Research Library

On Monday, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.” Fellow Kirstin Matthews praises their research on how capsaicin and TRP affect nerve cells as an accomplishment made possible by U.S. federal funding for and support of science.

In the push for decarbonization, "turquoise" hydrogen offers a unique, commercially viable technology that reduces CO2 emissions, argue Rachel A. Meidl and Kenneth B. Medlock III.

This journal article explores why the public and stakeholders should help develop guidelines and policies governing scientific practices for controversial biomedical research issues, such as genetically editing human embryos.

With its significant reserves of critical metals and other geographic advantages, Chile is well positioned to help enable the energy transition. The authors discuss the country's leveraging of its copper and lithium resources and its growing trade with China.

A bitter dispute about one of Poland's largest lignite mines — the source of electricity for millions, jobs for thousands, and serious environmental concerns for the region — highlights the hurdles communities around the world could face during attempts to phase out coal.

An emerging perspective in U.S. public discourse claims that a buildout of renewable electricity would exacerbate supply risks, mining intensity, and import dependence. This ScienceDirect article from fellow Jim Krane and graduate student Robert Idel contends the opposite is true, demonstrating how transitioning to renewables hugely reduces the materials, mining and political risk involved compared to coal.

In this report, the authors outline the U.S. federal budget process for scientific R&D, discuss trends in federal R&D funding and provide an outlook for federal scientific R&D funding during the Biden administration.

This brief lays out why COVID-related travel restrictions should be lifted at U.S.-Mexico land ports of entry, and recommends how to do it.

The 2021 Texas legislative session is known as the most conservative in a generation, but its ideological and partisan dynamics tell a more nuanced story. Political science fellow Mark Jones utilizes roll call vote data to improve our understanding of how the controversial session unfolded. Read his report below.

This brief explores a potential hydrogen pathway that also creates opportunities for advanced carbon-based materials in a clean energy future.