News & Events
Big Data Approach Shown To Be Effective for Evaluating Autism Treatments
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute who developed a blood test to help diagnose autism spectrum disorder have now successfully applied their distinctive big data-based approach to evaluating possible treatments.
Salt-Evolved Zooplankton Grow Too Slowly To Block Salt-Induced Algal Blooms
Small animals at the base of the freshwater food chain can rapidly adapt to salt pollution – from sources like winter road deicing, agriculture, and mining – but at a price.
Research Focuses on a New Frontier in Circadian Rhythms
A new frontier in the science of circadian rhythms – whose disruption is linked to major diseases like cancer and diabetes – suggests a previously unknown mechanism at work in our daily biological cycle.
Biocatalysis Expert Richard Gross Recognized for Economical Environmental Chemical Advances
The American Chemical Society (ACS) has recognized biocatalysis expert Richard Gross with the 2019 ACS Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, bestowed for outstanding scientific discoveries or chemistries that lay the foundation for cost-competitive environmentally friendly products or manufacturing processes that are less expensive than existing alternatives.
Flipped Cells Cause Blood Vessels To Leak in Diabetes and Other Diseases
An enzyme activated in diabetics has been found to cause previously aligned cells in a blood vessel to reverse their orientation, creating misalignments that allow veins and arteries to leak three times more blood proteins than normally constructed blood vessels.
Research Seeks Candidates for Alzheimer’s Drug to Block Production of Amyloid Peptide
With support from the Warren Alpert Foundation, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have launched a search for drug candidates to block a biological process associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, United Health Foundation Launch New $1.1 Million Partnership to Train Next Generation of Health Data Experts
To help address the growing need for a larger workforce of health data analysts and technologists, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the United Health Foundation are expanding access to health informatics educational opportunities and applied health data science research experiences through the Rensselaer Institute for Data Exploration and Application (IDEA).
Latest Research Hints at Predicting Autism Risk for Pregnant Mothers
A recent paper authored published in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders discussed a test that can predict with approximately 90 percent accuracy whether a pregnant mother has a 1.7 percent or a tenfold increased risk of having a child diagnosed with ASD.
Success of blood test for autism affirmed
One year after researchers published their work on a physiological test for autism, a follow-up study confirms its exceptional success in assessing whether a child is on the autism spectrum.
Improving Nature’s Tools for Digesting Plastic
Building on what nature has provided, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have improved the efficiency of a leaf and branch compost cutinase that breaks down polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the plastic used in clear and colored plastic water bottles and many other products.
How a Cell Knows When To Divide
How does a cell know when to divide? We know that hundreds of genes contribute to a wave of activity linked to cell division, but to generate that wave new research shows that cells must first grow large enough to produce four key proteins in adequate amounts.
Commencement 2018 Profile: Catherine Mann
From an early age, Cate Mann envisioned a future connected to the biological sciences. But it was only at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute that she found her future in bioinformatics, a blend of computer science and biology.
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In the News
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For healthier lakes, rivers, and drinking water, hold the salt
February 6, 2019 -Rick Relyea, an environmental scientist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is tackling similarly thorny questions in upstate New York’s Lake George, which has been called the Queen of American Lakes. Relyea leads the Jefferson Project, a collaboration among RPI, IBM, and the FUND for Lake George, a nonprofit focused on conserving the lake. The project has outfitted the lake with more than 500 “smart” environmental sensors during the past four years to monitor human influence on it. Over the past four decades, according to data from the Lake George Offshore Chemical Monitoring Program, chloride levels have tripled in Lake George, adding to other environmental effects on the lake. These effects include the rise of invasive species and the delivery, through stormwater runoff, of pollutants and nutrients that can stimulate algal blooms. Because it’s hard to tease apart the impacts of these various stressors on the lake’s water quality and wildlife, Relyea’s team has done a bevy of experiments in the lab and in large outdoor tanks to isolate and examine the consequences of increasing salt.
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Freshwater Is Getting Saltier, Threatening People and Wildlife
December 21, 2018 -Salts that de-ice roads, parking lots and sidewalks keep people safe in winter. But new research shows they are contributing to a sharp and widely rising problem across the U.S. At least a third of the rivers and streams in the country have gotten saltier in the past 25 years. And by 2100, more than half of them may contain at least 50 percent more salt than they used to. Increasing salinity will not just affect freshwater plants and animals but human lives as well—notably, by affecting drinking water.
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Brain Scans Can Detect Who Has Better Skills
October 3, 2018 -To gain new insight into how highly specialized workers learn skills or react to stressful situations, researchers are leveraging advanced scanning technologies to look at what’s happening inside the brain.