News: Research

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

UT News

Alcohol Abuse Linked to Newly Identified Gene Network

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have identified a network of genes that appear to work together in determining alcohol dependence. The findings...

Sean Farris in the UT Austin VizLab standing in front of a screen showing gene networks, his arms crossed

Research

New Statistical Method Helps Reveal Timing of Key Events in Plant Evolution

Comparing plant DNA from over one hundred plant species from across the green tree of life, the scientists produced some exciting findings, including that evolution...

Micrasterias thomasiana. Image credit: UTEX Culture Collection of Algae/Ann Clemens

Research

Florida Lizards Evolve Rapidly, Within 15 Years and 20 Generations

Competition between brown and green anoles for the same food and space may be driving adaptations of the green anoles

A green lizard and a brown lizard

UT News

Synthetic Molecule Makes Cancer Self-Destruct

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have created a molecule that can cause cancer cells to self-destruct by ferrying...

Illustration showing how synthetic ion transporters can induce apoptosis by facilitating chloride anion transport into cells.

UT News

Diet Affects Men's and Women's Gut Microbes Differently

The microbes living in the guts of males and females react differently to diet, even when the diets are identical, according to a study by...

Illustration by Marianna Grenadier and Jenna Luecke.

UT News

Mutation Stops Worms From Getting Drunk

Neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Austin have generated mutant worms that do not get intoxicated by alcohol, a result that could lead to...

A visual comparison of a sober and an intoxicated worm. Image courtesy of Jon Pierce-Shimomura.

UT News

Improved Method for Isotope Enrichment Could Secure a Vital Global Commodity

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a new method for enriching a group of the world’s most expensive chemical commodities, stable...

An artist's rendering of the MAGIS Device (magnetically activated and guided isotope separation) by Marianna Grenadier.

UT News

Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut

Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have discovered that the more diverse the diet of a fish, the less...

Two stickleback fish, the type used in the study, are held in the hand of a researcher collecting them from the wild.

Research

Trapping a Bacterium in a Laser Beam Aids Study of Biofilms

Biofilms are responsible for most chronic infections and are notoriously resilient and hard to treat.

Two-channel fluorescence image of a stamped pattern of P. aeruginosa in an isotropic background of S. aureus at t = 6 h, after the initial pattern has developed into a localized cluster.

Research

Neurons in the Brain Tune into Different Frequencies for Different Spatial Memory Tasks

The findings may provide insight into the cognitive and memory disruptions seen in diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's.

A slice of rat brain stained purple to indicate the hippocampus