University of Arizona in the News

A week after collecting a sample from the near-Earth asteroid Bennu, NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft will stow the sample to protect it from leaking into space on Tuesday.

University of Arizona Heath Sciences researchers developed one of the most accurate COVID-19 antibody tests available and now have shown antibodies persist for months after infection, providing long-term immunity.

A few months ago, University of Arizona alumna Victoria Yarnish used her iPhone to snap some photos of a coworker wearing a bandanna over her nose and mouth. That casual photo shoot became the inspiration for artwork now gracing the cover of the first-ever Time magazine issue in which its own logo is replaced with another word: VOTE.

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.

A column argues in favor of the benefits of running for people working at home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers from the University of Arizona note that while exercise is beneficial in many ways, what may be especially valuable "during this pandemic is its ability to both enhance immune defense and mitigate the deleterious effects of stress on immunity."

Boeing and researchers at the University of Arizona say their experiment with a live virus on an unoccupied airplane proves that the cleaning methods currently used by airlines are effective in destroying the virus that causes COVID-19.

Cities, universities and health officials are pushing the public to avoid big parties and consider new ways of celebrating Halloween. After a Labor Day-fueled coronavirus surge at the University of Arizona, President Robert C. Robbins said the institution is putting on a massive campaign to cut down big Halloween parties with help from the local police, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, and the Pima County Health Department.

In Judith Su's Little Sensor Lab, researchers are working to sense tiny amounts – down to a single molecule – of everything from doping agents to biomarkers for cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Lyme disease and COVID-19.

NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission is working to analyze material from a sample that scientists say may hold clues on the origins of the planets.

The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine opened in August. It is among the programs that have stopped requiring applicants to have a minimum number of hours of clinical experience. Instead, applicants can explain how they have found success in the face of hardship or how they have adapted to change. Of the 110 students in its inaugural class, 33% were minorities, officials say. "We should not exclude someone from our profession just because they may come from an underserved community," said Dr. Julie Funk, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.