Many mammals and birds are remarkable athletes; mice work hard to dig burrows for protection and sparrows fight gravity with each flap of their wings. In order to have the energy to sustain vigorous exercise, the body’s tissues need a steady supply of oxygen, and red blood cells (RBCs) are the center of the oxygen […]
Science & Technology
Biologists follow ‘fossilizable’ clues to pinpoint when mammal, bird and dinosaur ancestors became athletes
Let’s Play!
Virtual reality is all the rage in video gaming, and the University of Utah’s No. 1-ranked Entertainment Arts & Engineering (EAE) video game development program is exploring all the ways this hyper-realistic form of interactivity can be informative as well as fun. Five new VR games and educational apps along with more than 30 other […]
Virus-Inspired Delivery System Transfers Microscopic Cargo Between Human Cells
Scientists from the University of Utah and University of Washington have developed blueprints that instruct human cells to assemble a virus-like delivery system that can transport custom cargo from one cell to another. As reported online in Nature on Nov. 30, the research is a step toward a nature-inspired means for delivering therapeutics directly to […]
This Is Your Brain on God
Religious and spiritual experiences activate the brain reward circuits in much the same way as love, sex, gambling, drugs and music, report researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine. The findings will be published Nov. 29 in the journal Social Neuroscience. “We’re just beginning to understand how the brain participates in experiences that […]
Now you see it, now you don’t
From Harry Potter’s Cloak of Invisibility to the Romulan cloaking device that rendered their warship invisible in “Star Trek,” the magic of invisibility was only the product of science fiction writers and dreamers. But University of Utah electrical and computer engineering associate professor Rajesh Menon and his team have developed a cloaking device for microscopic […]
Tracing the ivory trail
More than 90 percent of ivory in large seized shipments came from elephants that died less than three years before, according to a new University of Utah study. Combining radiocarbon ivory dating with genetic analysis provides a picture of when and where poachers are killing elephants, useful tools in the ongoing battle against illegal animal […]
Make America tweet again
We know how Donald Trump feels about everyone through Twitter, but how do Twitter users feel about Donald Trump? Computer scientists from the University of Utah’s College of Engineering have developed what they call “sentiment analysis” software that can automatically determine how someone feels based on what they write or say. To test out the […]
Making a new pitch for coal
Oct. 26, 2016 — As U.S. coal production declines due to the rise of natural gas and alternative energies, the question remains: What will happen to those communities of coal workers? The answer may lie in a derivative of coal called “pitch,” which can be used to produce a carbon-fiber material utilized in items from […]
A complete waste of energy
According to the National Resource Defense Council, Americans waste up to $19 billion annually in electricity costs due to “vampire appliances,” always-on digital devices in the home that suck power even when they are turned off. But University of Utah electrical and computer engineering professor Massood Tabib-Azar and his team of engineers have come up […]
“That pizza was #delish!” What Do Tweets Say About Our Health?
(SALT LAKE CITY) – “Coffee” was the most tweeted food in the continental U.S. between mid-2014 to mid-2015 followed by “beer” then “pizza”. Besides hinting at which foods are popular, tweets may reveal something about our health. Communities that expressed positive sentiments about healthy foods were more likely to be healthier overall. Scientists at the […]