News: Integrative Biology
Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin
Dell Medical School
Arbel Harpak: Pursuing the Next Frontier in Genetics
Arbel Harpak is trying to find out why the same genetic makeup can have dramatically different impacts on health and evolution in males and females.
![A scientist in white shirt stands in front of a sculpture made of aluminum canoes](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/062024_voicesarbelharpak_feature.jpg)
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](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/frog_thumb.png)
What Will Extreme Weather Events Mean for Texas’s Favorite Bugs?
The answer matters for people, too, given how insects affect whole ecosystems.
![A photo of a monarch butterfly on a yellow flower](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3-2-monarch-butterfly.jpg)
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](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/buffelgrass_thumb_1.png)
Texas Field Station Network Catalyzes Collaborations Across Field Sites
The recently announced largest-ever gift to the college is helping to bring new research synergies.
![Natural landscape with orange brown grasses in the foreground, trees in the middle distance and a mountai top with telescope domes in the distance](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/ts_mcdonald_observatory-20_1200x800.jpg)
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...
![A sea otter feeds on a marine animal](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/otter_thumb.png)
Biologist in National Academy of Sciences to Address 2024 Graduates
Nancy Moran, the acclaimed evolutionary biologist, will address College of Natural Sciences graduates on May 11.
![Portrait of a woman in a blue shirt and glasses](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/moran_3x2.png)
Study Challenges Popular Concept of Spread of Cultural Innovations
Researchers find that Eurasia’s East-West orientation likely did not aid in cultural domination.
![Antique style world map with Europe and Asia centered](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3x2-world-map_0.jpg)
Red Flags: I’m Not the Bug for You!
The matador bug’s vibrant red hind-leg flags are neither a mating display nor a distraction tactic, they’re part of an elaborate defense strategy.
![A black and yellow bug with red flaps on its hind legs sits on a green leaf](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/matador_bug_by_ana_endara_1200x800.jpg)
UT News
Surviving a Volcanic Supereruption May Have Facilitated Human Dispersal Out of Africa
Graduate students Jessica Valdes and Keenan Riordan were on a team that found humans may have dispersed during arid times along “blue highways.”
![Map of northeastern Africa indicating location of an archaeological site](/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/photograph-9-1-scaled-1200x800-c-default.jpg)