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From the College of Natural Sciences
New Statistical Method Helps Reveal Timing of Key Events in Plant Evolution

New Statistical Method Helps Reveal Timing of Key Events in Plant Evolution

543_Micrasterias_thomasiana.jpgUsing a host of methodologies, including a new statistical method developed at The University of Texas at Austin, an international collaboration of researchers have completed a large-scale DNA study that reveals important details about key transitions in the evolution of plant life on our planet.

Plants: The Future of Energy?

Plants: The Future of Energy?

Can we use plants for energy instead of oil? That's the question one group of intrepid students is trying to answer as part of an innovative program that plugs first year students into real-world research projects with top notch faculty and research scientists.

Eel Genome Unlocks Mysteries of Electric Fish

Eel Genome Unlocks Mysteries of Electric Fish

Harold Zakon, professor of neuroscience and integrative biology, and his colleagues published new research demonstrating that the six electric fish lineages, all of which evolved independently, used essentially the same genes and developmental and cellular pathways to make an electricity-generating organ for defense, predation, navigation and ...
How do you move 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in August?

How do you move 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in August?

Nancy Moran and her students moved 100,000 bees from Connecticut to Texas in a minivan ... in August. To keep the bees from overheating, they kept the AC cranked to the max during the day and left the windows down at night. "It seemed unlikely that anyone would try to steal something from a van full of bees," says Moran. As part of the Behind the ...
Better Corn the Goal of $2.5 million Grant from the National Science Foundation

Better Corn the Goal of $2.5 million Grant from the National Science Foundation

Jeff Chen hopes to understand "hybrid vigor" in corn well enough to improve breeding.

News About Texas Longhorn Genetics

A round-up of media coverage for Hillis and McTavish's research on Texas Longhorns.

UT Research Traces Longhorn History to Middle East, India

The longhorn went on quite a journey to become the symbol of Texas.
The Origins of Evolutionary Innovation

The Origins of Evolutionary Innovation

Jeffrey Barrick uses TACC supercomputers to understand radical mutations and design artificial organisms.
Chemists Synthesize a New Breed of Anti-Aromatic Compounds

Chemists Synthesize a New Breed of Anti-Aromatic Compounds

The novel compounds can toggle between three states, which is a scientific first.
Biologist Uses Supercomputer to Study Fast Evolving Geraniums

Biologist Uses Supercomputer to Study Fast Evolving Geraniums

With a grant from the NSF's Plant Genome Research Program, Bob Jansen is applying next-generation DNA sequencing methods to better understand why the geranium has evolved to be so radically different from other plants.