All licensed COVID-19 antibody treatments become ineffective over time as new mutants emerge. We isolated antibodies from an individual who recovered from SARS-1 and received the COVID vaccine, that work against all COVID-related viruses including the latest Omicron variants. These broad-targeting antibodies could make future-proof therapeutics to counter the continual evolution of coronaviruses.

It is widely known that psychological stress influences many aspects of our health. This is particularly true in the case of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a widespread disease of the gut. We found that psychological stress leads to inflammation of the gut by changing the gut-residing nervous system, which may inform therapeutic approaches in the future.

The world population is aging. In our recent study, we identified that levels of an amino acid called taurine decline during aging. When we used taurine supplementation to reverse this decline, it improved healthspan in worms, mice and monkeys, and lifespan in worms and mice. Thus, taurine deficiency could be a driver of aging and taurine supplementation a potential anti-aging intervention.

A material with characteristics between crystal and glass has been accidentally created by an electrical discharge (likely a lightning strike) in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. The material is a quasicrystal with 12-fold symmetry, impossible for ordinary crystals. Transient high-pressure and high-temperature conditions seem to ease the formation of quasicrystals in nature.

We researched how logging activities impact the ability of a tropical forest to absorb and store carbon. Over a 7-year period in Malaysian Borneo, we found that forests recovering from logging activities emit more CO2 than they absorb, and that these emissions persist at least a decade following the logging activities.

Discovering the complex interactions among variables in real-world events is critical, whether it is brain function, the financial market, or even epidemics. While traditional statistical tools only account for interactions between two variables, our new method examines group dependencies to understand more complex interactions in real-world data from neuroscience, economics, and epidemiology.