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Get Ready: Your Future Surgery May Use an Automated, Robotic Drill

A computer-driven automated drill, similar to those used to machine auto parts, could play a pivotal role in future surgical procedures. The new machine can make one type of complex cranial surgery 50 times faster than standard procedures, decreasing from two hours to two and a half minutes. Researchers at the University of Utah developed […]


President Pershing Names Dr. Lorris Betz Interim Senior Vice President

I am pleased to announce that Dr. A. Lorris Betz has agreed to serve as interim senior vice president for the University of Utah Health Sciences, CEO of University of Utah Health, and executive dean of the University’s School of Medicine as we conduct a national search for this very important position. Dr. Betz is uniquely suited […]


Mystery of the missing mercury at the Great Salt Lake

Around 2010, the deep waters of Utah’s Great Salt Lake contained high levels of toxic methylmercury. Mercury measurements in waterfowl surrounding the lake led to a rare human consumption advisory for ducks. But by 2015, 90 percent of the deep mercury was gone. The disappearance of the mercury was not due to aggressive environmental policies […]


Science Fiction Horror Wriggles into Reality with Discovery of Giant Sulfur-powered Shipworm

Our world seems to grow smaller by the day as biodiversity rapidly dwindles, but Mother Earth still has a surprise or two up her sleeve. An international team of researchers were the first to investigate a never before studied species – a giant, black, mud dwelling, worm-like animal. The odd animal doesn’t seem to eat much, […]


How nature engineered the original rotary motor

The bacterial flagellum is one of nature’s smallest motors, rotating at up to 60,000 revolutions per minute. To function properly and propel the bacterium, the flagellum requires all of its components to fit together to exacting measurements. In a study published today in Science, University of Utah researchers report the eludication of a mechanism that […]


Treatment Reverses Signs of Two Degenerative Brain Diseases, ALS and Ataxia, in Mice

Scientists report a significant step toward combatting two degenerative brain diseases that chip away at an individual’s ability to move, and think. A targeted therapy developed by scientists at University of Utah Health slows the progression of a condition in mice that mimics a rare disease called ataxia. In a parallel collaborative study, led by […]


Combating wear and tear

By the time someone realizes they damaged a ligament, tendon or cartilage from too much exercise or other types of physical activity, it’s too late. The tissue is stretched and torn and the person is writhing in pain. But a team of researchers led by University of Utah bioengineering professors Jeffrey Weiss and Michael Yu […]


Pain in the neck

For millions of sufferers, there is nothing more debilitating than chronic back or joint pain. It can feel like a lifetime of misery. But researchers led by University of Utah bioengineering assistant professor Robby Bowles have discovered a way to curb chronic pain by modulating genes that reduce tissue- and cell-damaging inflammation. “This has applications […]


Full steam ahead

Robots built by 48 high school teams will be steaming mad when they compete in this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition, which is themed after the Steampunk stylings of authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. School teams mostly from Utah but from as far away as California and Alberta, Canada, will be at the Maverik […]


U partners with Salt Lake City School District to increase college access for west side students

The University of Utah recently launched a new initiative called Our CASA (Communities Aspiring, Succeeding, Achieving), with six spaces opening at school and community sites across the west side of Salt Lake City. This initiative is part of a partnership with Salt Lake City School District, University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) at the University of Utah, […]