University of Arizona in the News

When the renovated and expanded "Old Chem" building at the University of Arizona complex opens to students and faculty next semester, it will have nine new classroom spaces, replete with the latest technology designed to promote active learning. Additionally, it will house new research spaces, faculty and administrative offices, three learning studios where faculty can hold online and hybrid lectures, and the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance facility.

An experimental influenza vaccine developed using messenger RNA technology appears capable of inducing what should be a protective immune response against all known subtypes of flu, at least in animals. If the work is translated into humans it could turn out to be a version of a long-sought universal vaccine. This would not be a vaccine that would block all flu infections, nor would it replace the need for an annual flu shot. Instead, it would prime the immune system to better respond to new flu viruses, lowering the risk of hospitalization, death and social disruption.

The hosts take a a tour of the University of Arizona Mirror Lab to see the giant, spinning oven used to turn glass molten and create the primary mirrors for observatories such as the Giant Magellan Telescope.

The Colorado River Compact turns 100 years old this November. The agreement among seven states to manage the river's waters was groundbreaking for its time. But the anniversary of its signing, on Nov. 24 1922, comes as the river is facing arguably its most pressing crisis. Water supplies are shrinking due to climate change-induced warming. Demands for water have yet to shrink to match the drier conditions. The river's largest reservoirs are declining to record lows, and forecast to drop further.

The holidays can be an especially difficult time for those grieving loved ones. Someone new carving the Thanksgiving turkey or one less Christmas stocking to hang can accentuate a loss and re-intensify grief. "Grief is the natural response to being aware of a loss and, during the holidays, you are going to be more aware because we carry out all the rituals we've always done with the people we're close to," said Mary-Frances O'Connor, associate professor at the University of Arizona and author of "The Grieving Brain."

Finding a planet out in deep space humans could potentially live on has been a science fiction trope for decades. An index of planetary habitability first published in The Astrophysical Journal in 2015 scores exoplanets on a number of factors, including their orbit. However observations from such great distances provide only bare-bones data to make those estimates and the index doesn't consider characteristics, such as a strong magnetic field or a moon, that may make a planet a much better home.

University of Arizona associate professor of psychology Mary Frances O'Connor discusses how Artificial Intelligence can be used to help people through periods of grief.

A study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society reports on the presence of comets sitting in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. "I always say, 'Everything is a comet,'" said Kacper Wierzchos, an astronomer at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona who was not involved with the study. "If you brought my couch close enough to the sun, it would start melting and having a coma."

To address the growing need for a continually diversified and modern workforce, the New Economy Initiative will direct nearly $150 million in funding to the state’s public universities for Fiscal Year 2023. The University of Arizona will allocate a significant portion of its NEI funds to the space and defense sector.

No gene variant poses a bigger risk for developing Alzheimer's disease than APOE4. New research reveals a link to faulty cholesterol processing in the brain, which in turn leads to defects in the insulating sheaths that surround nerve fibers and facilitate their electrical activity. Preliminary results hint that these changes could cause memory and learning deficits. And the work suggests that drugs that restore the brain's cholesterol processing could treat the disease.