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

Research

More Dark Star Candidates Found in JWST Data

September 30, 2025 • by Staff Writer

A growing list of dark star candidates could help explain why some early galaxies were so big, so early in the universe.

The background shows the blackness of space, dotted with colorful stars and galaxies. In a pullout box at the top left, an arrow points to a fuzzy red blob shaped like a jelly bean. A label reads JADES-GS-z14-0.

McDonald Observatory

UT Austin Welcomes MIT to Giant Magellan Telescope International Consortium

September 30, 2025 • by Staff Writer

The private research university becomes the 16th member of the international consortium advancing the GMT.

On the right side, a telescope enclosure sitting on a mountaintop is open to the night sky. Text over the sky reads "Giant Magellan Telescope + Massachusetts Institute of Technology"

Department of Marine Science

Genetic Identification Aids Protection of Sharks and Rays

September 19, 2025 • by Ingrid Bunholi

A new paper describes how protecting shark and ray populations from the black-market wildlife trade can begin with DNA analysis.

A school of hammerhead sharks swim in open waters.

Research

So What Should We Call This – a Grue Jay?

September 18, 2025 • by Marc Airhart

The rare hybrid offspring of a blue jay and a green jay is likely a result of weather-related shifts in the range of two species.

Three birds are shown. On the left is a blue jay, which is primarily blue with some patches of white on wing tips, around the face and on the chest. On the right is a green jay, which is primarily green with a lighter colored chest and a mix of blue and black patches on the face. In the center is a hybrid bird, which is primarily blue and resembles a blue jay, but with a larger area of black on the face, more akin to a green jay.

Announcements

Meet New Faculty In the College of Natural Sciences

September 17, 2025 • by Jenan Taha

This year’s 16 newcomers deepen the college’s bench in a wide range of areas, including artificial intelligence, cosmology, ecology, obesity, human relationships and materials science.

Headshots of new CNS faculty

Texas Quantum Institute

Quantum Leap for STEM Graduate Training at UT

September 16, 2025 • by Nat Levy

A new initiative will prepare graduate students in the rapidly evolving field of quantum science and technology.

Illustration shows how atom-thin materials enable control of individual photons of light

UT News

4 Tons of Spinach, 3 Professors and 1 Life-Changing Discovery

September 15, 2025 • by Avrel Seale

It was 84 years ago this week that UT researchers isolated and named folic acid.

Against a backdrop of spinach leaves are old-time news clips with headlines "U.T. Scientists Find New Vitamins in Spinach: Why Popeye Has Big Msucles" and "New 'Life Staff' Found in Spinach" and "Three U.T. Scientists Discover New Vitamin"

IC² Institute

Biochemistry Major Tu-Quyen Dao Surveyed Doctors about their Use of AI

September 10, 2025 • by Staff Writer

A summer research project involved exploring the leading edge of AI in health care with physicians.

A young woman smiles standing with a building and trees behind her, while burst and texture graphics frame the picture.

Research

Stephen Hawking Was Right: Black Holes Always Grow in Area

September 10, 2025 • by Staff Writer

Researchers celebrate 10th anniversary of gravitational wave discovery, announce verification of a Hawking theorem.

In this screenshot from a computer simulation, two objects leaving behind a white trail sprial inward and collide against the black background of space

McDonald Observatory

Astronomers Investigate Complex Heart of a Cosmic Butterfly

August 28, 2025 • by Emily Howard

The James Webb Space Telescope offers a new view of a planetary nebula located about 3,400 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius.

The complicated structure at the centre of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302. There is a bright source at the centre that is surrounded by greenish nebulosity and several looping lines in cream, orange and pink. One of these lines appears to form a ring oriented vertically and nearly edge-on around the bright source at the centre. Other lines trace out a figure eight shape. Moving outward from these complex lines and green nebulosity, there is a section of red light on either side of the object.