News

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

Virus Slayer Awarded ‘Genius Grant’ by MacArthur Foundation

October 8, 2025 • by Marc Airhart

The award recognizes Jason McLellan’s work to investigate how viruses infect our cells and to develop new treatments for infectious disease.

Portrait of Jason McLellan in a suit, standing in front of three-dimensional displays of proteins

Announcements

Local Properties Keep Our Stars Bright with Night Sky Friendly Lighting

October 2, 2025 • by Emliy Howard

Village Fresh Greenhouse Grown, the Brewster County Courthouse, and Terlingua Ranch Lodge are the latest to adopt lighting that benefits astronomers and skywatchers.

A photo of the dark night sky above greenhouses in West Texas.

Research

A Cosmic Puzzle: Phosphine Found in One Brown Dwarf, Missing in Others

October 2, 2025 • by Emily Howard

The explosive compound forms naturally in the atmospheres of Jupiter and Saturn, but on Earth it is also a byproduct of anaerobic life.

Illustration of the Wolf 1130ABC triple system, composed of the red dwarf star Wolf 1130A, its close and compact white dwarf companion Wolf 1130B, and the distant brown dwarf tertiary Wolf 1130C. The three components of this system are shown scaled to their relative sizes. Image credit: Adam Burgasser, UCSD.

Research

More Dark Star Candidates Found in JWST Data

September 30, 2025 • by Staff Writer

A growing list of dark star candidates could help explain why some early galaxies were so big, so early in the universe.

The background shows the blackness of space, dotted with colorful stars and galaxies. In a pullout box at the top left, an arrow points to a fuzzy red blob shaped like a jelly bean. A label reads JADES-GS-z14-0.

McDonald Observatory

UT Austin Welcomes MIT to Giant Magellan Telescope International Consortium

September 30, 2025 • by Staff Writer

The private research university becomes the 16th member of the international consortium advancing the GMT.

On the right side, a telescope enclosure sitting on a mountaintop is open to the night sky. Text over the sky reads "Giant Magellan Telescope + Massachusetts Institute of Technology"

Department of Marine Science

Genetic Identification Aids Protection of Sharks and Rays

September 19, 2025 • by Ingrid Bunholi

A new paper describes how protecting shark and ray populations from the black-market wildlife trade can begin with DNA analysis.

A school of hammerhead sharks swim in open waters.

Research

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.