University of Arizona in the News

Surveyor 2 crashed on the moon in 1966. Astronomers think they have spotted a piece of the mission that kept going deeper into space. Since September, scientists around the world have been investigating 2020 SO. Vishnu Reddy, a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and Adam Battle, a graduate student there, compared observations of 2020 SO with a known Centaur rocket booster orbiting just a few hundred miles above Earth. The optical colors matched, Reddy said, but sealing the deal would require infrared observations of 2020 SO.

Reentry Task Force Director Dr. Richard Carmona said any attempt at imposing a curfew requires a careful and comprehensive approach. "Does it have the potential to be beneficial? Yes, especially in communities where you see a rise in cases, and if that rise is associated with social activities at night, it is a way to deal with it," Carmona said. "The challenge is, how do you monitor it, and how do you enforce it?"

There's bad news for parents who frequently plop their kids in front of the TV to give themselves a break: It might actually end up leaving moms and dads more stressed. The findings come from a University of Arizona-led study, published in the International Journal of Advertising, that explores the potential effects of children's television watching habits on their parents' stress levels.

University of Arizona play-by-play announcer Brian Jeffries is interviewed about his experiences announcing football games amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeffries is announcing games by watching monitors inside Director of Athletics Dave Heeke's suite at Arizona Stadium.

Experts say brutal family infighting over politics during Thanksgiving is more myth than reality. "The vast majority of Americans have no interest in discussing politics," said Samara Klar, a professor of political science at the University of Arizona. "Politics is important when it arises, but for most people it's not something that they are excited to bring up at dinner."

"What many people are going to experience this year, for a variety of reasons, is that their holiday table is not going to be as full as it normally is," said Kory Floyd, an author and professor of interpersonal communication at the University of Arizona. "Many American households are going to experience a sense of deprivation this year."

Cities and universities across the world are looking into using wastewater-based epidemiology to track the spread of COVID-19. Ian Pepper, director of the WEST Center and a BIO5 Institute member, is leading a study that uses municipal wastewater to monitor the incidence of the virus in communities across the United States. In August, the University of Arizona used this process to identify and successfully quarantine two asymptomatic students during the first week of classes.

Public health officials have been pleading with Americans to stay home this year for Thanksgiving. And, despite busy airports this past weekend, most people plan to follow their advice, according to a huge survey asking Americans about their holiday plans. Early in the pandemic, there was a minimal partisan split on public health advice, said Samara Klar, an associate professor of political science at the University of Arizona. But she noted that diverging messages from political leaders have been mirrored by splits in support for public health measures and self-reported mask wearing.

University of Arizona professors Charles Gerba and Robert Glennon write that wastewater-based epidemiology, which tests raw sewage, has an important role to play in mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Studies have shown that testing wastewater offers an early warning signal that the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, is present in a community.

Millions of Americans are in danger of losing their homes when federal and local limits on evictions expire at the end of the year. A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the University of Arizona estimates that 6.7 million people could be evicted in the coming months. That would approach the number of people who lost their homes to foreclosure during the 2008 financial crisis and ensuing recession.