University of Arizona in the News

Underground storage may be a key for Western states navigating water shortages and extreme weather. In 2018, the City of Tucson stored and recovered 76 million cubic meters in the same year, while an additional 76 million cubic meters was stored for long-term use. The city uses "soils as the treatment method for the surface water," said Sharon B. Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center. "Arizona has quite an extensive history of utilizing managed aquifer recharge successfully, and yet there are still more opportunities.

The University of Arizona's adaptive athletics program currently features two swimmers and one triathlete this season, but the team should double in size this fall with two more swimmers and another triathlete signing scholarships. Arizona's program appears to be the first of its kind to recruit and offer scholarships. "We want to compete for a collegiate para-swim championship eventually – that's the goal," said Pete Hughes, Arizona's director of adaptive athletics.

A new study led by University of Arizona assistant professor of psychology and cognitive science Vicky Lai finds when people are in a negative mood, they may be quicker to spot inconsistencies in things they read.

New evidence suggests pets may have a positive effect on our guts, with links to both mental and physical health. University of Arizona researchers studying whether the sharing of bacteria between dogs and their owners can alter our microbiome – the community of microorganisms inside our bodies – and change our brain chemistry, alleviating major depression.

This past summer, Lake Mead's water levels hit a new low at 1,040 feet, the lowest since the construction of Hoover Dam across the Colorado River in the 1930s. However, recent rains have raised water levels 0.3% higher than the Bureau of Reclamation predicted in December. But even though the water levels have risen, this isn't likely to help the lake in the long term. Experts believe only a change in water policy can contribute to saving the lake.

Lightning strikes about 40 million times in the U.S. each year. This natural phenomenon is terrifyingly random, and we rely mainly on lightning rods – a nearly 300-year-old technology – to deal with it. Research published this week in Nature Photonics shows how a team of scientists used a high-powered laser to guide lightning strikes atop a mountain in Switzerland. "What they've done is very impressive," says Jerry Moloney, an optical scientist at the University of Arizona, who was one of the early pioneers of this laser application but was not involved in the study.

While scientists have determined how much heat events will threaten humans in the future, less attention has been paid to how animals will fare under these temperature extremes. A team led by University of Arizona researcher Gopal Murali reports in the journal Nature that a massive percentage of land animals will face extreme heat if nothing is done to curb climate change. "It is becoming very clear that extreme events have been increasing in recent times under climate change," Murali said.

The accessories that come with housing a pet – toys, treats, beds and the like – can cause clutter that can derail even the most fastidious homeowner's interior design plans. Last year, in fact, U.S. pet owners spent nearly $100 million on toys for dogs and cats. "But is the mess really a problem? After all, pets themselves are almost a design element in a house," said Maggie O'Haire, associate dean of veterinary medicine at the University of Arizona. O'Haire pointed to studies that show just seeing our pets – or even their stuff – can improve our mood.

Despite exponential growth in recent decades of research papers and patents, a new study published in Nature suggests science and technology are becoming less disruptive. University of Minnesota researchers Russell Funk and Michael Park and University of Arizona professor Erin Leahey found that papers and patents are less likely to be disruptive, or make previous findings obsolete and push science and technology in a new direction.

Lake Mead, the largest man-made reservoir in the U.S., is rapidly approaching dead pool due to severe drought conditions gripping the region. The lake's water levels currently stand at 1,045.54 feet as of Jan. 15. But experts predict that in a few years, they could could reach as low as 895 feet – too low to flow past the dam. That would have dire consequences for cities such as Las Vegas.