University of Arizona in the News

Research led by University of Arizona professor of psychology John Ruiz finds the so-called "Hispanic paradox" – the tendency of Hispanic people in the U.S. to have equal or even better outcomes across numerous health measures than other ethnic groups, even when accounting for socio-economic status – is "actually growing stronger." Ruiz believes sociocultural resilience plays a part. "(Cultural) values may drive Hispanics into tighter social connections which have a myriad of health benefits, ranging from prevention to stress buffering to caregiving," he said.

Artificial intelligence is speeding up discoveries about the universe and helping to hone the search for life within it. Many astronomers spend a large amount of their time combing through data collected by telescopes. AI and machine learning can be used to quickly pick out intriguing parts of a dataset, making it less likely that astronomers will miss something important.

Multiple recent studies, including one led by University of Arizona professor of geosciences Jianjun Yin, reveal a rate of sea level rise unprecedented in at least 120 years along the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. coast. Yin's research calculated the rate of sea level rise since 2010 at over one centimeter per year in the region, or nearly 5 inches in total through 2022. That is more than double the global average rate of about 4.5 millimeters per year since 2010, based on satellite observations.

In this guest column, University of Arizona laureate professor of linguistics Noam Chomsky, and two colleagues, write that humanity's "supposedly revolutionary advancements in artificial intelligence are indeed cause for both concern and optimism. Optimism because intelligence is the means by which we solve problems. Concern because we fear that the most popular and fashionable strain of AI – machine learning – will degrade our science and debase our ethics by incorporating into our technology a fundamentally flawed conception of language and knowledge."

A team led by University of Arizona astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to observe Fomalhaut, a young star about 25 light-years from Earth, which has the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of our solar system in infrared light. An image shows nested concentric rings of dust, some of which had never been seen before, most likely are carved by the gravitational forces produced by unseen planets.

The Chhieu family will have three college graduates in the household this week as brothers Harry and Anthony receive their University of Arizona diplomas – in mechanical engineering and criminal justice, respectively – alongside their 57-year-old mother Carol Kay, an education major who immigrated to the U.S. from Cambodia at age 15 and successfully raised her children by herself.

The University of Arizona on Monday unveiled a $70 million, five-year project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and tire maker Bridgestone that seeks to develop a new, sustainable variety of natural rubber from guayule, a drought-tolerant desert shrub. Principal investigator Kim Ogden, head of the university's Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering led USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation Robert Bonnie on a tour of a test field of guayule at the College of Agriculture's Controlled Environment Agriculture Center.  

A team led by University of Arizona astronomers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to observe Fomalhaut, a young star about 25 light-years from Earth, with the first asteroid belt ever seen outside of our solar system in infrared light. An image shows nested concentric rings of dust, some of which had never been seen before, most likely are carved by the gravitational forces produced by unseen planets.

Assisted living facilities and nursing homes are supposed to keep residents safe, but hundreds of seniors contend with violence at the ends of their lives. Dementia is often blamed for altercations, but that is not because all people with dementia are inherently aggressive. They may act out when frightened, confused or in pain. Some hurt others because of behavioral problems that facilities are not equipped to manage. "It is stressful, it's often thankless and there is often a high turnover of these underpaid positions," said Dr.

In anticipation of the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample delivery this fall, the team last month held its first round of practice at retrieving the spacecraft's sample capsule from a simulated landing site at the Lockheed Martin campus near Denver. The real-life retrieval will take place Sep. 24 on the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range outside Salt Lake City.