Innovations span from Texas A&M’s synthetic lichens enabling autonomous construction on Mars using local regolith, to a Korea-developed β2 adrenergic agonist drug activating muscle metabolism as a promising oral alternative to GLP-1 injections for diabetes and obesity treatment. Additionally, a new bioplastic metafilm fabricated from plant-derived polylactic acid exhibits passive cooling reducing building energy consumption by 20%, and a two-layer aerogel inspired by owl feather structure advances superior noise reduction technology. In orthopedics, UC Irvine’s preclinical heart valve designed for infants offers a growth-accommodating implant, while a hydrogel patch loaded with basic fibroblast growth factor enhances esophageal anastomotic healing in animal models.