Welcome to Research Features! We’re excited to share with you a diverse array of research from across the globe and introduce the researchers behind it.

The CHASS project is a multi-institution project across Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Sweden that educates early-stage researchers on industrial innovation and entrepreneurship. It addresses the issue of nitrogen oxide emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles that are harmful to the environment and our health, aggravating asthma and respiratory disorders. The ultimate goal is to enhance the performance of copper-based materials for effectively removing nitrogen oxides.

Object provenance – determining an object’s origin and history – is a fundamental challenge for human health and commerce. To combat foodborne illness, for example, the first step is to determine where contaminants have been introduced in the supply chain. It’s also a key consideration in forensic investigations and law enforcement, helping investigators to discover whether an object or person was at a particular place. One researcher in the US found that barcoded microbes might prove a valuable asset in determining object provenance.

We feature many more topics in this month’s issue: What drives decision-making in humans? How can changes in the atmosphere warn us of an impending earthquake? And how does genetic data help us predict which patient is at risk of recurring papillary thyroid cancer? Delve right in and find out!