News Releases

Fungi embrace fundamental economic theory as they engage in trading

HOUSTON – (June 29, 2021) – When you think about trade and market relationships, you might think about brokers yelling at each other on the floor of a stock exchange on Wall Street. But it seems one of the basic functions of a free market is quietly practiced by fungi.

Reversal speeds creation of important molecule

A Rice lab’s reverse approach to making halichondrin B is the shortest route to a “rather complex and important molecule."

Keck backs Rice bid to ‘build a brain’

A $1 million Keck Foundation grant will support work by Jacob Robinson to understand neural pathways.

RAMBO speeds searches on huge DNA databases

Rice computer scientists are sending RAMBO to rescue genomic researchers who sometimes wait days or weeks for search results from enormous DNA databases.

Bioengineering department adds single-cell expert via CPRIT grant

The little things of life mean a great deal to Julea Vlassakis, who will bring her study of protein complexes and their role in cancer proliferation to Rice University this year.

Quantum dots keep atoms spaced to boost catalysis

Rice engineers use graphene quantum dots to trap transition metals for high atom loading in single atom catalysis.

Housing in Houston: Tough times for tenants, would-be homeowners

HOUSTON – (June 22, 2021) – Houston's share of homeowners is dropping, and a growing number of renters interested in buying a home find themselves shut out of the market, according to a new report from Rice University's Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

Nightside radio could help reveal exoplanet details

Rice scientists enhance models that could be used to detect magnetosphere activity on exoplanets. The Rice model adds data from nightside activity that could increase signals by at least an order of magnitude.

Study examines how breast implant surfaces affect immune response

Rice University bioengineers collaborated on a six-year study that systematically analyzed how the surface architecture of silicone breast implants influences adverse side effects.

Solar energy collectors grown from seeds

Rice University engineers have created microscopic seeds for growing remarkably uniform 2D perovskite crystals that are both stable and highly efficient at harvesting electricity from sunlight.

‘Flashed’ nanodiamonds are just a phase

The “flash” process developed at Rice University can turn carbon black into functionalized nanodiamond and other materials. The carbon atoms evolved through several phases depending on the length of the flash.

CLEAN Future Act’s oil field-produced water provision could undermine energy transition, says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (June 21, 2021) – A little-noticed section of an environmental bill pending in Congress could reclassify water extracted from oil and gas wells as hazardous waste, dramatically driving up drilling costs in the U.S. and destabilizing energy markets around the world, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Rice U. study: Use rewards effectively to boost creativity

HOUSTON – (June 17, 2021) – To boost employees’ creativity, managers should consider offering a set of rewards for them to choose from, according to a new study by management experts at Rice University, Tulane University, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and National Taiwan Normal University.

Seismic study will help keep carbon underground

A Department of Energy grant to Rice geoscientists enables development of fiber-optic sensors to find and evaluate small faults at underground carbon dioxide storage reservoirs.

Sickle cell advance incorporates Rice lab's tech

Rice University bioengineer Gang Bao, a pioneer in the search for a way to treat and perhaps cure sickle cell disease, is co-author of a significant step forward revealed in Science Translational Medicine and led by his colleagues at Stanford University.