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From the College of Natural Sciences
Colorful Veggies, Full Stomachs, Can't Lose

Colorful Veggies, Full Stomachs, Can't Lose

Back-to-school time is a busy time for students, parents and teachers. There are countless things to check off to-do lists. And once school is back in session, there are busy mornings and hectic routines. The grind of homework, after-school activities and commutes can make planning for healthy eating seem daunting. Luckily, some basic strategies can help steer kids toward healthy choices.

Drinking Rates Differ for LGB Youth, Study Finds

Drinking Rates Differ for LGB Youth, Study Finds

Despite increased acceptance of same-sex marriage and workplace equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people many LGB youth continue to have higher-than-heterosexual rates of drinking, according to a new paper published today in Addiction.

UT Austin Offers Its First Online Master’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences

UT Austin Offers Its First Online Master’s Degree in Nutritional Sciences

The College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin has launched its first master's program offered completely online, a Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences. The program, open to qualified applicants for enrollment in the fall 2017 semester, is designed to provide a rigorous education to working professionals in nutrition or health education as they seek to advance in careers in dietetics that increasingly require a master's degree.

Bullying and Bias Can Cost Schools Millions in Lost Funding

Bullying and Bias Can Cost Schools Millions in Lost Funding

When children avoid school to avoid bullying, many states' schools can lose tens of millions of dollars in funding, and California alone loses an estimated $276 million each year because children feel unsafe.

Starving Prostate Cancer With What You Eat for Dinner

Starving Prostate Cancer With What You Eat for Dinner

Curcumin has anti-cancer properties when combined with other nutrients. Photo credit: Steven Jackson; Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

When you dine on curry and baked apples, enjoy the fact that you are eating something that could play a role starving — or even preventing — cancer.

3 Lessons from Research About Supporting Mothers

3 Lessons from Research About Supporting Mothers

Illustration by Jenna Luecke

Mothers have been celebrated and honored in the US for the last century on a national Mother's Day. But we all also know that families—and perhaps especially mothers—are under increasing pressure, financial, social and otherwise. Supporting mothers is critical for moms, kids, businesses and communities, and research from the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin is pointing to what can be done.

With a Focus on Others, Graduate Lands Campus-Wide Awards

With a Focus on Others, Graduate Lands Campus-Wide Awards

While studying for her degree in Human Development and Family Science (HDFS), Marilu Sanchez—one of the world-changing CNS students graduating this month—dedicated herself to helping others.

Marilu Sanchez (right) helps clean up a garden in San Marcos during a RecSports Civic Engagement trip.
Heading to Paris Fashion Week with Designs Using Vintage Poster

Heading to Paris Fashion Week with Designs Using Vintage Poster

Gail Chovan—an apparel designer who produces one-of-a-kind artful constructions and also lectures in the Division of Textiles and Apparel—is off to Paris Fashion Week to exhibit her new collection, Defiance.

5 Tips from UT Researchers for Making Every Bite Count

5 Tips from UT Researchers for Making Every Bite Count

March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics that highlights positive food choices and a healthy lifestyle.

The Science of Relationships (Audio)

The Science of Relationships (Audio)

In honor of Valentine's Day, we're speaking with Lisa Neff, a researcher studying what makes happy, healthy romantic relationships tick. Neff is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. She answers several burning questions, including: What are the health benefits of romantic relationships? How can newlyweds avoid communication breakdowns that result from external stress? and, Do optimists make better partners?

Stephen T. Russell Named Fellow of National Council on Family Relations

Stephen T. Russell Named Fellow of National Council on Family Relations

The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) has conferred its prestigious Fellow status on Stephen T. Russell, the Priscilla Pond Flawn Regents Professor in Child Development in and Chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.

A 90-Year Milestone at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory

A 90-Year Milestone at the Priscilla Pond Flawn Child and Family Laboratory

Children at the original location of the UT Lab School, 1928

On this morning, newspaper headlines herald Ma Ferguson's last days in the Texas capitol, Charles Lindbergh's plans to bypass the Atlantic by air, and Charlie Chaplin's divorce and tax evasion woes.

Sowing Seeds for a Life of Research

Sowing Seeds for a Life of Research

Image credit: Vivian Abagiu

Migration—within and between countries—can have profound effects on children and their families. It was economic migration in rural China and the impact on children separated from their parents that first piqued Yang Hou's research interest. Now a UT Austin human development and family sciences graduate student, she is studying the effect of social context on families from the two largest immigrant populations in the US—Asians and Latinos.

Four Keys to Chucking Sugar

Four Keys to Chucking Sugar

Illustration by Jenna Luecke

From high fructose corn syrup to fruit juice sweeteners to agave, added sugars are everywhere. New federal dietary guidelines call for limiting added sugar in the diet to 10 percent of total calories—a significant reduction for most Americans.

Busting the Myth that Living with Your Parents is Harmful

Busting the Myth that Living with Your Parents is Harmful

Young adults who live with their parents find that their relationships feel more tense, with higher highs and lower lows. But they are no worse off as a result of these daily experiences than young adults living elsewhere, according to a new study from The University of Texas at Austin.