Research and Discovery

Health, Medicine, and Wellness

Columbia dermatologist Dr. Dawn Queen runs through the facts on skin color, skin cancer, and other effects of ultraviolet rays.

Asia and Africa Have Similar Aging Burden as the West

A new metric devised by Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health shows that health is more important than age for determining dependency ratios and a more accurate assessment of the aging burden across countries.

Cereal Fiber Is Linked with Lower Inflammation

Think all fiber is equal? Think again. New research from Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health finds that total fiber—cereal fiber, specifically, but not fruit or vegetable fiber—was linked to lower inflammation.

The Brain and Psychology

A New Microscope Could Make Biopsies History

By imaging living tissue, a high-speed 3D microscope developed at Columbia Engineering and Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute could transform surgery and tissue analysis, potentially leading to better care.

Uncovering the Genetic History of the Colorful Betta Fish

Researchers at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute identify the genes responsible for the colors and shapes that make domesticated bettas more flamboyant than their wild cousins.

Ishmail Abdus-Saboor (Image: Darneice Creates)

Black History Month Spotlight: Ishmail Abdus-Saboor

A neurobiologist at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute, Abdus-Saboor retraces his path to Columbia, explains his fascination with a rodent that rarely feels pain, and offers advice to aspiring Black scientists.

Earth, Climate, and Environmental Science

2022 World Food Prize Awarded to Columbia Climate Scientist Cynthia Rosenzweig

Climatologist and agronomist Cynthia Rosenzweig has been named the 2022 World Food Prize Laureate for her pioneering work in modeling the impact of climate change on food production worldwide.

First Long-term Air Pollution Monitoring in Togo Reveals Concerning Levels

People in Togo’s capital city are often exposed to unsafe levels of small particles in the air they breathe, says a new Columbia Climate School study. The data come from the Clean Air Toolbox for Cities, a Columbia-led project to identify and address the causes of air pollution in cities.

Green-headed tanager in Brazil. (Pedro Piffer)

One Third of Regenerated Forests in Brazil Are Cut Down Again

A third of regenerating areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest were cut down again, most after just 4 to 8 years of regeneration, says a new study by the Columbia Climate School.

Science, Technology, and Engineering

Tissues cultured in the multi-organ chip (from left to right: skin, heart, bone, liver, and endothelial barrier) maintained their tissue-specific structure and function after being linked by vascular flow. Photo credit: Kacey Ronaldson-Bouchard/Columbia Engineering

Tiny human organs cloned on chip to mimic patient’s body

Researchers at Columbia Engineering have built a human tissue-chip system that physically and genetically links a heart, liver, bone, and skin tissue modules.

classical and quantum computers (Image: Nicoletta Barolini)

Toward a Quantum Computer That Calculates Molecular Energy

A new algorithm uses the most quantum bits to date to calculate ground state energy, the lowest-energy state in a quantum mechanical system. The discovery could help make it easier to design new materials.

Schematic of the bridging of the cold quantum world and high-temperature metal extraction with machine learning.

A Faster Way to Predict Chemical Reactions at High Temperatures

A new technique developed at Columbia Engineering combines quantum mechanics and machine learning to efficiently simulate temperature-dependent processes in materials. The method could lead to new and less carbon-intensive ways of making steel and recycling scarce metals.