News & Events
CAREER Award Supports Research to Deepen Understanding of Osteoarthritis
TROY, N.Y. — Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis, affecting more than 32.5 million adults in the United States. The key to preventing or even reversing its painful and debilitating effects may be uncovered through a better understanding of the biomechanics that influence a specific molecular component that is central to the body’s joints.
Unique System for Using UVC Light to Sterilize Masks in Bulk Developed at Rensselaer
TROY, N.Y. — The shortage of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) has been a persistent problem for medical and other front-line workers as they battle the COVID-19 pandemic at close range day after day. A team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed a potential solution: a machine that uses ultraviolet (UVC) light to sterilize thousands of protective masks each day, rendering them safe for reuse.
New Findings and Approaches Emerge from Remote Investigation
TROY, N.Y. — On a typical April day, Jackie Pelham would spend most of her time in a lab coat and goggles. Working at a laboratory bench, she would examine proteins found in the body. But lately, Pelham has traded her lab coat for a laptop and her lab bench for a desk in her home. Rather than observing biochemical processes, she is poring over previously collected data. Somewhat unexpectedly, even to her, Pelham sees this temporary trade-off as an opportunity.
With NSF Support, Engineers Look for New Ways to Optimize PPE During Pandemic
TROY, N.Y. — An interdisciplinary team of engineers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is answering a national call for solutions to the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) available in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Second Season of RPI Podcast To Tackle Topics from Earth’s Origins to Supercomputers
Are mushrooms the building material of the future? What can people do to address the opioid epidemic? These and other questions are all explored in the latest season of a podcast recorded and produced at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Originally launched in the fall of 2019, Why Not Change the World? The RPI Podcast brings together leading experts from different disciplines to discuss the interconnected challenges facing humanity around the globe. All episodes are available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and other major podcasting platforms.
Mechanical Engineers Develop Tumor Model that More Closely Mimics the Body
TROY, N.Y. — There is a growing appreciation within the research community for the ways in which the biomechanics of the tumor environment may contribute to how its cells grow and even spread throughout the body. The closer researchers can get to re-creating those mechanical factors in the lab, the better they will understand tumor cell migration and how to stop cells before they invade other tissue.
Rensselaer Experts Available To Discuss COVID-19 Pandemic and Effects on Society
In addition to the capabilities of one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently announced that it was making the expertise of its world-renowned faculty available to the broader research community to support work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Water-Conducting Membrane Allows Carbon Dioxide To Transform into Fuel More Efficiently
TROY, N.Y. — Methanol is a versatile and efficient chemical used as fuel in the production of countless products. Carbon dioxide (CO2), on the other hand, is a greenhouse gas that is the unwanted byproduct of many industrial processes.
Novel Compound is Promising Drug Candidate for Alzheimer’s Disease
A newly identified compound is a promising candidate for inhibiting the production of amyloids, the abnormal proteins that form toxic clumps, called fibrils, inside the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. As published in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Chemical Communications, the compound — known as “C1” — uses a novel mechanism to efficiently prevent the enzyme gamma-secretase from producing amyloids.
Rensselaer Announces New Degree Program in Biological Neuroscience
A new degree program in biological neuroscience at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute explores the structure and function of the brain and nervous system. The major, which was recently approved by the New York State Education Department, will be offered beginning in the spring 2020 semester through the Rensselaer Department of Biological Sciences.
Structurally Designed DNA Star Creates Ultra-Sensitive Test for Dengue Virus
By folding snippets of DNA into the shape of a five-pointed star using structural DNA nanotechnology, researchers have created a trap that captures Dengue virus as it floats in the bloodstream.