In February 2001, before the Olympic cauldron in Salt Lake City roared to life and focused the world’s spotlight on Utah, scientists at the University of Utah placed the first of several carbon dioxide (CO2) sensors atop a building on campus. CO2 is a key greenhouse gas leading to anthropogenic climate change, with cities around […]

Contraception cannot be handled with a one-size fits all approach. Women often try several types of birth control before finding one that works best. A new study at University of Utah Health finds that cost often limits women’s access to the most effective contraceptive methods, like intrauterine devices (IUDs) and subdermal implants. David Turok, associate […]

Feb. 13, 2018 — This fall, members of two international organizations dealing with the issue of light pollution will convene in Snowbird, Utah for their membership gatherings. The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) 30th Annual General Meeting will be held Nov. 9 – 10, followed by the Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) 5th International Conference Nov. […]

Utah’s early residents would be surprised to see the canopy of trees that covers the Salt Lake Valley today. Few trees are native to the valley, which means that most of the trees present there today are imported. It’s a much different situation from a natural forest, which is shaped by climate, water availability and […]

The University of Utah’s esports program along with student video game clubs from 10 other Pac-12 universities have formed a new unofficial esports organization to compete in multiplayer video games including the popular titles “League of Legends,” “Overwatch” and “Hearthstone.” The new organization, The Pacific Alliance of Collegiate Gamers (PACG), will involve multiple, semester-long leagues. […]

A new study has found that dust, not spring warmth, controls the pace of spring snowmelt that feeds the headwaters of the Colorado River. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the amount of dust on the mountain snowpack controls how fast the Colorado Basin’s rivers rise in the spring regardless of air temperature, with more dust correlated […]

As the holidays draw to a close, 29 million Americans with type 2 diabetes had to navigate the minefield of treats, drinks, and dinners. Many patients have stepped up to meet the challenge of moderating their diet, but fewer embrace the benefits of physical activity in controlling their blood sugar. A research team led by […]

Air pollution trapped along the Wasatch Front by winter inversions are estimated to send more than 200 people to the emergency room with pneumonia each year, according to a study by University of Utah Health and Intermountain Healthcare. Bad air quality especially erodes the health of adults over age 65, a population particularly vulnerable to […]

A protein involved in cognition and storing long-term memories looks and acts like a protein from viruses. The protein, called Arc, has properties similar to those that viruses use for infecting host cells, and originated from a chance evolutionary event that occurred hundreds of millions of years ago. The prospect that virus-like proteins could be […]

On April 20, 2016, University of Utah historical architect Charles Shepherd found something unexpected at an excavation site on Presidents Circle. At first glance in the morning light, he thought it might have been a rock. Closer inspection made it clear, though, that it was a human skull. The skull was just one of more […]