Alyssa Tapley was just 13 when doctors told her she had a rare form of leukemia and that they had run out of treatment options. But a breakthrough in gene editing, funded by federal grants, saved her life. Today, at 16, she is cancer-free. This success story highlights the importance of university research, which has driven advancements in medicine, technology, and n...
In May 2025, a group of 140 bright minds from all over New Jersey came together at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. They were there for the annual spring meeting of the Theobald Smith Society. This wasn't just any meeting. It was a two-day event celebrating the amazing world of microbiology. The group was a mix of students, teachers, and professionals from differen...
Chemistry is all about finding new ways to create useful things. Recently, some clever chemists have discovered a new method to produce certain key molecules. These molecules are vital for many processes in our bodies and in the world around us. They are known as amino acids. These tiny building blocks are crucial for life as we know it. Amino acids are the foundati...
Imagine a protein that shines bright like a jellyfish but was not crafted by Mother Nature. Scientists have done the impossible, creating a glowing protein using AI. This protein, esmGFP, was not born from millions of years of evolution. It was dreamt up by AI in a matter of hours. The AI, known as ESM3, learned from a vast collection of known proteins. It didn'...
Imagine having mini detectives in your body that light up when they find what they're searching for. Scientists have made this possible with special DNA fragments called FLAPs. When these FLAPs meet specific substances, they glow brightly. Out of many, two particular FLAPs were found to change color strongly upon encountering their targets. Using these FLAPs, the sc...
Imagine diving into a world invisible to the naked eye—the world of microbes in wastewater. In Africa, this approach, known as metagenomics, offers a treasure trove of insights. By analyzing wastewater, scientists can keep tabs on public health, track nasty bugs that resist medicines, and even find new microbes with unique talents. All this is possible thanks to mode...