Congratulations to our students!!
Many congratulations to our graduate students! Elizabeth Lotsof won the Raymon M. Keefer Fellowship which is awarded to graduate students pursing a Ph.D. in Chemistry. Cindy Khuu won the Floyd and Mary Schwall Dissertation Year Fellowship in Medical Research which is awarded to continuing graduate students focused on medically related research. Congratulations to our […]
Science Daily News
- Overworked neurons burn out and fuel Parkinson’s disease September 3, 2025Overactivation of dopamine neurons may directly drive their death, explaining why movement-controlling brain cells degenerate in Parkinson’s. Mice with chronically stimulated neurons showed the same selective damage seen in patients, along with molecular stress responses. Targeting this overactivity could help slow disease progression.
- Hidden viruses in our DNA could be medicine’s next big breakthrough September 3, 2025Scientists have decoded the 3D structure of an ancient viral protein hidden in our DNA. The HERV-K Env protein, found on cancer and autoimmune cells, has a unique shape that could unlock new diagnostics and therapies.
- A simple metal could solve the world’s plastic recycling problem September 3, 2025Scientists at Northwestern University have developed a groundbreaking nickel-based catalyst that could transform the way the world recycles plastic. Instead of requiring tedious sorting, the catalyst selectively breaks down stubborn polyolefin plastics—the single-use materials that make up much of our daily waste—into valuable oils, waxes, fuels, and more.
- Central Asia’s last stable glaciers just started to collapse September 3, 2025Snowfall shortages are now destabilizing some of the world’s last resilient glaciers, as shown by a new study in Tajikistan’s Pamir Mountains. Using a monitoring station on Kyzylsu Glacier, researchers discovered that stability ended around 2018, when snowfall declined sharply and melt accelerated. The work sheds light on the Pamir-Karakoram Anomaly, where glaciers had resisted […]
- Why Alzheimer’s attacks the brain’s memory hub first September 3, 2025Virginia Tech researchers are investigating how overloaded mitochondria in the brain’s memory circuits may spark early Alzheimer’s damage. Their work focuses on calcium signaling and how it might trigger breakdowns in the entorhinal cortex.