Research

Study explores how private equity acquisitions impact hospitals

Private equity investment in hospitals has grown substantially in the 21st century, and it accelerated in the years leading up the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dashboard developed at Rice will help Texas schools open safely amid pandemic

HOUSTON – (May 5, 2021) – A new dashboard developed by public health researchers at Rice University's Texas Policy Lab (TPL) will help school districts in Texas and parents of school-age students make better and more informed decisions about COVID-19 mitigation amid the pandemic.

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.

Neural nets used to rethink material design

The microscopic structures and properties of materials are intimately linked, and customizing them is a challenge. Rice University engineers are determined to simplify the process through machine learning.

Wearable glucose monitors shed light on progression of Type 2 diabetes in Hispanic/Latino adults

In one of the first studies of its kind, medical and engineering researchers have shown wearable devices that continuously monitor blood sugar provide new insights into the progression of Type 2 diabetes among at-risk Hispanic/Latino adults.

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.

Pedram Hassanzadeh wins NSF CAREER Award

Atmospheric blocking is known to cause or exacerbate extreme weather events, but much about them remains a mystery. Rice University fluid dynamicist Pedram Hassanzadeh has won a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to study these events with an eye toward better understanding the physics behind their complex mechanics.

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.

Rice, Intel optimize AI training for commodity hardware

New AI software trains deep neural networks 15 times faster than platforms based on graphics processors.

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.

Akane Sano wins NSF CAREER Award

Forget the mood ring. Akane Sano has a far better idea.

Tires turned into graphene that makes stronger concrete

Rice scientists optimize a process to turn rubber from discarded tires into soluble graphene.

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.

Houston refines hunt for COVID in wastewater

There are many ways to test municipal wastewater for signs of the virus that causes COVID-19, but scientists in Houston have determined theirs is the best yet.

Teamwork makes light shine ever brighter

If you’re looking for one technique to maximize photon output from plasmons, stop. It takes two to wrangle.