HELIX, New Brunswick, NJ (2025)

10/08/2025

Is there a better way to measure bone strength?

According to William Querido, yes, by evaluating bone & tooth health at the molecular level.

Querido, of , is using infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging to probe bone and tooth tissues not just for quantity, but for quality.

Unlike standard X-rays that show how much bone you have, his techniques reveal collagen integrity, mineral composition, water content, and nanostructure.

One study on cadaver femurs showed that higher tissue-level water correlates with lower stiffness, a potential new biomarker for fracture risk.

Ultimately, these insights could lead to better diagnostics and therapies for conditions like osteoporosis, dental disease, and abnormal mineralization in arteries.

10/07/2025

Is there a better way to measure bone strength? According to William Querido, yes, by evaluating bone & tooth health at the molecular level.

Querido, of , is using infrared spectroscopy and hyperspectral imaging to probe bone and tooth tissues not just for quantity, but for quality.

Unlike standard X-rays that show how much bone you have, his techniques reveal collagen integrity, mineral composition, water content, and nanostructure.

One study on cadaver femurs showed that higher tissue-level water correlates with lower stiffness, a potential new biomarker for fracture risk. Ultimately, these insights could lead to better diagnostics and therapies for conditions like osteoporosis, dental disease, and abnormal mineralization in arteries.

10/02/2025

Research & Development (R&D) is the systematic and creative process of acquiring new knowledge and using it to create new products, services, or processes, or significantly improve existing ones.

This is what the soon-coming New Jersey Innovation Hub is built to serve.

The New Jersey Innovation Hub (NJIH), arriving in 2026 at The HELIX, is designed to provide what every innovator needs: world-class R&D infrastructure, access to capital, and a community of collaborators.

At the core of NJIH is a best-in-class life sciences incubator powered by , giving early-stage companies the resources, connections, and support required to move from concept to company.

For enterprises needing larger footprints, NJIH’s customizable suites and flexible lab arrangements offer the space to scale, attract talent, and operate directly within a regional network of academic and clinical partners.

And finally, state-of-the-art wet and dry labs, shared equipment, and collaborative common spaces are engineered to foster serendipity, creativity, and accelerated growth.

Interested in learning more??
Visit www.njinnovates.com

09/24/2025

Light show meets live painting meets disco ball, auroras happen when charged particles from the Sun ride solar winds toward Earth. Our planet’s magnetic field acts like a shield, steering these particles toward the North and South Poles. When they collide with gases in the atmosphere (oxygen, nitrogen) they release bursts of light. That’s the shimmering green, purple, and red you see dancing across the sky.

In other words, the cosmos is literally putting on a visual art show, powered by solar storms and Earth’s invisible defenses.

The Art In Science // Ep 72 // Auroras
Music: Ballerina by Yehezkel Raz

09/18/2025

Meet FLARE: a new lab machine to unlock cosmic secrets.

University’s Plasma Physics Lab has just launched FLARE (Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments). It’s a 10-ton, SUV-sized device that can unleash over 6 million joules of energy per experiment.

What does FLARE do? Well, It lets scientists recreate and study magnetic reconnection, which is the sudden snapping and rejoining of magnetic field lines.

This is the same force behind solar flares that can disrupt GPS, satellites, and power grids here on Earth. It also plays a big role in controlling plasma inside fusion reactors - the technology many hope will deliver limitless clean energy.

FLARE is special because it can test hypotheses that were previously out of reach. By studying reconnection up close, FLARE could provide insights that protect our infrastructure today and power our future tomorrow.

One final important note: FLARE is what is known as a collaborative research facility. This designation means that scientists from around the world can submit a research proposal and work with PPPL scientists to determine the scope of the experiment and foster long-term collaborations.

09/17/2025

Portal Innovations is coming to New Jersey, building their new incubator right here at The HELIX.

As a life sciences “venture development engine”, Portal is about taking high-potential innovations into the real world, by providing the key ingredients that drive growth and scale, with a specific emphasis on supporting the research & discoveries that come out of universities.

Steven Lehmann, in an interview during the New Jersey Discovery Showcase, stated that Portal aims to provide the “infrastructure that are necessary to take the innovations that comes out of universities and make them into the things that are going to actually affect people’s health in the long run”.

John Flavin, CEO and co-founder, later stated in a chat with Tom Bergeron of BINJE, “That’s where new companies often begin - with a Ph.D. or postdoc wanting to continue to pursue their idea, and there’s enough intellectual property to form a company”.

