive the evolution of less selfish behavior in Indian meal moths with habitat changes that forced larval caterpillars to interact more often with siblings.

Corals may need their predators' poop

Fish that dine on corals may pay it forward with poop. Rice University marine biologists found high concentrations of living symbiotic algae in the feces of coral predators on reefs in Mo'orea, French Polynesia.

NEST360° probes pandemic dangers for newborns

Research facilitated by Rice University-based NEST360° is underscoring the need for COVID-19 treatment guidelines to safeguard newborn lives in some countries.

Pandemic’s end now in sight, experts say

On the day after President Biden announced that every American will be eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, two top Rice University scientists focused on the pandemic voiced both optimism and grave concern.

Unconventional Students at Rice 2021: Norman Zheng finds balance

When Norman Zheng ’21 came to Rice he wanted to be pre-med, but he did not think there would be hands-on experience in his first year.  

Camera traps reveal newly discovered biodiversity relationship

In one of the first studies of its kind, an analysis of camera-trap data from 15 wildlife preserves in tropical rainforests revealed a previously unknown relationship between the biodiversity of mammals and the forests in which they live.

DARPA backs Rice sensor to detect COVID-19 virus in air

Researchers receive funding for up to $1 million to develop a real-time electronic sensor able to detect minute amounts of the airborne virus that causes COVID-19 infection.

Laura Segatori named AIMBE fellow

Rice bioengineer Laura Segatori has been named a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

‘Power Flower’ blooms as Bowdoin’s debut work of Rice Public Art

VADA professor’s sculpture is one of four new pieces acquired for campus art program.

Junghae Suh named AIMBE fellow

Rice bioengineer Junghae Suh has been named a fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.