University of Arizona in the News

A University of Arizona researcher is part of the team that used the powerful new James Webb Space Telescope to find a new planet – LHS 475 b. Sarah Moran with the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory thinks one of the most interesting things about the planet is it being almost exactly the same size as Earth. "It's much hotter than Earth. It's about 600 degrees Fahrenheit, so way too hot to live on, but it's the same size, so in some ways very similar to Earth but in others completely different," said Moran.

NASA reports identifying well over 5,000 exoplanets, with around one-third of them classified as "super-Earths" – worlds some 30-70% bigger than our own – some rocky (like Earth,) some composed of thick, swirling gases. Or both. University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Chris Impey suspects quite a few habitable super-Earths exist because having masses larger than Earth gives them better odds of holding onto a thick atmosphere, which protects them from harmful radiation and UV rays. Super-Earths may also hold onto bounties of water.

XBB.1.5, the highly contagious COVID-19 sub-variant currently fueling a widespread rise in case numbers, evolved from the Omicron strain of the coronavirus. Omicron was so genetically distinct from previous strains, and so quickly crowded out other versions, it prompted scientists to adopt a new nomenclature.

Chris Impey, a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, writes that NASA had a banner year in 2022, with many successful missions in what was one of the organization’s most active years in decades.

Experts say 2022 was an exceptionally dry year, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects more drought coming for the U.S. Gizmodo lists Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center among the "people to follow" for readers who want to better understand water issues and water management policy.

The University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission is included in a list of the most exciting space missions of 2023.

In the two-plus years that COVID vaccines have been available in the U.S., the basic recipe has changed just once. But experts say SARS-CoV-2's evolutionary sprint might not be the only reason immunity can get bogged down. The body seems to fixate on the first version of the virus that it encountered, either through injection or infection – what researchers call "original antigenic sin." "I really, really hate that term," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.

Few people in the U.S. know the mechanics of how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Additionally, untrained bystanders usually take too long to try find a pulse or they will misidentify their own pulse as the other person's, according to University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center.

Lake Mead will need more than just rainfall to replenish itself. Last year was the driest one yet for the reservoir, and the Bureau of Reclamation estimates 2023 will bring more of the same. "The Bureau of Reclamation's latest studies expect water flows to continue to decline in the Basin this year. It is easy to lose sight of this when we see the heavy rains and flooding in California, and the destruction they have brought to some communities," said University of Arizona professor of geography, development and environment Andrea K. Gerlak.

University of Arizona Regents Professor Emeritus Robert Glennon writes about the challenges facing the Salton Sea and how it reflects the complexity of managing water in the increasingly dry U.S. Southwest.