News: Research
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Urban Gardens Are Good for Ecosystems and Humans
Traditionally, it has been assumed that cultivating food leads to a loss of biodiversity and negative impacts on an ecosystem.
![urban garden featuring plants and raised beds](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/2-feature-16x9-2400x1440-1-1200x800-c-default_0.png)
Loss of Reptiles Poses Threat for Small Islands Where Humans May Have Caused Extinctions
A new study has startling conclusions about how, on smaller islands in the Caribbean where human impact was greatest, extinctions have led to the loss...
![Stylized image showing a lesser antillian iguana vs. an invasive mongoose](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/iguanavsmongoose-1200x800-c-default.png)
More Charge Acceptors aren’t Necessarily Better for Solar Cells
Adding charge acceptors can slow electron transfer in some light-activated materials.
![solar panels](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/solar-panels1080x720.jpg)
How Amphibious Plants Rewired a Gas Exchange Pathway to Survive in Water
Just as humans cannot breathe underwater, the tiny pores of plants can't exchange air underwater.
![When grown on land, the amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica produces pores called stomata (left); but grown in water, it does not. Credit: Shuka Ikematsu.](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/stomatano_stomata2400x1600.png)
Nanoparticles Make it Easier to Turn Light into Solvated Electrons
‘Green’ reducing agents could help tackle climate change and treat contaminated water.
![A large cell-like particle emerges from a grouping of smaller particles with an arrow and the large one contains chemical bonds and the letter 2 with a superscript hyphen](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nanoparticle-3-2.png)
Cosmic Dawn III Recreates the Early Universe Epoch of Reionization in Unprecedented Detail
Scientists create the most detailed and accurate simulation ever produced of the first billion years of the universe.
![Hot spots appear prominent on a mass of lines that interconnect as in a network](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/codaiii_2400x1600.jpg)
James Webb Telescope Reveals Milky Way-like Galaxies in Young Universe
Startling new images show how much more powerful JWST is than its predecessor, the Hubble Space Telescope.
![Two images of the same galaxy, one blurry, the other with crisp spiral arms and a central bar](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/egs23205-comparison2400x1350.png)
How a CRISPR Protein Might Yield New Tests for Many Viruses
It might enable inexpensive, highly sensitive at-home diagnostic tests for COVID-19, influenza, Ebola and more.
![A protein holds open the two strands of a DNA double helix](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/unzipping_dna-2400x1440.jpg)
Molecular Biosciences
How a Plant Stem Cell Commits to Its Fate and How Plant Growth Stays in Check
Insights into growth processes and disease require knowing more about how stem cells commit to differentiation when life is developing.
![Three small plant seedlings with small white flowers](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/copy_of_32_web_cards_image_2400x1600.jpg)