News: Research
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Ghostlike Dusty Galaxy Reappears in James Webb Space Telescope Image
Astronomers with the COSMOS-Web collaboration have identified the object AzTECC71 as a dusty star-forming galaxy.
![A diffuse red patch emerges from the center of an inky black background](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/aztecc71_f277w_f444w_almab6_rgb_1200x800.png)
McDonald Observatory
Discovery of Planet Too Big for Its Sun Throws Off Models of Solar System Formation
Brendan Bowler, Bill Cochran and others discovered a planet that's much more massive compared to its host star than Earth is to our sun.
![A red star rises over a purple planet and casts a reflection on its surface](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/bowler-cochran-exoplanet_3x2.jpg)
Compact Accelerator Technology Achieves Major Energy Milestone
Bjorn “Manuel” Hegelich led the development of a compact laser accelerator that produces an electron beam with an energy of 10 billion electron volts.
![A piece of scientific equipment lit from the outside by green light. In a window in the side of the equipment, a pink light glows.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/gas-cell_1200x800.jpg)
Coal Power Killed Half a Million People in U.S. over Two Decades
Deaths from coal were highest in 1999, but by 2020 decreased by about 95%, as coal plants have installed scrubbers or shut down.
![A white plume of exhaust spews from power plant smokestacks](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/smokestacks_5x3.jpg)
Bacteria Store Memories and Pass Them on for Generations
Bacteria use iron levels to store memories and pass them on to later generations, scientists have found.
![Microscopic image of E.coli bacteria](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ecoli_teaser_0.png)
Chemist’s Innovation Spurs Drugs that Hang on Through Thick and Thin
The newly launched Hyku Biosciences provides a platform for covalent drug development which may be a better approach for treating diseases like cancer.
![Using SuTex, short for sulfur-triazole exchange chemistry, Ken Hsu has created an approach to target sites on proteins that have extra electrons to share. This covalent bond is very stable compared with bonds formed by traditional drugs. Credit: Zhihong Li](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/teaser_image_-_covalent_meds_0.png)
Researchers Find a New Avenue to Combat Biofilm Threat
A team of researchers at The University of Texas at Austin and other institutions have unlocked a clue about how bacteria form biofilms.
![Electron microscope image of bacterial biofilm](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/biofilm_thumbnail.png)
Peering Inside a Quantum Computer Creates New Phases of Information
Physicist Matteo Ippoliti helped explore how measurements can alter information states in an innovation created by Google.
![Illustraiton of colored blocks with arrows and clocks evoking a sense of time and information flowing through a system](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/featured_2400x1600.jpg)
Researchers Identify Potential New Target for Treating T Cell Leukemia
A team led by Lauren Ehrlich found a link between myeloid cells and the cancer that often strikes children.
![Green and red cells under a microscope](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/t-allcells_2400x1600.png)
Cancer Drug Restores Immune System’s Ability to Fight Tumors
Drug candidate developed by Everett Stone and his team is effective in mice with cancers of skin, bladder, blood and colon.
![Microscope image of cancer cell with immune cells attached](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3-2-t-cells-and-cancer.jpg)