University of Arizona in the News

Students and families affected by the sudden closing of Sunshine Swim School now have access to free swim lessons, courtesy of University of Arizona Campus Recreation, which will offer free classes every Saturday from July 16 through Aug. 6 at the SouthRec facility pool.

One of the primary questions astronomers want to answer about exoplanets is whether they have atmospheres friendly to life. Identifying an atmosphere in another solar system would be remarkable enough. But there is even a chance – albeit tiny – that one of these atmospheres will offer what is known as a biosignature: a signal of life itself. "I think we will be able to find planets that we think are interesting – you know, good possibilities for life," said Megan Mansfield, an astronomer at the University of Arizona.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed attention to the value of wastewater monitoring for tracking pathogens and mitigating disease. In August 2020 a team of scientists at the University of Arizona detected SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater from a dorm, prompting immediate testing and identification of two asymptomatic students, who were then isolated.

This column written in praise of Tucson as a growing hub of art, culture, cuisine and technology puts the University of Arizona at the center of the city's broad appeal and success. "At the University of Arizona, we have world-class faculty and researchers who are working on solutions to the world's grand challenges every day, and translating their research into products on the market is one of the best ways we can have a positive impact as an institution," said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins.

Experts say heat is the top weather-related killer. On average, more people in the U.S. die from extreme heat than any other severe weather event, including tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding combined, according to the National Weather Service.

Unprecedented dryness across the western United States is meeting with increasingly warm temperatures to create climate conditions so extreme that the landscape of California could permanently and profoundly change, a growing number of scientists say. Now, a growing body of evidence suggests that a prolonged period of dryness known as the Great Drought is to blame, at least partially, for their exodus. A similar drying has also been linked to the collapse of ancient cities in Mesopotamia and the Mayan Empire. Researchers say that can offer clues about what's to come.

In April 2021, NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter took flight and opened up a new era of off-the-ground exploration on the Red Planet. A team led by engineers at the University of Arizona wants to fly even higher with an ambitious concept for a motorless sailplane that could soar above the Martian surface. A paper published this month in the journal Aerospace details a preliminary design for the craft which would be equipped with sensors and cameras and use wind energy to fly for hours or even days.

Robert Glennon, Regents Professor Emeritus and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy Emeritus in the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law, writes examines the state of water water supplies in the Western U.S. and potential conservation options, specifically those that balance rural and urban needs.

Scientists call the intense warming and dryness besetting California and the West "aridification.” There have been periods of high atmospheric carbon dioxide in the past, but the pace of the current warming and drying is unlike anything ever experienced, according to Jessica Tierney, a professor at the University of Arizona who studies past climates.

A World Health Organization panel recently announced the rapidly growing monkeypox epidemic does not yet warrant status as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a conclusion widely criticized by virologists, epidemiologists, and public health experts. "Right now PHEICs send the message that WHO is the last institution to grasp that a newly identified outbreak is indeed a public health emergency of international concern,” said University of Arizona professor ecology and evolutionary biology Michael Worobey, a member of the BIO5 Institute.