News: Features
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Dell Medical School
Arbel Harpak: Pursuing the Next Frontier in Genetics
Arbel Harpak is trying to find out why the same genetic makeup can have dramatically different impacts on health and evolution in males and females.
![A scientist in white shirt stands in front of a sculpture made of aluminum canoes](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/062024_voicesarbelharpak_feature.jpg)
What Will Extreme Weather Events Mean for Texas’s Favorite Bugs?
The answer matters for people, too, given how insects affect whole ecosystems.
![A photo of a monarch butterfly on a yellow flower](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3-2-monarch-butterfly.jpg)
Texas Field Station Network Catalyzes Collaborations Across Field Sites
The recently announced largest-ever gift to the college is helping to bring new research synergies.
![Natural landscape with orange brown grasses in the foreground, trees in the middle distance and a mountai top with telescope domes in the distance](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ts_mcdonald_observatory-20_1200x800.jpg)
Bridging Chemistry and Physics on the Path to New Materials
Five questions with Center for Electrochemistry director Michael Rose.
![Michael Rose sits between two lab benches on a rolling stool holding a model of a molecule](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/copy_of_cns_news_img_-_thumbnail_2400x1600_1.png)
Graduating Former President of Natural Sciences Council Reflects on Public Health at UT
A Longhorn EMT and honored graduate, Arvind Subramanian looks back on lessons from his Texas Science major.
![An image of Arvind Subramanian.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/5f0a3767-981a-4680-b518-f3a62b068541.jpeg)
UT News
Hartzell in D.C. Seeks Congressional Support of Public AI Research and Workforce Initiatives
University of Texas at Austin AI experts and academic leaders visited the Capitol to highlight how public universities can drive artificial intelligence safety.
![Three experts sit in chairs beneath a scree projection about about Army Futures Command and the Strauss Center, while a dean in a bowtie looks on from a nearby lectern.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/20240416_ai_utaustin_169_0.png)
Weinberg Institute
Postcards from the Field: First Light for a New High-Desert Telescope
High in a Chilean desert, scientists at the Simons Observatory probe the cosmic microwave background for clues about the history of the early universe.
![A telescope enclosure sits in front of mountains under a blue sky](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/pxl_20230628_214916419_2400x1600.jpg)
UT News
What Can A Total Solar Eclipse Teach Us About Our Universe?
Astrophysicists and astronomers at UT Austin have used these rare phenomena to help answer fundamental questions about our universe.
![A man on a ladder works on a small white building in a desert](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/mauritania-observatory1200x800.jpg)
Top Prize Image in Visualizing Science Contest Captures Research Tied to the Sun
Ph.D. student Maile Marriott’s submission illustrates the complexities of the “space weather” generated by our sun.
![Top Prize Editor’s Choice](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/visscistorythumbnail-2400x1600.jpg)
Undergraduate Researchers Help Unlock Lessons of Machine Learning and AI
From large language models to brain-machine interfaces, students work with faculty on cutting-edge research.
![Four students post on a staircase near a limestone building at UT.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/undergraduate_ai_researchers-3-2_0.jpg)