Utah.edu Feed

Picture this: Camera with no lens

In the future, your car windshield could become a giant camera sensing objects on the road. Or each window in a home could be turned into a security camera. University of Utah electrical and computer engineers have discovered a way to create an optics-less camera in which a regular pane of glass or any see-through […]


Inducing Labor at 39 Weeks Decreases Need for Cesarean Section

Inducing labor in healthy women at 39 weeks into their pregnancy reduces the need for cesarean section and is at least as safe for mother and baby as waiting for spontaneous labor. Choosing to induce could also reduce the risk that mothers will develop preeclampsia and that newborns will need respiratory support after delivery, according […]


Lessons from Flies: Genetic Diversity Impacts Disease Severity

New research offers clues as to why some diseases are highly variable between individuals. The phenomenon is apparent in people with retinitis pigmentosa, a condition that causes the light-sensing cells in the eye to degenerate. While some only develop night blindness, others completely lose their sight, even when their condition is caused by the same […]


University of Utah engineers join DARPA effort to remake U.S. electronics

Pierre-Emmanuel Gaillardon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Utah, was awarded close to $2 million over four years to lead two projects for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s new Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) “Page 3” programs. Gaillardon and the rest of the awardees were announced on Monday, July […]


Newly Discovered Armored Dinosaur From Utah Reveals Intriguing Family History

Fossils of a new genus and species of an ankylosaurid dinosaur—Akainacephalus johnsoni—have been unearthed in the Kaiparowits Formation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSENM), and are revealing new details about the diversity and evolution of this group of armored dinosaurs.  Expected to look like other North American Late Cretaceous ankylosaurid dinosaurs with smooth bony armor […]


An easier way to simulate cloud cover

Take a look at the clouds, if there are any in your sky right now. If not, here are a few examples. Watch the billows, the white lofty tufts set against the blue sky. Or, depending on your weather, watch the soft grey edges smear together into blended tones that drag down through the air […]


Variations of a single gene drive diverse pigeon feather patterns

In a new study, a University of Utah-led team has discovered that different versions of a single gene, called NDP (Norrie Disease Protein), have unexpected links between color patterns in pigeons, and vision defects in humans. These gene variations were likely bred into pigeons by humans from a different pigeon species and are now evolutionarily advantageous […]


How Antifreeze Proteins Stop Ice Cold

How do insects survive harsh northern winters? Unlike mammals, they don’t have thick coats of fur to keep warm. But they do have antifreeze. Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) prevent ice from forming and spreading inside their bodies. The existence of these AFPs has been known for decades, but the mechanisms governing this unique survival technique have […]


Physicists uncover why nanomaterial loses superconductivity

The struggle to keep drinks cold during the summer is a lesson in classical phase transitions. To study phase transitions, apply heat to a substance and watch how its properties change. Add heat to water and at the so-called “critical point,” watch as it transforms into a gas (steam). Remove heat from water and watch […]


NASA’s NuSTAR mission proves superstar Eta Carinae shoots cosmic rays

A new study using data from NASA’s NuSTAR space telescope suggests that Eta Carinae, the most luminous and massive stellar system within 10,000 light-years, is accelerating particles to high energies — some of which may reach Earth as cosmic rays. “We know the blast waves of exploded stars can accelerate cosmic ray particles to speeds […]