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 […]

Lawns in the Salt Lake Valley up to 100 years old are not yet saturated in the nutrient nitrogen, which is added by fertilizer, according to a new study from University of Utah researchers. The result is surprising, since previous studies in the Eastern U.S. suggested that fertilized soil would become saturated with nitrogen within […]

Following a three-year, five-way competitive process, the U.S. Department of Energy has selected the Energy and Geosciences Institute (EGI) at the University of Utah to develop a geothermal laboratory near Milford, Utah. The laboratory, called Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy (FORGE) will focus on developing enhanced geothermal systems which could greatly expand the […]

When bacteria and viruses get into well water and make people sick, often the contamination comes after heavy rain or flooding. In 2000, more than 2,300 people in Walkerton, Ontario, got sick when, after unusually heavy rains. E. coli bacteria found their way to drinking water wells. Seven people died. The reason appears straightforward – the […]

For nearly 20 years, TRAX light rail trains have shuttled riders up and down the Salt Lake Valley, saving countless car trips and sparing Salt Lake’s air tons upon tons of petroleum-powered pollutants. And for the past four years the trains, operated by the Utah Transit Authority, have done even more for Utah’s air: They’ve […]

While humans can only broadcast about one percent of their vocal power through their speech, some animals and mammals are able to broadcast 100 percent. The secret to their long-range howls? A combination of high pitch, a wide-open mouth and a clever use of the body’s shape to direct sound – none of which are […]

Distinguished professor of mathematics Christopher Hacon, who has significantly advanced the field of algebraic geometry, was elected May 1 as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Hacon is among 84 U.S. scientist-scholars and 21 foreign associates from 15 countries elected at the Academy’s Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. He joins 20 other current University of Utah […]

It’s not easy to catch an Egyptian vulture. Evan Buechley knows. He’s hunkered down near garbage dumps from Ethiopia to Armenia, waiting for the highly intelligent birds to trigger a harmless trap. But no matter how well he and other researchers hid the traps, he says, “somehow the birds could always sense that something was […]

As long as there have been birdwatchers, there have been lists. Birders keep detailed records of the species they’ve seen and compare these lists with each other as evidence of their accomplishments. Now those lists, submitted and aggregated to birding site eBird, can help scientists track bird populations and identify conservation issues before it’s too […]

Mar. 12, 2018— In 1991, University of Utah chemist Joel Miller developed the first magnet with carbon-based, or organic, components that was stable at room temperature. It was a great advance in magnetics, and he’s been exploring the applications ever since. Twenty-five years later, physicists Christoph Boehme and Valy Vardeny demonstrated a method to convert […]