News: Research

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

UT News

Astronomers Use AI to Find Elusive Stars 'Gobbling Up' Planets

The work reveals what planets outside our solar system are made of.

A bright star surrouned by rocky debris from a destroyed planet

Research

AI Opens Door to Safe, Effective New Antibiotics to Combat Resistant Bacteria

Protein large language models identify ways to make antibiotics better at targeting dangerous bacteria, without being toxic to humans.

A green bacteria-shaped object with a red arrow piercing through its center. The bacteria is surrounded by concentric circles and smaller, blue, bacteria-like shapes. The background is a light blue grid with a pattern of binary code.

UT Marine Science Institute

Are Parrotfishes Friends or Foes to Coral Reefs?

Parrotfishes help corals grow and survive, grazing on what can otherwise smother corals. But there are trade-offs.

An underwater image of coral reefs shows clear damage where parts seem to have been nibbled off.

McDonald Observatory

Astronomers Better Identify the Cygnus Loop’s Distance from Earth

Knowing how far away this supernova remnant is will help answer fundamental questions about what happens when stars explode.

A ghostly blue feature in the middle of a field of bright stars and the blackness of space

Research

Paving the Way to Extremely Fast, Compact Computer Memory

Materials with high magnetoelectric coupling could be useful in novel devices such as magnetic computer memories, chemical sensors and quantum computers.

Illustration showing two corkscrew-shaped lines twisting in opposite directions, rising up out of a layer of small spheres that represent atoms, each with an arrow pointing in the direction of a feature called its magnetic moment

Research

The Lesser of Two Weevils: Size Differences in Some Insects Lead to Tradeoffs in the Competition for Mates

The largest males have bigger weapons, but smaller males have other advantages.

three jousting weevils on a wooden log

Department of Computer Science

Transforming Video Accessibility Through Artificial Intelligence

UT researchers developed an AI technology that empowers users with visual impairments to engage with digital media.

A smart phone is held by its sides via a metal stand.

Texas Advanced Computing Center

Surprising Vortex Behind New Solar Cell and Lighting Materials

Using supercomputer simulations, Feliciano Giustino and his team are revealing why perovskites are so promising for solar cells, lighting and computer memory.

A colorful image of a spherical structure of arrows pointing in all directions

Research

For Rainforest Amphibians, the Bigger the Toes, the Higher They Go

In rainforests in Gabon, amphibians with larger toes relative to their body length are found higher in the forest canopy.

Photo of orange and brown frog leptopelis boulengeri on a tree branch

Research

Targeted Grazing May Help Beat Invasive Buffelgrass

Researchers head to Kenya to unlock the weaknesses of invasive buffelgrass to combat it here in Texas.

Image of buffelgrass and cattle