University of Arizona in the News

KGUN Jan. 16, 2023
Webb Space Telescope finds new planet

A University of Arizona researcher is part of the team that used the powerful new James Webb Space Telescope to find a new planet – LHS 475 b. Sarah Moran with the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory thinks one of the most interesting things about the planet is it being almost exactly the same size as Earth. "It's much hotter than Earth. It's about 600 degrees Fahrenheit, so way too hot to live on, but it's the same size, so in some ways very similar to Earth but in others completely different," said Moran.
Mashable Jan. 14, 2023
There are mysterious 'super-Earths' all over the galaxy

NASA reports identifying well over 5,000 exoplanets, with around one-third of them classified as "super-Earths" – worlds some 30-70% bigger than our own – some rocky (like Earth,) some composed of thick, swirling gases. Or both. University of Arizona Distinguished Professor of Astronomy Chris Impey suspects quite a few habitable super-Earths exist because having masses larger than Earth gives them better odds of holding onto a thick atmosphere, which protects them from harmful radiation and UV rays. Super-Earths may also hold onto bounties of water. "Water is not a rare ingredient in the cosmos," Impey added. "We don't know a lot about super-Earths, because we don't have one in our solar system."
CNN Jan. 13, 2023
Why no Pi? Variants are still stuck on Omicron even as coronavirus continues to mutate

XBB.1.5, the highly contagious COVID-19 sub-variant currently fueling a widespread rise in case numbers, evolved from the Omicron strain of the coronavirus. Omicron was so genetically distinct from previous strains, and so quickly crowded out other versions, it prompted scientists to adopt a new nomenclature. "I am actually fine with not giving new Greek letters to subvariants of Omicron," wrote University of Arizona professor of ecology and evolutionary biology Michael Worobey in a statement, adding he's fine not naming Pi until another true variant emerges and begins to spread.
The Conversation Jan. 12, 2023
NASA's busiest year in decades – an astronomer sums up the dizzying array of missions in 2022

Chris Impey, a Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, writes that NASA had a banner year in 2022, with many successful missions in what was one of the organization’s most active years in decades.
The Atlantic Jan. 11, 2023
Are our immune systems stuck in 2020?

In the two-plus years that COVID vaccines have been available in the U.S., the basic recipe has changed just once. But experts say SARS-CoV-2's evolutionary sprint might not be the only reason immunity can get bogged down. The body seems to fixate on the first version of the virus that it encountered, either through injection or infection – what researchers call "original antigenic sin." "I really, really hate that term," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona. Instead, Bhattacharya and others prefer to use more neutral words such as imprinting, evocative of a duckling latching onto the first maternal figure it spots.
Gizmodo Jan. 11, 2023
The year ahead in water and drought

Experts say 2022 was an exceptionally dry year, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects more drought coming for the U.S. Gizmodo lists Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center among the "people to follow" for readers who want to better understand water issues and water management policy.
BBC Sky at Night Jan. 11, 2023
These are the big space missions to watch out for in 2023

The University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission is included in a list of the most exciting space missions of 2023.
Newsweek Jan. 10, 2023
What Lake Mead needs to get water levels back up at drought-hit reservoir

Lake Mead will need more than just rainfall to replenish itself. Last year was the driest one yet for the reservoir, and the Bureau of Reclamation estimates 2023 will bring more of the same. "The Bureau of Reclamation's latest studies expect water flows to continue to decline in the Basin this year. It is easy to lose sight of this when we see the heavy rains and flooding in California, and the destruction they have brought to some communities," said University of Arizona professor of geography, development and environment Andrea K. Gerlak. "But we have a long way to go to begin to pull ourselves out of this 20+ year drought in the larger Colorado River basin."
NBC's Today Jan. 10, 2023
How to do CPR

Few people in the U.S. know the mechanics of how to give cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Additionally, untrained bystanders usually take too long to try find a pulse or they will misidentify their own pulse as the other person's, according to University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center.
The Atlantic Jan. 10, 2023
The 'buy now, pay later' bubble is about to burst

Many Gen Zers have rejected traditional credit in favor of new-age layaway programs. "We have sort of indoctrinated younger borrowers in the idea that having credit-card debt is bad," said University of Arizona marketing professor Anastasiya Ghosh. Ghosh's research involves polling consumers about which method of spending makes them feel the most guilty. "Credit cards are always the worst," she said. Conversely, when given the option between (a Buy Now, Pay Later program) and debit, shoppers made no moral distinction. Even the most prosaic items were fair game for financing. Ghosh had assumed people would tend to reserve BNPL "for (hedonistic) things that are harder to justify" – until a control group in one of her studies happily used it on groceries. "They felt absolutely nothing negative," she said, "which blew my mind."