News: Integrative Biology

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

Research

Model Predicts Which Coral Reefs Will Better Adapt to Global Warming

​Climate change is causing coral reefs around the world to decline.

Underwater photo of a large coral reef

Accolades

Brett Baker Receives Simons Award

The faculty member who helped envision a changed the tree of life received the award.

Brett Baker in a zippered shirt stands in a lab in front of cabinets

UT News

Long-Living Tropical Trees Play Outsized Role in Carbon Storage

A group of trees that grow fast, live long lives and reproduce slowly account for the bulk of the biomass.

Irene del Carmen Torres Dominguez measures the diameter of a tree on Barro Colorado Island in Panama.

UT News

Pandemic Model Shows Importance of Social Distancing in 22 Texas Cities

A new pandemic model of COVID-19 shows the positive role social distancing can play in preventing the spread of the illness in areas across Texas.

A map of texas with counties shaded in different colors

UT News

A New Texas COVID-19 Pandemic Toolkit Shows the Importance of Social Distancing

Since 2012 a pandemic-planning tool developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has helped public health officials plan for the consequences of...

A graph shows various projections of the impact of social distancing on COVID-19 spread

UT News

Coronavirus Spreads Quickly and Sometimes Before People Have Symptoms, Study Finds

Measures including isolation, quarantine, school closures, travel restrictions and cancellation of mass gatherings may be warranted.

Artist rendering of a magnified coronavirus

UT News

Demographics Linked to Choice Not to Vaccinate Children in Texas, Study Finds

The findings could help public health officials identify pockets of low vaccination rates where communities within the state are at higher risk for an outbreak.

A young boy on the left receives a vaccination in his arm from a woman in a lab coat on the right

The Texas Scientist

20/20 Foresight

So what will the next 50 years bring? Absent a crystal ball, your best bet would be to ask a scientist.

Illustration by David Steadman.

UT News

Researchers Say Spread of Coronavirus Extends Far Beyond China’s Quarantine Zone

Virus likely spread beyond Wuhan before quarantines and lockdowns.

The last metro train prepares to leave a station in Wuhan, China before the city was placed under quarantine. Courtesy of Chinese News Service.

Department of Molecular Biosciences

Bacteria Engineered to Protect Bees from Pests and Pathogens

Genetically engineered strains of bacteria protect bees from mites and viruses that can lead to colony collapse.

A Varroa mite, a common pest that can weaken bees and make them more susceptible to pathogens, feeds on a honey bee.