University of Arizona in the News

Universities are pioneering technology that could help society combat the pandemic.

Lute Olson led the Wildcats to 23 consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament, winning the championship in 1997.

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.

"While a state-level mandate may have been more effective, I do sometimes wonder if the decentralization and ability to tailor the mandate to a specific community's needs may have led to more buy-in and uptake of masks overall," said Kacey Ernst, director of the epidemiology program at the University of Arizona's Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. "I have been impressed with the sharp increase in mask use that I personally witnessed."

"I was so sorry to learn of the passing of Hall of Fame coach Lute Olson, who was one of the classiest guys I've met in my 42 years in broadcasting," writes ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale.

A University of Arizona-led team has nailed down the temperature of the last ice age – the Last Glacial Maximum of 20,000 years ago – to about 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

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.

University of Arizona immunobiologist Deepta Bhattacharya and New York Times science journalist Katherine J. Wu are interviewed about the complicated and varied response of the immune system to SARS-CoV2 – and why current research suggests we can be optimistic about gaining long-lasting immunity from future COVID-19 vaccines.

SaiOx, a Tucson-based technology startup, has received a patent from the U.S. Patent Office for its new respiratory assist device aimed at assisting COVID-19 patients. The device, Hespiro, delivers both helium and oxygen to the user while capturing exhaled gas in a closed-off "rebreather" system. It was developed by Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, a University of Arizona pulmonologist, and Dr. Marvin J. Slepian, a Regents Professor and cardiologist in the Sarver Heart Center.

"A common mistake is to get excited and be chasing things that may seem esoteric, and to abandon the things we know work well," said Dr. Christian Bime, a researcher and ICU medical director at the University of Arizona. "Good old-fashioned public health may seem boring, but it works."