‘Smart’ shirt keeps tabs on the heart
Carbon nanotube thread woven into athletic shirts gathered electrocardiogram and heart rate data that matched standard monitors and beat chest-strap monitors. The fibers are flexible and the shirts are machine washable.
Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power
Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy.
‘Smart cells’ show promise to treat disease
Laura Segatori wins NIH backing to develop synthetic biological circuits for cells that may someday sense trouble and respond by making just enough of the appropriate drugs.
Enzyme from fungi shows molecules which way to turn
A small fungal enzyme could play a significant role in simplifying the development and manufacture of drugs, according to Rice University scientists.
Quantum dots keep atoms spaced to boost catalysis
Rice engineers use graphene quantum dots to trap transition metals for high atom loading in single atom catalysis.
Solar energy collectors grown from seeds
Rice University engineers have created microscopic seeds for growing remarkably uniform 2D perovskite crystals that are both stable and highly efficient at harvesting electricity from sunlight.
Absorbent aerogels show some muscle
A simple chemical process developed at Rice University creates light and highly absorbent aerogels that can take a beating.
Molecular jiggling has implications for carbon nanotube fibers
New research suggests the jiggling motion of carbon nanotubes suspended in liquid solutions could have implications for the structure, processing and properties of nanotube fibers formed from those solutions.
Rice names architect for new engineering and science building
With the imminent demolition of Rice University’s Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory, the space will soon be cleared for a new engineering and science building, according to Rice administrators. International architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has been selected as lead architect for the new building. Houston’s Scientia Architects will consult on laboratory design.
Silver ions hurry up, then wait as they disperse
There’s gold in them thar nanoparticles, and there used to be a lot of silver, too. But much of the silver has leached away, and researchers want to know how.
Rice engineers WERC hard for the money
Students calling themselves “PFAS and PFurious” took four prizes, including first place, in this year’s 31st WERC Environmental Design Contest.
Bioengineer wins NIH grant to attack cystic fibrosis
Rice chemical and biomolecular engineer Xue Sherry Gao wins a National Institutes of Health grant to develop gene editing to treat cystic fibrosis.
Biochem lab partners win Goldwater Scholarships
Passionate pursuit of research opportunities pays off for Syed Shams and Jim Zhang
Cancer ‘guardian’ breaks bad with one switch
A mutation that replaces a single amino acid in a potent tumor-suppressing protein makes it prone to nucleating amyloid fibrils implicated in many cancers as well as neurological diseases.
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.
