Research

Better wastewater treatment? It’s a wrap

A shield of graphene helps particles destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the free-floating genes in wastewater treatment plants.

‘Bystander’ Cs meet their match in gene-editing technique

Biomolecular engineers at Rice have developed new tools to increase the accuracy of CRISPR single-base editing to treat genetic diseases.

Boron nitride destroys PFAS 'forever' chemicals PFOA, GenX

Rice chemical engineers discovered a photocatalyst that can destroy 99% of the “forever” chemical PFOA

Future Texas hurricanes: Fast like Ike or slow like Harvey?

Climate change will make fast-moving storms more likely in late 21st-century Texas.

Laser-welded sugar: Sweet way to 3D-print blood vessels

Bioengineers keep cells alive in lab-grown tissues by creating networks of branching blood vessels from templates of 3D-printed sugar.

Cartwheeling light reveals new optical phenomenon

Researchers at Rice University have discovered details about a novel type of polarized light-matter interaction with light that literally turns end over end as it propagates from a source.

Purifying water with a partly coated gold nanoparticle

Rice's Naomi Halas has collaborated with Yale University engineers on the creation of a light-activated nanoparticle for clearing water of pollutants. The research is part of an effort by NEWT, the Rice-based Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment.

Fluorocarbon bonds are no match for light-powered nanocatalyst

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered catalyst that can break the strong chemical bonds in fluorocarbons, a group of synthetic materials that includes persistent environmental pollutants.

Excitons form superfluid in certain 2D combos

Mixing and matching computational models of 2D materials led scientists at Rice University to the realization that excitons can be manipulated in new and useful ways.

Rice lab turns fluorescent tags into cancer killers

Fluorophores with one oxygen atom replaced by a sulfur atom can be triggered with light to create reactive oxygen species within cancer cells, killing them.

New tool helps nanorods stand out

Rice scientists introduce an open-source method to simplify nanoparticle analysis using scanning electron microscope images.

Rice team makes tiny, magnetically powered neural stimulator

Rice University neuroengineers have created a tiny surgical implant that can electrically stimulate the brain and nervous system without using a battery or wired power supply.

Rice scientist goes deep to improve environmental tracers

Rice Earth scientist Laurence Yeung earns a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to improve our understanding of the biosphere’s productivity.

Rice's COVID-19 research fund awards final grants

The Rice University COVID-19 Research Fund Oversight and Review Committee funds nine more faculty teams working to mitigate the effects of the new coronavirus.

Ocean virus hijacks carbon-storing bacteria

Rice scientists are analyzing the role of ferredoxin proteins produced when viral phages alter electron transfer in ocean-dwelling bacteria that produce oxygen and store carbon.