News: Research
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Department of Molecular Biosciences
New Vaccine Advances Could Help Against More Viral Illnesses
Jason McLellan and his team advance understanding of human metapneumovirus (hMPV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which can help them develop vaccines.
![Two scientists in lab coats looking at a computer screen](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/20210630_mclellan_lab_020-1400x933-198369e3-00f1-4e12-9abb-f3d0ab106117.jpg)
Dried Bacteria Could Revolutionize Testing, Laboratory Science
What if there were a way to make proteins, enzymes and reagents right in the lab, in small amounts, on demand?
![Microscopic image of e.coli bacteria stained blue against a black background](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/e-coli-bacteria-1400p_20220303-173817_1.jpeg)
Department of Molecular Biosciences
Gene Editing Gets Safer Thanks to Redesigned Protein
Scientists have redesigned a key component of a widely used CRISPR-based gene-editing tool, called Cas9, to be thousands of times less likely to target the...
![Illustration of a protein interacting with DNA](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/off-target-dna1400.png)
Some Trees May Play an Outsized Role in the Fight on Global Warming
A new study shows that nitrogen-fixing trees could help forests remove more heat-trapping COS from the atmosphere than previously thought.
![Sunlight peeks through the trees](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/black-locust-trees-and-sun-2400x1600_0.jpg)
Department of Molecular Biosciences
A New Way to Disarm Antibiotic Resistance in Deadly Bacteria
Scientists have found a new way to impair antibiotic resistance in bacteria that cause human disease, including E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosa.
![Microsope image of a bacterium that has burst open](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/k-pneumoniae-destroyed1400.jpg)
Texas Scientist
Charging Ahead
Chemists and physicists are making steady progress on developing new materials that may prove key for our future energy needs.
![Illustration of a lightning bolt containing cacti and a cloudy sky](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/coverimage.jpg)
Unraveling How One of the Most Important Cell Types Form
Stomata are critical to plant biology and scientists have found a key to how they get there.
![Microscopic images of plant stomata](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/stomata1.jpeg)
UT News
Weight Gain in Pregnancy May Be Linked to Later Growth Patterns in Daughters
Patterns of weight gain in pregnancy may offer clues to how children will grow.
![Photo of a pregnant woman seated as she looks at an ultrasound photo](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nutritional-science-pregnancy-1400px1-1-1200x800-c-default.jpeg)
UT News
COVID Forecasting Method Shown to Reliably Guide U.S. Cities Through Pandemic Threats
Using cellphone mobility data and COVID-19 hospital admissions data, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have reliably forecast regional hospital demands for almost...
![An illustration of the Austin skyline against a graph line showing peaks and valleys](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/picture1-2-1200x800-c-default.jpeg)
Getting Math and Physics on the Same Page
Mathematicians are working to bring quantum field theory (QFT) into mainstream mathematics.
![Three colored lines spiral around each other from the top to bottom of the image](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/simons-collab2400x1350.jpg)