University of Arizona in the News

The Conversation Oct. 1, 2021
Monsoons make deserts bloom in the US Southwest, but climate change is making these summer rainfalls more extreme and erratic

University of Arizona researchers Christopher L. Castro and Diana Zamora-Reyes write that monsoon prediction is becoming more complicated due to climate change.
Inside Science Sept. 30, 2021
How tree rings can encode a violin's age and place of origin

A stringed instrument holds many clues about when and where it might have been made. The wear on the body, the opacity of the wood and the type of varnish used, for example, can all hint at its origin. In recent decades, a technique called dendrochronology, which dates an instrument using the tree rings on its body, has gained popularity. When Paul Sheppard, a dendrochronologist at the University of Arizona dates violins, he starts by looking at the instrument under a microscope and marking off sets of 10 rings with sticky notes, which won't damage the instrument. Then, he measures the width of each ring. "The craftsmanship of the violin-makers is so extraordinary that … it's pretty easy to count the rings and see them," said Sheppard.
The New York Times Sept. 30, 2021
A strange comet erupted 4 times in a 'super outburst'

Comet 29P is already known as one of the solar system's oddest icy objects, but the light show it put on in recent days has surprised astronomers. While each comet is novel in its own way, Comet 29P/Schwassmann-Wachmann – or 29P – is "odd on many levels," said Kacper Wierzchoś, an astronomer at the University of Arizona. Despite being 560 million miles from the sun, 29P is in a state of near-constant fury, frequently blasting gas and dust into the enveloping dark. "No other known comet in the solar system undergoes outbursts with such frequency and intensity," Wierzchoś said.
BizTucson Sept. 29, 2021
Construction begins on Grand Challenges Research Building

Construction is underway on the University of Arizona's new $99 million, seven-story Grand Challenges Research Building, which will house laboratories and flexible research space for cross-campus interdisciplinary programs designed to address society's most pressing questions, possibilities and issues as they arise and evolve.
BYU Radio Sept. 27, 2021
James Webb Telescope

Marcia Rieke, a Regents Professor of Astronomy with the University of Arizona, is interviewed about the development and construction of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Smithsonian Magazine Sept. 27, 2021
Are these snail shells the world's oldest known beads?

Shell beads recovered from a cave in western Morocco suggest humans' use of jewelry may go back much farther than previously thought. A study published in the journal Science Advances by a team of archaeologists led by University of Arizona professor Steven L. Kuhn estimates the beads to be between 142,000 and 150,000 years old. "They were probably part of the way people expressed their identity with their clothing," Kuhn said. "They're the tip of the iceberg for that kind of human trait. They show that it was present even hundreds of thousands of years ago, and that humans were interested in communicating to bigger groups of people than their immediate friends and family."
WIRED Sept. 25, 2021
Valley fever is spreading through a hotter, drier Western US

An article examining a nearly certain role of climate change in a rise in cases of the deadly fungal disease credits the presence of the University of Arizona's Valley Fever Center for Excellence for helping facilitate collaboration between doctors and researchers across counties and developing strategies for diagnosing and treating Valley fever.
NPR Sept. 25, 2021
Booster shots are coming. Here's how to figure out if you need one

University of Arizona immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya said it remains unknown how long the extra protection of a COVID-19 booster shot will last. "The question sort of becomes, when do we need a booster versus when do we want one. I think that's the distinction we need to have right now. Getting a booster to stop a cold or mild flu-like illness, that's a different thing than worrying about whether or not you might survive the illness."
CNN Sept. 24, 2021
Stop making employees turn on webcams during meetings

Turning your camera off during virtual meetings can help reduce "Zoom fatigue," suggests new research by Allison Gabriel, McClelland professor of Management and Organizations and University Distinguished Scholar in the University of Arizona Eller College of Management.
NPR Sept. 24, 2021
Study follows ancient footprints in New Mexico to major scientific find

According to a paper published Sept. 23 in the journal Science, fossilzed footprints were pressed into the mud near an ancient lake at White Sands, New Mexico between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago, a time when many scientists think that massive ice sheets walled off human passage into North America. Unlike other pre-Clovis sites, there's no doubt humans left tracks at White Sands: "It's just screamingly obvious," says study author Vance Holliday, an archaeologist and geologist at the University of Arizona.