News: Research

Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin

Research

How Breast Cancer Hijacks a Natural Enzyme to Boost Mutations

Kyle Miller and his team discovered a potential new target for drug therapies: structures in our DNA called R-loops.

Red dots under a microscope indicate the location and quantity of R-loops in cancer cells

Department of Computer Science

Paving the Way for a New Era in Crash Consistency Testing

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Computer Science have created the Chipmunk system, a breakthrough innovation.

A chipmunk perches on a mossy branch while eating a peanut

Research

The Neighborhood You Grow Up in May Impact Your Cognitive Health Decades Later

Jean Choi, Elizabeth Muñoz and collaborators identified associations between neighborhood cohesion and cognitive health.

A child's sense of neighborhood cohesion could impact their cognitive health later in life.

Research

AI Tech Accurately Diagnoses Knee Arthritis from Medical Images

Vagheesh Narasimhan and Prakash Jayakumar trained an AI on x-ray images from tens of thousands of people in the UK Biobank.

Two x-rays of knees

Research

Five Lessons from UT Austin Science about Planning for Living with Heat

In our endless summer, research on heat impacts offers insights on how best to adapt.

CNS Scientists have been applying their research in ways that will help communities respond to heat.

Research

Astronomers Confirm Maisie’s Galaxy is Among Earliest Ever Observed

Detected with the James Webb Space Telescope, Maisie’s galaxy was observed 390 million years after the Big Bang.

An orange-red blob in the center of a black background

Research

Female Butterflies See UV Light Thanks to a Gene Hiding in an Unusual Place

In some species, female and male butterflies apparently perceive colors differently.

A butterfly with black and white striped wings

Research

Tropical Trees Use Social Distancing to Maintain Biodiversity

Researchers discovered that adult trees in a Panamanian forest are three times as distant from trees of their species as would be predicted.

An aerial shot of a forest shows species of trees clustered together near a river

Research

Dopamine Controls Movement, Not Just Rewards

New study finds dopamine neurons are more diverse than previously thought, with implications for Parkinson's disease.

Microscope image of cells with blue and red regions

Research

Some Frogs Use Toxins to Deter Predators, but Evolution Doesn’t Supply Free Lunch

Poison frogs are able to withstand a toxin which they use to deter predators, but not without a cost.

Anthony’s poison frog (Epipedobates anthonyi). CREDIT: David Cannatella