University of Arizona in the News

University of Arizona immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya discusses emerging data that suggest waiting longer than the currently recommended three weeks between doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine strengthens the immune response in the long run and reduce the risk of side effects such as heart inflammation. "From an immunological standpoint, it makes more sense to wait," Bhattacharya said, adding that decision "was more about reducing public health and community transmission and getting the process done quickly."

Two long-time University of Arizona astronomers are awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The mission is designed to help scientists look deeper into the universe than ever before. Researchers George and Marcia Rieke talk about how they became involved in designing two of the experiments being carried by the spacecraft.

University of Arizona astronomer Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator for NASA’s Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer mission, discusses her role as technical advisor on the Netflix film "Don't Look Up" and explains the official protocols astronomers would follow should a hazardous space object, such as a comet or large asteroid, be detected.

Thomas Korankye, an assistant professor of personal and family financial planning at the University of Arizona, writes that when taking out a student loan for one's child, the risk is even higher that the loan could be associated with lower financial well-being.

A white Christmas seems to be slowly morphing from a reliable reality to a memory for large swaths of the United States in recent decades, according to an analysis of ground observation data led by University of Arizona atmospheric scientist Xubin Zeng. The data show From 1981 to 1990, on average, almost 47% of the country had snow on the ground on Christmas Day, with an average depth of 3.5 inches. From 2011 to 2020, Christmas snow cover was down to 38%, with an average depth of 2.7 inches.

Evan MacLean, director of the Arizona Canine Cognition Center at the University of Arizona, took part in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” event to answer questions about canine intelligence and how cognition evolves.

Two long-time University of Arizona astronomers are awaiting the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. The mission is designed to help scientists look deeper into the universe than ever before. Researchers George and Marcia Rieke talk about how they became involved in designing two of the experiments being carried by the spacecraft.

The OSIRIS-REX spacecraft is on its way back to Earth, having tagged the surface of asteroid Bennu last year to scoop up samples. It will arrive home in 2023, ejecting a capsule full of samples that may help eager scientists decipher the origin of Earth’s water and life. But the spacecraft will have plenty of fuel left. Its mission team wondered: Could it go somewhere else? Yes, it turns out. And not just anywhere, but one of the most famous near-Earth asteroids: Apophis.

"You work for years and it all goes up in a puff of smoke," said Marcia Rieke of the University of Arizona. Rieke admits her fingers will be crossed on the morning of Dec. 22 when she tunes in for the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope. For 20 years, she has been working to design and build an ultrasensitive infrared camera that will live aboard the spacecraft. The Webb is the vaunted bigger and more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA will launch the James Webb Space Telescope, the most powerful space observatory in history and the world's biggest science project. University of Arizona astronomer Kevin Hainline of the James Webb Space Telescope science team produced a video to explain the mission's significance.