University of Arizona in the News

Researchers at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory confirm a hefty chunk of space junk expected to meet a fiery end on the far side of the Moon turns out to be a rocket booster from a Chinese mission in October 2014.

A study published in the journal Science this month used new technologies, including a fleet of methane-detecting satellites, to estimate that as much as 12% of global methane emissions is caused by a relatively small number of ultra-emitting events, usually when fossil fuel operators release natural gas. A sizable portion of those emissions comes from Texas. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from four institutions in France and three universities in the American West, including the University of Arizona.

University of Arizona Health Sciences researchers suggest the risk of developing dementia after a stroke might be reduced by a drug that could help immune cells process the cholesterol-rich debris generated by a stroke.

The University of Arizona will be able to support more students – especially those who are Hispanic or from low-income households – studying science, technology, engineering and math, thanks to a nearly $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

As states across the country are lifting COVID-19 precautions such as mask mandates and some churches have dropped online services, the immunocompromised are weighing their risk of possible exposure in worship services. And some are finding their fellow parishioners and church leaders aren't taking measures to protect them. Those who are immunocompromised are not a monolith and experience different degrees of immunosuppression that could impact their response to the virus, said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona.

Jason Denno, interim department head of the Cyber, Intelligence and Information Operations program at the University of Arizona College of Applied Sciences and Technology, discusses how the program has established itself as an educational powerhouse that is producing the next generation of top-level cyber professionals.

Scientists released a pair of extensive studies on Saturday that point to a market in Wuhan, China, as the origin of the coronavirus pandemic. "When you look at all of the evidence together, it’s an extraordinarily clear picture that the pandemic started at the Huanan market," said Michael Worobey, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and a co-author of both studies.

Astronomers around the world are concerned about a handful of commercial companies proposing to flood low-Earth orbit with tens of thousands of satellites, with the potential to far exceed that. "The experience we've had in interacting with industry is that they've been exceedingly cooperative in trying to deal with their individual objects and how much light they scatter," said Richard L. Green, an astronomer at the University of Arizona who is part of the executive committee working group on the protection of the skies.

The University of Arizona's adaptive athletics program unveiled a new gym and locker room at the Campus Recreation Center ahead of a wheelchair basketball tournament that showcased the Wildcats' nationally renowned programs.

To get sleep rhythms back in sync, people need to sleep-train their brains, according to clinical psychologist and sleep expert Michael Grandner, director of the sleep and heath research program at the University of Arizona, and the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Clinic at the Banner – University Medical Center Tucson.