News: Research
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Improved Method for Estimating the Hubble Constant with Gravitational Waves
There’s a big debate in cosmology about how fast the universe is currently expanding.

McDonald Observatory
Galaxies Actively Forming in Early Universe Caught Feeding on Cold Gas
James Webb Space Telescope images reveal three galaxies that may be actively forming when the universe was only 400 to 600 million years old.

Transitioning Gender Identities Is Not Linked With Depression
A landmark longitudinal study of LGBTQ+ youths has found that transitioning gender identities is not associated with depression.

Artificial Intelligence Trained to Draw Inspiration From Images, Not Copy Them
Researchers are using corrupted data to help generative AI models avoid the misuse of images under copyright.

Otters, Especially Females, Use Tools To Survive a Changing World
A new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools — most of whom are female — are able to eat larger prey...

To Optimize Guide-Dog Robots, First Listen to the Visually Impaired
Guide-dog users and trainers can provide insight into features that make robotic helpers useful in the real world.

Persistent Strain of Cholera Defends Itself Against Forces of Change, Scientists Find
Unique immune component has kept one strain of cholera on top for more than 60 years.

Department of Computer Science
Transforming Human-Robot Interaction Through Mood-Inducing Music
UT’s Elad Liebman and Peter Stone consider robots that understand not only our commands but also our emotional states.

McDonald Observatory
Astronomers Uncover Methane Emission on a Cold Brown Dwarf
The research team used the James Webb Space Telescope to make a surprising finding about a cold, distant world.

Better Sleep Can Reduce Worry and Rumination in Older Adults
People’s perceptions of their sleep also proves to have stronger associations with their worry and rumination than objective sleep quality monitored with a device.
