UA News - All News

The UA is leading a national movement to track the annual rhythms of plants and animals and the ecological connections between them. This year, the USA National Phenology Network will host the first ever annual Phenology Day on April 20, a free public celebration of desert life cycles. The network has a strong focus on citizen science.

The UA's Dr. Katri Typpo has received a two-year grant to investigate the best way to feed children during critical illness. Typpo anticipates enrolling approximately 40 patients over the next two years, with the goal to expand the study to additional pediatric medical centers throughout the United States.

Hardware from a Soviet spacecraft that went silent only seconds after making the first successful soft landing on Mars in 1971 might appear in images taken by the UA-operated HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Features in the images resemble the parachute, heat shield, terminal retrorocket and lander.

Arizona county fairs generate $4 million in livestock sales alone, plus $2 million in gate admissions. Most of that livestock is raised by youth who participate in the Arizona 4-H Youth Development program, based in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. In 4-H, youth also learn responsibility, business acumen and community leadership.

The world's first and second robot-assisted extrapleural pneumonectomy for the treatment of mesothelioma have been performed by Dr. Farid Gharagozloo, professor and section chief of thoracic surgery, robotic cardiothoracic surgery and esophageal surgery with the UA department of surgery. Mesothelioma is a highly invasive cancer, often linked to exposure to asbestos.

A new chemical process can transform waste sulfur into a lightweight plastic that may improve batteries for electric cars, reports a UA-led team. The new plastic has other potential uses, including in optics. The discovery could provide a new use for the sulfur left over when oil and natural gas are refined into cleaner-burning fuels.

Arizona parents tend to rely on a "patchwork" of child-care arrangements while many are looking for new options, and many of them struggle to pay for child care, according to a UA-led study. Results indicate that more financial support is needed for parents so their children can access early childhood education programs.

UA scientists welcome President Barack Obama's NASA budget proposal, specifically its focus on gaining a better understanding of asteroids that could potentially harm Earth. The UA operates the most prolific ground-based system for identifying near-Earth asteroids, and it is tasked by NASA with leading the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft mission to retrieve a sample from an asteroid.

First-year medical students at the UA College of Medicine-Phoenix are putting their knowledge to the test in the Arizona Center for Simulation and Experiential Learning, the simulation lab on the downtown campus. The center gives students real-life medical experience by allowing them to "treat" mechanically controlled mannequins.

The UA's Ann Mastergeorge is leading a statewide effort to educate parents, health-care providers and other professionals about how to identify the signs of autism in very young children and how early intervention can help. One in 50 school-aged children in the United States is diagnosed with autism, according to statistics recently released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Computer games developed by UA scientists could help prepare miners to avoid potential fatal accidents and to respond to emergencies in the mines. Based upon real accident data and current training techniques, the games teach miners to make difficult decisions by allowing players to interact with the scenarios to affect the outcome.

Decision-making centers in the brains of insects and mammals share too many similarities to have evolved independently, according to comparative studies led by UA neuroscientist Nick Strausfeld. Recognizing such similarities may help scientists better understand and treat diseases such as Parkinson's.

Dr. Marie Olson, a third-year pediatric resident in the UA College of Medicine, recently traveled to Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala to volunteer her medical skills and work on her Spanish for a month at Hospitalito Atitlán. Olson believes international work teaches residents valuable life lessons: "Working in another country allows you to question your values and attitudes."

The UA STEM Learning Center will provide the structural organization necessary to unify those engaged in STEM learning and workforce development in Southern Arizona. The center is set to launch April 12 during an event at the UA Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium.

A new UA study in the journal Science challenges the two prevailing theories on how the ancient Maya civilization began, suggesting its origins are more complex than previously thought. The findings are based on seven years of archaeological excavations at the ancient Maya site of Ceibal in Guatamala.

New faculty promotion and tenure guidelines take into account efforts in technology commercialization. The move is a cultural shift that emphasizes developing ideas with the potential to benefit the local and state economy, and beyond.

Dr. Fernando D. Martinez, head of the UA BIO5 Institute, was among the nation's top scientists invited to join President Barack Obama at the White House on April 2 as he unveiled the BRAIN Initiative - a new research effort designed to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury.

Tech Launch Arizona, a technology commercialization center at the UA, celebrated its grand opening and new strategic plan during an event on April 1. UA President Ann Weaver Hart said Tech Launch Arizona, which focuses on moving UA knowledge and inventions to market, will play an important role in the University's future.

The UA has established a new School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences that will bring together teaching, research and extension resources from across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to focus on animal health, growth, nutrition and disease, and human health challenges facing Arizona and the global community. The new school likely will host the proposed Arizona Veterinary Medical Education program.

The Arizona Board of Regents has approved the UA's tuition proposal for 2013-14, sharply reducing overall tuition for law students and modestly increasing base tuition for undergraduate, graduate and medical students. Tuition revenue will support key initiatives including the retention and graduation of students, seeding research and making engagement experiences possible for all students, among other priorities.