After Margaret Bynoe and her lab discovered that an FDA-approved drug, Lexiscan, used in cardiac imaging, could open the blood-brain barrier, the lab went to work, exploring how it could be used as a therapeutic for brain diseases.

Lynden Archer is searching for ways to give fossil fuels a different life. His lab has already discovered some invaluable new processes and products.

A wrist device lowers heart rate; a bedside device monitors sleep quality; a dinner plate controls food quantity. Tanzeem Choudhury makes it happen.

Ilana L. Brito and her team are developing a suite of computational tools for examining the mobile gene content in multiple datasets — to identify those genes that may shape the response of microbial communities to stress.

Emin Gün Sirer’s research group developed and tested Falcon — which they call fast and fierce — for processing Bitcoin blockchains, digital transaction ledgers.

When bacteria live in a community known as biofilm, antibiotics can’t enter to fight infection. Holger Sondermann wants to disperse that community.

As a pioneer of single-molecule imaging, Peng Chen applies the technology to studying metal atoms in cells, with implications for the development of antibacterial agents.

Richard Robinson’s work spans the making of nanoscale building blocks and altering their capabilities to assembling nanoparticles into practical devices.

Lorraine Gudas and her team investigate the irrefutable pharmacological potential of retinoids for treating cancers, diabetes, and other disorders.

An engineer and a neuroscientist gathered a group of Cornell scientists and engineers to tackle a frontier of science — the brain. Now, they form a hub.

Androvia Life Sciences licensed a new tool for diagnosing male infertility from Alexander Travis’ lab. Soon it will help many infertile couples.

Robert Shepherd is creating soft robots, using newly invented materials such as soft, bendable rubber foam that can change shape dramatically and bicontinuous skin with adaptable locomotion.

Made of organic and inorganic parts, these hybrid nanoparticles from the Emmanuel Giannelis’ lab are unique, and they’re working for the environment.

David Erickson and colleagues are working to move health-related smartphone technologies from his lab to the market.

Samie Jaffrey’s team created a synthetic RNA strand designed to bind to a fluorescent dye. Named ‘Spinach’ for its green fluorescence, this tag suddenly made it possible to image RNA as it went through its life cycle in living cells.

Could one tiny enzyme be the key to cancer’s defeat? Richard A. Cerione, Chemistry and Chemical Biology/Molecular Medicine, is trying to find out.

Carl Nathan studies the workings of the body’s immune system in relation to infectious diseases — with a focus on tuberculosis as a model.

Graduate student Amanda Bares developed a hyperspectral multiphoton microscope that can image cells a millimeter deep in the cerebral cortex.

Christopher Alabi is making a new class of polymers as tools for fighting disease.

Michael Mazourek puts 10,000 plants in his research plots every year to assess growth, yield, quality, and disease resistance.

TAL effectors are a molecular tool some bacteria use to infect crops such as rice, contributing to poverty and hunger in parts of the world.

Tracking the migration of birds—especially smaller species like songbirds—will now be much easier with the development of new lightweight, solar-powered tags that can even outlast the lifespans of most birds.

Macrophages and microglia clean up dead cells, foreign particles—whatever needs clearing out. How do scientists observe this activity?

David Putnam and Lawrence Bonassar investigate synthetic mimetics of the natural proteoglycan lubricant, lubricin, to delay or prevent progression of osteoarthritis (OA) following injury to the weight-bearing articular cartilage of the knee.

Ronald Crystal is known for developing a treatment for a common, often-fatal hereditary disorder that causes emphysema and liver disease.

How long will you use that new Fitbit or Apple Watch for monitoring your daily health activities before disinterest sets in?

After licensing an animal feed supplement to Phytex LLC and then to Huvepharma, capturing a global market, Xingen Lei still has bigger ideas.

On Cornell’s sprawling 900-acre New York State Agricultural Experiment Station (NYSAES) in Geneva, New York, Susan K. Brown, Horticulture and Plant Breeding/ Genetics, is developing better apples.

Breakthrough technologies from Cornell labs get a boost in commercialization from the on-campus McGovern Center, where nine startups are incubating.

“In humans and in horses, we know that if you sprain your ankle, it will lead to arthritis,” Lisa Fortier says.

In the United States nearly 27,000 men died of prostate cancer in 2016, as physician-scientists study why patients often develop treatment resistance.

From a serendipitous start with synthesized silica nanoparticles filled with dyes through stages of honing, bright tumor-tracking particles emerged.

In its early stages, cancer is usually asymptomatic. Early detection is a complex challenge. Can a blood sample detect early signs?

Leading-edge nanotechnology processes and materials for batteries, filtration, nanocoatings, and sensors are the foundation of Axium Nanofibers LLC.

The big challenge was to equip a bacteria cell with a complex biological pathway that it doesn’t naturally carry. Many people thought it impossible.

Fuel cells convert energy cleanly and efficiently, but fabrication costs are prohibitive. A breakthrough polymer invented at Cornell may change that.

Managing nitrogen is crucial for crop production and the environment.

For a fashion show, students invented a process to turn fabric into temperature-sensitive textiles to monitor body temperature of athletes.

“We have to be able to tailor varieties to the requirements of different farmers,” says Susan McCouch.

Dr. Hening Lin is an Investigator in the Howard Hughes Medical Center and Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Cornell University. Dr. Lin’s understanding of sirtuin enzymatic activity has enabled the development of a potent sirtuin2-specific inhibitor called “TM.”

Dr. Benedict Law is an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology in Radiology at Weill Cornell Medicine. Dr. Law’s team is interested in a new type of two-dimensional nanomaterial, such as nanofiber (PF) that is biocompatible, able to penetrate inside a tumor, and has a short circulation time to avoid non-specific in vivo distribution with a high tumor uptake.

Dr. Robert Shepherd, Assistant Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and his team have developed foam actuators and sensors to create soft robotics that are safe for use in prosthetics and enhance augmented and virtual reality experiences.

Paul Steen, Professor in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has developed a switchable electronically- controlled adhesion device that allows for maximum adhesion to various surfaces. Among the applications for the device are wafer handling, large-format printing, gripping gloves and shoes, and drone parking pods.