The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a gap in our ability to track and stop the spread of infectious diseases. With funding from the National Science Foundation, a Rice University research team is engineering bacteria to sustainably and continuously monitor wastewater for viruses.
Alicia L. Johnson, Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Caroline SniderNovember 1, 2023
As China appears ever closer to attempting a coercive annexation of Taiwan, this report explores how such a move could trigger a chain of nuclear proliferation — potentially adding thousands more warheads to stockpiles globally.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew S. EricksonOctober 25, 2023
Hama's Oct. 7 attack on Israel threatens to undermine a key pillar of Saudi Arabia’s foreign and domestic agenda: the “de-risking” of the region, writes fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen.
In the fight against Mexican criminal cartels, social network analysis can predict and map out their alliances and subgroups — using algorithms to predict new connections. In this commentary, Nonresident Scholar in Drug Policy and Mexico Studies Nathan P. Jones and his co-authors outline their recent work in the field.
Nathan P. Jones, Oscar Contreras Velasco, John P. Sullivan, Chris Callaghan, Irina Chindea, Daniel Weisz ArgomedoOctober 18, 2023
The Arab Gulf is protecting its own interests by pushing to keep fossil fuels in the mix. But more crucially, its agenda is in line with the world’s economic growth and development goals, writes Osamah Alsayegh.
The surprise attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas has raised a number of critical questions related to geopolitics, aid, energy, and other global affairs. Baker Institute fellows and scholars are continuing to provide expert analysis on the conflict.
Fellow Gabriel Collins and Andrew S. Erickson explore the possibility of China taking control of Taiwan’s world-leading chip industry without ever invading — and lay out a strategy to prevent such a conquest by Beijing.
Gabriel Collins, Andrew EricksonSeptember 27, 2023
The surge in brain disorders is having a notable effect on the economy. Brain Capital, which takes into account cognitive and non-cognitive brain abilities as well as brain health, is becoming increasingly essential to the world's economies. This is particularly evident in light of the progression of AI technology, which is substituting positions that require minimal skills.
Sen. Xochitl Gálvez, the Mexican opposition nominee for president, chose to visit a suburb north of Houston for her first campaign event abroad. Research scholar Rodrigo Montes de Oca explains why it was a smart choice — and what the visit shows about the dark horse candidate.