Rice University

A fundamental chemistry breakthrough promises to unlock ammonia as a clean fuel, and decarbonize the chemical industry in the process. Rice University researchers have created a small, LED-powered device that converts ammonia to hydrogen on the fly.

Hydrogen sulfide famously stinks like rotten eggs. It's also toxic, corrosive, flammable and produced in large amounts as an expensive by-product at petroleum refineries. Now, researchers have found an easy, profitable way to turn it into hydrogen.

Although advances are occurring in the field of powered prosthetics, the devices still require heavy batteries. Scientists at Rice University are trying to change that, by creating a pneumatic "extra limb" that's powered by the wearer's footsteps.

Earlier this year, scientists demonstrated "drug factory" beads that could be implanted alongside ovarian and colorectal tumors in mice to destroy them in less than a week. A new study focusing on another cancer type has now produced similar results.

Scientists at Rice University have put forward a promising solution to lithium-metal battery failure, developing a film made of fine powder that can be brushed onto electrode surfaces to prevent the formation of dendrites.

While we've seen a number of robotic grippers inspired by various animals, US scientists have now taken a much more "direct" approach. They've devised a method of using actual dead spiders to delicately grasp small objects.

Researchers at Rice University have shown how they can hack the brains of fruit flies to make them remote controlled. The flies performed a specific action within a second of a command being sent to certain neurons in their brain.

Researchers have homed in on new compounds that are effective at killing leukemia. The drug candidates shut down faulty mitochondria in the cancerous cells, and were found to be far more effective when paired with existing chemotherapy drugs.

Bacteria are great at resisting antibiotics, but they can’t fight tiny drills ripping them open. Researchers have now demonstrated next-generation molecular drills that are activated by blue light and could revolutionize the fight against superbugs.

We need to get creative with recycling. In a new study, researchers at Rice University and Ford’s Research and Innovation Center have demonstrated how waste plastic from old cars could be used to make graphene foam that can then be used in new cars.

Two of our biggest environmental problems are the tons of unusable plastic waste, and the tons of carbon dioxide which are released into the atmosphere in smokestack emissions. A new process is claimed to use the former to trap the latter.

Among the many challenges in treating tumors is the difficulty in getting anti-cancer drugs to the right locations, and in the right amounts. A new type of implant developed at Rice University tackles both issues, with impressive results in mice.