NIH grant could lead to better understanding of how air pollutants aggravate asthma in children

December 30, 2019

A multidisciplinary team of University of Utah Health scientists has received a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to investigate how variations in pollutant-sensing genes in the lungs could influence air pollution’s effects on children who have asthma. The researchers say the newly funded effort could potentially lead to the development […]



“Utah Statement” sets a new course in antitrust policy

December 30, 2019

The term “antitrust”—for some maybe a dimly held memory from a high school U.S. history class—has come into focus recently as tech companies have come under scrutiny for their business practices. But antitrust and antimonopoly policy isn’t the same now as it was in the days of Teddy Roosevelt, says University of Utah economist Marshall […]



University of Utah announces new chief sustainability officer

December 23, 2019

University of Utah Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dan Reed announced Monday that Kerry Case has accepted an offer to serve as the U’s chief sustainability officer. Case is currently assistant provost for Integrative Learning at Westminster College and has led that institution’s sustainability initiatives for 13 years. Reed welcomes the vision Case brings […]



University of Utah appoints first chief safety officer to lead campus-wide improvements

December 19, 2019

The University of Utah announced Thursday that Marlon C. Lynch will serve as the university’s first chief safety officer. Lynch, currently senior vice president for campus services and safety at New York University, will assume his role on Feb. 1, 2020. “We are delighted to have a leader in campus safety joining the U,” said […]



New museum director selected

December 19, 2019

University of Utah Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Dan Reed announced that Jason Cryan has accepted the offer to serve as executive director of the Natural History Museum of Utah effective March 2020. Cryan replaces former museum Executive Director Sarah George, who left the museum after nearly three decades to join the U’s advancement […]



New method captures real-time movement of millions of molecules in 3D

December 18, 2019

The human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, wages war in our bodies using a strategy evolved over millions of years that turns our own cellular machines against themselves. Despite massive strides in understanding the disease, there are still important gaps. For years, scientists at the University of Utah wished there was a way to visualize how […]



Following the lizard lung labyrinth

December 13, 2019

Take a deep breath in. Slowly let it out. You have just participated in one of the most profound evolutionary revolutions on Earth—breathing air on land. It’s unclear how the first vertebrates thrived after crawling out of the sea nearly 400 million years ago, but the lungs hold an important clue. Birds, reptiles, mammals and […]



Two U scientists honored as 2019 AAAS Fellows

December 12, 2019

University of Utah professors John S. Parkinson of the School of Biological Sciences and Marc D. Porter of the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering are among the 443 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their […]



A fragile crust protects from dust

December 10, 2019

The flat dry lakebed (also called a playa) surrounding Utah’s Great Salt Lake is more than 750 square miles—an area bigger than Houston. The wide-open landscape is surprisingly varied and is the realm of coyotes, bison, and a few hardy plants. It’s probably safe to say that no one knows the Great Salt Lake playa […]



Scientists Rank World’s Most Important, Most Threatened Mountain Water Towers

December 9, 2019

Scientists from around the world have assessed the planet’s 78 mountain glacier–based water systems and, for the first time, ranked them in order of their importance to adjacent lowland communities, as well as their vulnerability to future environmental and socioeconomic changes. These systems, known as mountain water towers, store and transport water via glaciers, snow […]