The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation-supported researchers at Kent State University are advancing a new way to monitor carbon, nitrogen, and minerals in agricultural soils using remote sensing and satellite imagery. By reducing reliance on labor-intensive physical soil sampling, the approach could ultimately make it easier for farmers and land managers to track soil health and carbon storage across large landscapes and over time.
The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation supported Dr. Chelsea Rochman and her team in developing SLoPP and SLoPP-E, open-access Raman spectral libraries designed to make microplastics identification more accessible, reliable, and consistent. Published in Analytical Chemistry, the work created reference spectra for both pristine and environmentally weathered plastics, helping researchers more accurately identify the plastics they encounter in real-world samples. These pioneering libraries went on to help form part of the foundation for OpenSpecy, an open-source platform that is advancing and standardizing the way researchers analyze microplastics using spectroscopy. The project demonstrates how an early investment in foundational scientific tools can continue to ripple forward as those tools are incorporated into new technologies used by the broader research community.
A new Nature Protocols publication provides the first comprehensive, step-by-step method for using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in reef-building corals, giving scientists a powerful new tool to better understand how corals grow, tolerate heat stress, and form their essential partnerships with algae. Co-authored by Dr. Phil Cleves, the Herbert W. Hoover Foundation’s 2023 Pew-Hoover Fellow in Marine and Biomedical Science in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts, the protocol establishes the foundation for a new era of coral functional genomics. By making gene editing more accessible and reproducible, the work will accelerate research aimed at protecting coral reefs from the impacts of climate change.
A new study published in Cell uncovers a previously unknown gut-to-brain signaling pathway that regulates dietary protein intake during recovery from illness and other catabolic states. Led by Dr. Andrew Wang at Yale University, the research demonstrates that specific amino acids generate ammonia during metabolism, which is sensed by gut enterochromaffin cells through a TRPA1-dependent mechanism. This signaling triggers serotonin release and communicates with the brain to reduce further protein intake, protecting the body from ammonia toxicity during vulnerable recovery periods. The findings reveal a fundamental biological system by which the body balances nutrient intake with metabolic safety. The project was funded in part by The Herbert W. Hoover Foundation.
A new study published in Cell uncovers how corals evolved the specialized cellular machinery needed to house the microscopic algae that fuel the world’s coral reefs. Led by Dr. Phil Cleves, the 2023 Pew-Hoover Fellow in Marine and Biomedical Science, the research found that corals repurposed lysosomes—cellular structures traditionally responsible for digestion and recycling—to create the “symbiosome,” the organelle that supports their partnership with photosynthetic algae. The discovery helps explain how this remarkable symbiosis evolved repeatedly throughout nature and provides new insight into the biological processes that underpin the health and resilience of coral reefs.
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