A rapidly growing global population in the midst of a changing climate had led to serious sustainability issues and choices surrounding water, food and energy. These stresses and the policy responses will vary by locality, but they will have global repercussions that will ultimately affect the success of those choices. […]

Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes Inc., will take part in an interview-style Q&A session, 'A Conversation with Beth Ford,' from 9-10:30 a.m. Sept. 17 in Stewart Center’s Fowler Hall at Purdue University. The event is free and open to the public. […]

How reliable and resilient is an all-digital nuclear reactor? Scientists and engineers at Purdue University hope to answer that question by supporting public and private research partnerships at a first-of-its-kind, digitally operated nuclear reactor, licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. […]

It may be an unsettling thought for some – but the human body is home to trillions of “good and bad” bacteria, viruses and other tiny organisms called microbes. But the scientific big data communities recognize the value of good microbes because they show promise in curing diseases and improving crop yields. […]

Wonder why your commute or vacation route has had a lane closed down for so long? […]

Anyone who has tried to pour powdered sugar into a jar knows that sometimes beating the sides of the container or package is the only way to make it flow. That same process is used in making medicines and products such as powdered milk, where workers routinely hammer on the sides of large bins to unstick the powdery mixture. […]

Collecting precise soil samples is essential for farmers because a small amount of soil determines the amount of nutrients needed for acres of crops and can determine crop yields. […]

A young entrepreneur who is commercializing a product that cuts down wine waste one bottle at a time is seeing growing interest across the country – both online and from wine tasting rooms. […]

Nuclear power will be the focus at next week’s 'What IF Nuclear Innovation Could Save the World?: Atoms for Humanity.' […]

Imagine a better windshield that easily repels water and requires less wiping. Now imagine if that same technology could allow doctors to better detect disease or abnormalities in patients. […]

The various roles that nuclear power plays in space exploration, medicine, robotics and sustainability will be the focus of “What IF Nuclear Innovation Could Save the World?: Atoms for Humanity” on Sept. 3-5. […]

Transportation incidents like poor bridge or highway performance often leave drivers wondering if their local roads and bridges are adequate. A nationwide effort that began in Indiana and New York – and is now celebrating its 60th anniversary – aims to ensure the safety of local drivers. […]

A new type of lens is lighting the way for expanded uses of large ions and building blocks for new materials. The lens may also address one of the fundamental bottlenecks for generating bright ion beams. […]

Ah, the joys of living out in the country: the quiet, the space and the peacefulness. Then there’s the internet connection, which can go from bad to worse quickly in many rural areas. […]

'This was not a normal year,' said Greg Matli, Indiana state statistician for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service, regarding the 2019 USDA crop report. 'Nothing like 2019 has happened in our history before.' […]

Capturing objective data in about five seconds that can aid concussion diagnoses through an iPhone, the Reflex PLR Analyzer, an industry-disruptive diagnostic tool for traumatic brain injury and various cognitive issues, is rapidly advancing in the healthcare market with the launch of a new version of Reflex, brightlamp’s premier mobile pupillometer technology. […]

How can we create digital, healthy and sustainable communities of tomorrow? […]

What role can nuclear power play in getting humans to Mars or eliminating climate change? Not to mention its increasing role in medicine and safety and security. […]

An acid used for medicine and to flavor some drinks soon may help make electronic components and certain adhesives more durable and better for the environment. […]

Moore’s law – which says the number of components that could be etched onto the surface of a silicon wafer would double every two years – has been the subject of recent debate. The quicker pace of computing advancements in the past decade have led some experts to say Moore’s law, the brainchild of Intel co-founder Gordon Moore in the 1960s, no longer applies. Particularly of concern, next-generation computing devices require features smaller than 10 nanometers – driving unsustainable increases in fabrication costs. […]

Plant breeders could theoretically increase soybean crop yields if they could control the number of nodules on plant roots since they are responsible for fixing atmospheric nitrogen. Increased crop yield is key to feeding a global population expected to surpass 9 billion people by 2050. […]

Nearly every atmospheric science textbook ever written will say that hurricanes are an inherently wet phenomenon – they use warm, moist air for fuel. But according to new simulations, the storms can also form in very cold, dry climates. […]

The label on organic, fair-trade coffee and clothing doesn’t always tell the full story. […]

California vineyard owners are carefully watching grapes mature on the vine this summer, just one in a list of responsibilities that determines their chances at a successful season. […]

Nuclear power plants generate 20% of the nation’s electricity and are the largest clean energy source in the U.S. But to further offset climate change, the nuclear energy sector needs to extend the lifetime of existing facilities as well as build new ones. […]

