News: Research

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

Department of Molecular Biosciences

New Insights Could Lead to Crops Adapted to a Warming World

A new study offers hope that breeders will be able to develop crops that can tolerate higher temperatures while also maintaining high yield

several plant seedlings of different sizes are lined up in comparison

UT News

First Glimpse of Brains Retrieving Mistaken Memories Observed

Scientists have observed for the first time what it looks like in the key memory region of the brain when a mistake is made during...

Artist illustration of a human brain with circuit board designs over the top

Research

Xue-Xin Wei Asks Basic Questions about the Nature of Intelligence

Learn more about Xue-Xin Wei's decision to join UT Austin's Department of Neuroscience as an assistant professor and his contributions to the field.

Portrait of a man

UT News

Fight Against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Has a Glowing New Weapon

In the perpetual arms races between bacteria and human-made antibiotics, there is a new tool to give human medicine the edge.

Black background with florescent bacteria glowing a light blue

UT News

Sheltering People With COVID-19 Experiencing Homelessness Curbs Spread

A new study provides public health planning authorities with a method of calculating the number of COVID-19 isolation beds they would need for people experiencing...

Undergraduate Tanvi Ingle at a desk with a laptop, a monitor and papers

Research

Astronomers Disprove Planet Orbiting Nearby Barnard’s Star

An international team that included Michael Endl and Bill Cochran discovered what was thought to an exoplanet was not one.

A large and modern apparatus has tubes, metal boxes, wires and insulation

Department of Molecular Biosciences

'Last Resort' Antibiotic Pops Bacteria Like Balloons

A new study reveals that colistin, a last resort antibiotic “punches holes in bacteria, causing them to pop like balloons.”

A pink bacterium with a long tail

Research

Discovery about Brain Cells that Promote Healing from Strokes Offers Treatment Insights

A type of cell once thought to hinder recovery in stroke patients may actually promote the healing process.

Blood vessels, shown in green, and astrocytes, shown in magenta, adjacent to a stroke.

Department of Molecular Biosciences

Our Immune Systems Blanket the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein with Antibodies

Most antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 circulating in the blood target areas of the viral spike protein outside the receptor binding domain, or RBD

A spike protein from the virus SARS-CoV-2 with antibodies attached

Department of Molecular Biosciences

Hepatitis C Drugs Boost Remdesivir’s Antiviral Activity Against COVID-19

Four drugs used to treat hepatitis C render remdesivir 10 times better at inhibiting the coronavirus in cell cultures.

A hand holds a pill against a backdrop of other medical interventions such as shots and IV bags