University of Arizona in the News

A study of about 16,000 people found that the COVID-19 vaccine altered menstruation among 42% of participants. University of Arizona assistant professor of public health Leslie Farland led a team who studied menstruation changes after COVID infections. All study participants tested positive for COVID at some point between the beginning of the pandemic and all reported increases in the premenstrual syndrome symptoms of mood changes and fatigue.

Shootings in U.S. schools, while still rare when compared with other incidents of gun violence, have become far more regular than any other country in the world and show no sign of slowing. There have been at least 53 school shootings at K-12 schools so far this year, more than in all of 2021 and nearly double as many as in 2018. Related legal proceedings can last decades, while new attacks reignite decades-old debates over how best to address the issue.

Since 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata party government came to power, India’s 200 million minority Muslims say they have been subjected to persecution, violence and state-sponsored discrimination. Under a Hindu nationalist agenda. Central to this narrative has been the alleged historic destruction of Hindu temples to build mosque but Richard Eaton, a professor of Indian history at the University of Arizona, said there was no historical evidence for this, with Mughals (former Muslim rulers of India) thought to have torn down only about two dozen temples.

The African American Museum of Southern Arizona will make the jump from the web to the real world next month, with its first physical exhibits inside the Student Union at the University of Arizona. The opening will feature an appearance by civil rights advocate Ruby Bridges. Initial exhibits will highlight the achievements of pioneering Wildcats men’s basketball coach Fred Snowden.

Many Americans remain reluctant to trade the joys of working from home for dreary commutes and in-person meetings. But lots of people who have returned to the office say they like it. "People had all this autonomy, and now they're going back to work and feel like that's been stripped away from them," said Allison S. Gabriel, a professor at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management. "People in this void of time have picked up new identities. It has fundamentally changed the person who is returning to work."

Unsolicited advice to parents who struggle with breastfeeding but remain commited to staying the course can exacerbate the difficulty of an already difficult process. "This is well-intended, as obviously people want to help new moms eliminate stress from their lives," said organizational psychologist Allison S. Gabriel, a professor at the University of Arizona's Eller College of Management.

The altar, or ofrenda, is a key component of Dia de los Muertos – Day of the Dead – which is traditionally observed at the beginning of November. The modern holiday is rooted in Mexican culture and is a blend recognizing rituals once celebrated by the Aztecs and Christian and Catholic observances of All Saints' Days, according to University of Arizona associate professor  of Mexican American studies Michelle Téllez.

Senate Republican staffers have produced a report asserting the coronavirus pandemic "most likely" originated in China, following safety lapses at a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. University of Arizona professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Michael Worobey, who identified the probable source as animals sold at a market in a pair of studies published earlier this year said the new GOP report "gets the science completely wrong." "As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics," he said.

Latinos make up about 30% of Arizona's population and some 40,000 young Latinos statewide become eligible to vote each year. University of Arizona student body president Patrick Robles and other young Latinos weigh in on what matters most to them heading into the midterms.

New research published last week in the journal Nature suggests the same genetic differences that helped people survive the Black Death in the 14th century now make people more susceptible to autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's and rheumatoid arthritis. "It's actually shocking," said University of Arizona professor of ecology and evolutionary biology David Enard. "What really gives this study its power has to do with this whole approach of designing careful comparisons."