Georgiou Named Inventor Of The Year By UT Austin
The University of Texas at Austin has honored two scientists who have made important contributions to the medical field, George Georgiou and James McGinity, with its Inventor of the Year Award.
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From the College of Natural Sciences
Compared with Apes, People’s Gut Bacteria Lack Diversity, Study Finds
The microbes living in people’s guts are much less diverse than those in humans' closest relatives, the African apes, an apparently long evolutionary trend that appears to be speeding up in more modern societies, with possible implications for human health, according to a new study.
Capping Decades of Searching, Scientists Observe Elusive Particle That is its own Antiparticle
Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Princeton University have observed an exotic particle that behaves simultaneously like matter and antimatter, a breakthrough that could eventually enable powerful computers based on quantum mechanics.
Learning May be Improved by Mental Rest and Reflection
According to a new study by Margaret Schlichting and Alison Preston, which may have implications for approaches to education, brain mechanisms engaged when people allow their minds to rest and reflect on things they've learned before may boost later learning.
Leaping Lizards: Scientists Catch Evolution in Action
Thanks to an invasive lizard from Cuba, scientists have documented green anoles rapidly evolving better gripping feet. Yoel Stuart was lead author on the study appearing in the journal Science. For more, read our press release or check out these reports in the media from Oct. 23-24:
Florida Lizards Evolve Rapidly, Within 15 Years and 20 Generations
Scientists working on islands in Florida have documented the rapid evolution of a native lizard species — in as little as 15 years — as a result of pressure from an invading lizard species, introduced from Cuba.
Silent Ebola Infections Could Be Key to Controlling Outbreak
In a letter published in the Lancet medical journal on October 14, Steve Bellan and Lauren Ancel Meyers, speculate that Ebola may be silently immunizing large numbers of people who never fal ill or infect others. If so, they might bolster front-line health care responses to the ongoing outbreak. Learn more in our press release.
Mental Rest and Reflection Boost Learning, Study Suggests
A new study, which may have implications for approaches to education, finds that brain mechanisms engaged when people allow their minds to rest and reflect on things they've learned before may boost later learning.
As Ebola Kills Some, It May Be Quietly Immunizing Others
As Ebola continues to spread in West Africa, it may be silently immunizing large numbers of people who never fall ill or infect others, yet become protected from future infection. If such immunity is confirmed, it would have significant ramifications on projections of how widespread the disease will be and could help determine strategies that health workers use to contain the disease, according to a letter published Tuesday in the Lancet medical journal.
Staying on the Grid: Placing a Nobel-prize Winning Neuroscience Discovery in a UT Austin Context
Yesterday, three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of two types of brain cells involved in keeping track of where we are when moving around. Called place cells and grid cells, they may hold the key to understanding aspects of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's. Laura Colgin, who did research with two of the prize-winning scientists awarded this year’s Nobel Prize, is now an associate professor of neuroscience in the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences who continues to investigate the role of place cells in spacial memory tasks and more.
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