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From the College of Natural Sciences
Cancer Agency Awards Grant to Recruit New Faculty in Chemistry

Cancer Agency Awards Grant to Recruit New Faculty in Chemistry

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) Oversight Committee recently awarded a recruitment grant for Ku-Lung "Ken" Hsu, a chemist joining The University of Texas at Austin. The CPRIT Scholar recruitment grant program attracts established and up-and-coming researchers to Texas institutions to advance their cancer-related research.

New Research Advances Fight Against Human Metapneumovirus

New Research Advances Fight Against Human Metapneumovirus

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV), a virus that infects the upper and lower respiratory systems—leading to bronchitis and pneumonia in some patients—could soon meet its medical match. A scientific team in Texas, in collaboration with biotech companies, has made recent breakthroughs in understanding the virus, and their efforts could lead to everything from the first-ever vaccines against hMPV to new, highly effective therapeutics.

Cognitive Impairment in Hispanic Adults Linked to Discrimination Experiences

Cognitive Impairment in Hispanic Adults Linked to Discrimination Experiences

Black and Latino people experience higher rates of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias than non-Hispanic white people, but scientists have never known why. Now a new study shows that experiences with discrimination may be playing a role in disproportionate experiences of cognitive decline.

Potential New Drug Target Could Boost Effectiveness of Chemotherapy Drugs

Potential New Drug Target Could Boost Effectiveness of Chemotherapy Drugs

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered that a large family of reverse transcriptases (RTs)—enzymes that are found in all organisms and have been extensively studied for more than 50 years—have the previously unsuspected ability to repair DNA damage. The discovery makes them a potential new drug target that might be exploited to block cancer cells from developing resistance to radiation and chemotherapy drugs. The findings were published today in the journal Cell.

Enzymes in a large family called group II intron-like RTs have 3D structures that are remarkably similar, which suggests they share the ability to help repair double-strand DNA breaks. This image is a superposition of two of these enzymes: G2L4 and GsI-IIC RT. Their shared (or conserved) structures are in alternating green and gray. Credit: University of Texas at Austin.
Steven Weinberg’s Test of Quantum Mechanics Might Soon Be Realized

Steven Weinberg’s Test of Quantum Mechanics Might Soon Be Realized

About six years ago, Mark Raizen got a phone call from his University of Texas at Austin colleague, the Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg.

"He had a lot of questions for me about atomic clocks," Raizen said. "He had this idea for testing quantum mechanics, and he asked me if I could come up with a realistic system to do it in."

An ytterbium lattice atomic clock at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. NIST physicists combined two of these experimental clocks to make the world’s most stable single atomic clock. Credit: N. Phillips/NIST
These Tiny Coral Reef Fish Parents Decide When Their Embryos Hatch

These Tiny Coral Reef Fish Parents Decide When Their Embryos Hatch

Leaving the comfort and safety of home to explore the world is a difficult decision. However, in a tiny coral reef fish called a neon goby, dads help their offspring take the plunge by pushing them out the door when the time is just right.

A male neon goby regulates the hatching of embryos within a spawning shelter. To induce hatching, the male goby picks up embryos from the clutch using its mouth, swims to the entrance of the shelter and spits free-swimming larvae into the water column. Credit: John Majoris.
UT Austin’s Excellence Reflected in Latest U.S. News Undergraduate Rankings

UT Austin’s Excellence Reflected in Latest U.S. News Undergraduate Rankings

The University of Texas at Austin is holding its position as one of the best universities in the country, according to the most recent undergraduate rankings from U.S. News & World Report. UT Austin tied for No. 10 among national public universities and remains the top public university in Texas. Overall, the university placed No. 38 among national public and private universities for undergraduates.

Baiz Earns Prestigious Research Fellowship

Baiz Earns Prestigious Research Fellowship

Carlos Baiz, associate professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the prestigious Humboldt Fellowship for Experienced Researchers from the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation.

UT Austin Selected to Lead NSF Innovation Hub

UT Austin Selected to Lead NSF Innovation Hub

Discovery to Impact, The University of Texas at Austin's newly named group leading the university's research commercialization efforts, has been selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to lead a regional, four-state training program for researchers seeking to move their discoveries from the lab to the market. The five-year, $15 million NSF investment in the new Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Southwest Region Hub will strengthen an already robust innovation ecosystem and move more research discoveries to the market through startups.

Need a Place to Study this Academic Year? We’ve Got You Covered.

Need a Place to Study this Academic Year? We’ve Got You Covered.

Photos by Kevin Vu.

Tired of studying at the same places on campus? Or are you a new student trying to figure out your way around the College of Natural Sciences? We've compiled a list of favorite spots around the college to study or find a quiet spot to yourself. See if you can spot mini-Bevo in some of these photos as we tour the best study spots in Natural Sciences.