The key thrust of the article is that the scientist who developed the software to make this possible has been in an ICE detention center the last 2 months awaiting deportation to Russia, where she fears she'll be persecuted for speaking out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. For failing to declare samples of frog embryos to be used in scientific research.

A groundbreaking microscope at Harvard Medical School could lead to breakthroughs in cancer detection and research into longevity. But the scientist who developed computer scripts to read its images and unlock its full potential has been in an immigration detention center for two months " putting crucial scientific advancements at risk.

The scientist, the 30-year-old Russian-born Kseniia Petrova, worked at Harvard's renowned Kirschner Lab until her arrest at a Boston airport in mid-February. She is now being held at ICE's Richwood Correctional Center in Monroe, Louisiana, and fighting possible deportation to Russia, where she said she fears persecution and jail time over her protests against the war in Ukraine.

Dr. Leon Peshkin, a principal research scientist at Harvard's Department of Systems Biology and Petrova's manager and mentor, received a call from Customs and Border Protection on Feb. 16 after agents detained Petrova at Logan International Airport in Boston for failing to declare samples of frog embryos to be used in scientific research.

"We just got a call saying, She's denied entry. That's all we can tell you to protect her privacy,'" he said. Peshkin added that the caller didn't disclose Petrova's whereabouts, leaving him scrambling to track her down.

Romanovsky said that CBP typically imposes two penalties for such customs violations: the forfeiture of the items and a fine, usually around $500, and that "for a first-time violation, the fine is typically reduced to $50." Instead, officials canceled Petrova's J-1 scholar visa.