This is exciting stuff for New Jersey, its universities, and the state’s broader innovation economy. We are proud and excited to have Portal creating their new presence on our campus.

09/04/2025

Drought, more than just dry weather, is a chain reaction. Let’s explore...

Drought occurs when precipitation deficits persist, reducing soil moisture, streamflow, and reservoir levels.

As evapotranspiration outpaces water input, soils lose fertility, vegetation undergoes water stress, and agricultural yields collapse.

Prolonged aridity accelerates desertification processes, alters biogeochemical cycles, and weakens carbon storage in ecosystems.

Hydrologically, aquifers and groundwater reserves decline, compounding water scarcity for human populations.

Long term, recurrent droughts amplify wildfire risk, destabilize food systems, and drive ecological shifts that are difficult to reverse.

In short, drought is a systemic stressor on earth’s environmental and human systems.

The Art In Science // Ep 71 // Drought
Music: Kiss of Death by Kadir Demir

06/16/2025

From EV batteries to clean energy storage, consumer electronics to complex medical devices, the demand for lithium is soaring. But can production keep up?

A Princeton spin‑off, Princeton Critical Minerals (formerly PureLi), is deploying “lily‑pad” floats—black discs with anti‑fouling coating—to speed up evaporation in lithium and critical‑mineral ponds by enhancing solar-to-thermal efficiency from under 50% to over 96%.

In Chilean field trials, evaporation rates rose by 40%–122%, potentially doubling mineral output and reducing the need for massive pond expansions . This boosts lithium production—vital for EV batteries and clean energy—while shrinking environmental footprint. Emerging from Princeton’s innovation ecosystem and programs like NSF’s I‑Corps, the company moved from lab to real-world deployment in under two years .

This game-changing tech could compact new mining operations, curb land use, and accelerate the clean-energy mineral supply chain.

Visit the link in bio to read more.

06/12/2025

We asked ChatGPT to explain this breakthrough to a 15 year old high school student:

“Imagine scientists built a tiny sandwich using two super rare, weird materials that usually don’t mix—kind of like trying to stack fire and ice. But they figured out how to do it by layering atoms one at a time, really carefully, and keeping it super cold.

Why does it matter?

This ‘sandwich’ lets particles act in super strange ways—like magnetic particles that act like they have only one pole (a north with no south!), or ones that behave like something out of a sci-fi movie. This could help build way better computers, cool tech, and new kinds of sensors.”

For the highly technical & scientific explanation of what researchers did, visit the link in bio.

06/10/2025

What do you know about “Qubits”?

- who is currently planning their new home at the HELIX - is advancing quantum computing by developing hybrid systems that combine classical and quantum approaches, leveraging qubits - quantum bits that can represent multiple states at once - to solve problems beyond conventional capabilities.

Practical applications are already emerging: in drug development, quantum algorithms could simulate molecular interactions far faster than today’s methods; in natural disasters, they could dynamically reconfigure telecom networks in real-time to maintain critical connectivity.

Nokia Bell Labs’ vision is rooted in applying quantum to real-world systems, offering a future of ultra-secure communication, AI acceleration, and resilient digital infrastructure across industries.

05/27/2025

Beneath our feet lies a hidden network where fungi and plants engage in a sophisticated exchange of nutrients.

A groundbreaking study by University and international collaborators has unveiled the intricate dynamics of mycorrhizal fungi - microscopic threads that connect plant roots, facilitating a two-way flow of resources.

These fungal networks not only support plant health but also play a crucial role in carbon storage, sequestering approximately 13 billion tons of CO₂ annually.

This discovery sheds light on the vital underground systems that sustain our ecosystems, potentially paving the way for innovations across environmental conservation, agriculture, and climate change management.

05/06/2025

What’s “global dimming”?

In June 2023, smoke from Canadian wildfires turned NYC skies orange and dropped temperatures by 3°C—a phenomenon called “global dimming.”

While it cooled the city, it also trapped toxic pollutants near the ground, worsening air quality. Rutgers researchers found this smoke contained brown carbon particles that blocked sunlight and hindered air circulation, leading to record-high pollution levels—over three times the EPA limit and eight times WHO guidelines. This event highlights how climate-driven wildfires can disrupt urban microclimates and pose serious health risks. Read the details from Rutgers via the link in bio.

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