News: Research

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

UT News

As ‘2nd Quantum Revolution’ Arrives, UT Researchers Stand Ready

Elaine Li and others are using quantum insights to solve big problems and training the next generation.

Two female scientists stand in front of a display about quantum science. Photo by Eileen Chong.

Department of Marine Science

UTMSI Adds New Offshore Buoy Network

It provides environmental and oceanographic data to researchers, mariners, coastal managers, emergency planners and the public.

Scientists on a ship at sea

Research

New Low-Waste Method Breaks Down Tough-to-Recycle Plastics

The method could help create plastic products with the best of both worlds by combining durability with an eco-friendly life cycle.

Four photos in a grid showing the progression of a 3D printed pufferfish in a beaker of clear liquid. As the photos progress, the pufferfish dissolves into powder.

Research

COVID's Toll on Kids Was Milder Than Predicted, Six-Country Study Finds

Setbacks were concentrated among children already facing other risks; most children recovered.

Several young children sit in front of a teacher whose back is to the viewer. One girl is raising her hand to ask a question.

Research

Did the LUX-ZEPLIN Experiment Detect a Dark Matter Particle?

A single particle interaction could be a signal that scientists detected dark matter.

A large round white cylinder sits in the center of a laboratory and a worker wearing a white clean room suit walks down stairs nearby.

Department of Marine Science

New Theory on Why Some Carbon in the Ocean Sticks Around for Millennia

Some of the dissolved organic matter in the oceans is tightly bound to water, making it harder for microbes to break down.

A scientist works on scientific equipment

Research

New Study Could Lead to Safer, More Effective Antibody Therapies

Jessie Zhang, George Georgiou and others are learning how to keep antibody drugs from binding to an unintended receptor.

Two proteins bound together, represented as a ribbon diagram with one protein colored red and the other blue

Research

Physicists Reconstruct the Collision That Launched a Runaway Black Hole

When two black holes became one, it was launched out of its galaxy at astonishing speed

A dark object with a bright halo around it seems to be streaming through space with a bright trail behind it

Research

Scientists Reveal Hidden Structure of a Quantum Fluid

They are the first to observe a tunable Bose-Einstein Condensate made of excitons in an atomically thin semiconductor.

Three bumps colored to indicate their height. Red indicates the base, then yellow and green, with the highest points marked in blue

Research

COVID-19 Can Awaken Hidden Viruses Throughout the Body, UT-Led Study Finds

Researchers say dormant viruses many people harbor can reactivate during COVID-19 and may be linked to long COVID symptoms.

Ball-shaped viruses with studs poking from their surfaces floating in the body