News

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

So What Should We Call This – a Grue Jay?

September 18, 2025 • by Marc Airhart

The rare hybrid offspring of a blue jay and a green jay is likely a result of weather-related shifts in the range of two species.

Three birds are shown. On the left is a blue jay, which is primarily blue with some patches of white on wing tips, around the face and on the chest. On the right is a green jay, which is primarily green with a lighter colored chest and a mix of blue and black patches on the face. In the center is a hybrid bird, which is primarily blue and resembles a blue jay, but with a larger area of black on the face, more akin to a green jay.

Announcements

Meet New Faculty In the College of Natural Sciences

September 17, 2025 • by Jenan Taha

This year’s 16 newcomers deepen the college’s bench in a wide range of areas, including artificial intelligence, cosmology, ecology, obesity, human relationships, materials science and...

Texas Quantum Institute

Quantum Leap for STEM Graduate Training at UT

September 16, 2025 • by Nat Levy

A new initiative will prepare graduate students in the rapidly evolving field of quantum science and technology.

Illustration shows how atom-thin materials enable control of individual photons of light

UT News

4 Tons of Spinach, 3 Professors and 1 Life-Changing Discovery

September 15, 2025 • by Avrel Seale

It was 84 years ago this week that UT researchers isolated and named folic acid.

Against a backdrop of spinach leaves are old-time news clips with headlines "U.T. Scientists Find New Vitamins in Spinach: Why Popeye Has Big Msucles" and "New 'Life Staff' Found in Spinach" and "Three U.T. Scientists Discover New Vitamin"

Research

Stephen Hawking Was Right: Black Holes Always Grow in Area

September 10, 2025 • by Staff Writer

Researchers celebrate 10th anniversary of gravitational wave discovery, announce verification of a Hawking theorem.

In this screenshot from a computer simulation, two objects leaving behind a white trail sprial inward and collide against the black background of space

McDonald Observatory

Astronomers Investigate Complex Heart of a Cosmic Butterfly

August 28, 2025 • by Emily Howard

The James Webb Space Telescope offers a new view of a planetary nebula located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre that is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object.

UT Biodiversity Center

Announcing the 2025 Stengl-Wyer Scholars, Fellows and Grant Awardees

August 27, 2025 • by Nicole Elmer

Stengl-Wyer Endowment-supported researchers and research at UT Austin will explore life in a variety of forms and environments.

A montage of six young people, many in outdoor settings is surrounded by graphics of lines and squares.

The Oden Institute

Transforming the Use of AI in Drug Design

August 20, 2025 • by Joanne Foote

With support from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, molecular bioscientist Dima Kozakov joins UT.

A man in a plaid shirt smiles in front of a chalkboard with equations, as graphic elements of limestone and bursts frame the shot.

Research

Helping Others Shown To Slow Cognitive Decline

August 14, 2025 • by Marc Airhart and Christine Sinatra

Regular volunteering or helping others outside the home can reduce the rate of cognitive aging by 15-20%.

A woman with white hair reads to a child on her lap

Accolades

Three College of Natural Sciences Faculty Win NSF CAREER Awards

August 13, 2025 • by Sowmya Sridhar and Staci Norman

The award, recognizing early-career faculty, will support research in computer science and physics.