During the past 70 years, hybrid corn varieties have increased both yield and nitrogen use efficiency at nearly the same pace, largely by preserving leaf function during grain filling. The Purdue University study’s findings offer strategies for corn breeders who want to continue to improve yields and nutrient efficiencies. […]

Electric generators have a plethora of uses – ranging from automotive to aircraft to microgrids. There is currently a strong desire to reduce the size and increase the efficiency of the devices. […]

The most commonly used chemical in the dry cleaning industry is a solvent called perchloroethylene, or PERC. The Environmental Protection Agency has classified the chemical as a likely carcinogen, and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has linked acute exposure to it as causing dizziness, blurred vision and loss of coordination. […]

Conservation organizations across the United States plant milkweed to combat the loss of monarch butterflies, whose populations have declined around 90 percent in the last two decades. Where they plant may be important, according to a Purdue University study that finds evidence of agricultural pesticides on milkweed near farm fields. […]

A completely new approach to discovering pharmaceutical biologics to fight infectious diseases, new therapies for autism, and exploring a newly discovered intermediate between classical and quantum computing are the latest interdisciplinary projects underway at Purdue University's Discovery Park. […]

The word starch brings to mind for many people either a food component or something used to stiffen clothing – but its use covers much territory. Starch is used in a wide variety of food and non-food settings. In fact, the global corn starch market is expected to reach $34 billion by 2025. […]

Just in time for summer – a new technology to improve the taste, quality and shelf life of juice and other beverages, and help craft brewers make more beer. […]

A large-scale manufacturing process to improve food packaging and keep groceries fresher longer has received top honors at one of the world’s largest technical conferences for the packaging industry. […]

Heavy rain can overwhelm municipal infrastructure and lead to flooding that can threaten lives and property. The U.S. alone spends millions - and sometimes billions - of dollars per year on flood recovery, and more is spent around the world. […]

Agricultural researchers have long used small-plot trials to test a myriad of practices, such as selecting the best seeds, fertilizer and crop-control products, and depending on their eyes and opinions to determine what works best. […]

Nitrate levels in water resources have increased in many areas of the world, largely because of applications of some types of fertilizers in agricultural areas. Since the mid-1920s, the deposits of nitrogen into land has more than doubled, leading to higher levels of nitrate in water resources. […]

Billions of dollars are being spent by aviation giants and aerospace startups to create driverless flying vehicles that can meet the growing need for rapid and flexible travel and delivery. Anyone who has tried to navigate major metro areas like New York City or Los Angeles knows the hassles associated with sharing the roads and air with millions of other people. […]

The Resilient ExtraTerrestrial Habitats Institute is working to ensure that the first long-term settlement on other planetary bodies are safe from hazards such as a meteoroid colliding with the moon or violent sandstorms on Mars. […]

The Paris Agreement calls for reducing greenhouse gases enough to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius from preindustrial levels. This could be done by reducing emissions or capturing and storing atmospheric carbon. […]

A drone delivery is great – on a perfect, sunny day. But what about when it’s windy? Most drones are not able to withstand wind because of their fixed-arm design. […]

Farmers bear much of the burden for growing the food to feed billions of people as the world’s population continually trends upward. […]

A startup is advancing a unique way to transform algae used to purify municipal wastewater into specialty bio-based chemicals such as biofuels or bioplastics that could help reduce the risk of toxic algae blooms that often kill fish and surrounding wildlife. […]

It is a figure that has been thrown around quite a bit lately in the energy debate – the United States has enough energy in shale to provide all of the nation’s transportation fuels for 100 years. But two challenges remain – how to tap into that supply and how to process it into fuel at a reasonable price. […]

What if you could save the planet by eating bugs? That not only might be a possibility, but in some parts of the world, eating insects isn’t a novel idea. Some researchers and chefs are working to demystify the concept of edible insects. […]

Government, industry, schools, banks, health care organizations, powerplants … who doesn’t have to worry about cybersecurity threats? […]

The number of malnourished people on the planet had been decreasing — but then something happened. Over a three-year period from 2015, the number of those impacted by hunger and food insecurity returned to levels not seen for a decade and jumped from about 785 million to 840 million. […]

About 2.5 billion gallons of produced water, a byproduct from the oil refinery and extraction process, is generated each day in the United States. […]

A discovery made by researchers to help ensure water safety may have applications that reach far beyond plumbing. The researchers wanted to find alternative lead-free bronze alloys for use in water valves and the plumbing systems for more than 10 million homes in the United States. […]

Kevin Solomon, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, will testify at 10 a.m. Tuesday (March 12) before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Research and Technology during a hearing on 'Engineering Our Way to a Sustainable Bioeconomy.' […]

Most people may not realize it but they encounter products made with exotic or advanced metals every day. […]