University of Arizona in the News

CNET Jan. 21, 2021
NASA spots frosty changes in grinning Mars 'Happy Face Crater'

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter viewed the "Happy Face Crater" on Mars in both 2011 and 2020 and found some changes in its complexion. The spacecraft's HiRISE camera and its science team at the University of Arizona have witnessed all sorts of Martian wonders, from dust devil tracks to an avalanche in action.
The New York Times Jan. 19, 2021
New California variant may be driving virus surge there, study suggests

Researchers found that the variant originated in California and showed up in more than half of samples tested last week by researchers in Los Angeles. B.1.1.7 was in the United States in early November, according to a study posted online Tuesday by University of Arizona biologists Brendan Larsen and Michael Worobey. That would mean the variant had been circulating for two months before being detected. "I think we need to be careful before concluding that any particular lineage is spreading due to a transmission advantage rather than because it happened to ride a wave caused by human behaviors," Worobey said.
The Huffington Post Jan. 18, 2021
How solar panels could help save struggling farms

Building resilience in renewable energy and food production is a fundamental challenge in today's changing world, especially in regions susceptible to heat and drought. Agrivoltaics, the co-locating of agriculture and solar photovoltaic panels, offers a possible solution, with new University of Arizona-led research reporting positive impacts on food production, water savings and the efficiency of electricity production.
Bloomberg Jan. 17, 2021
COVID Q&A : Will vaccines bring life back to normal?

It is important to maintain practices such as social distancing to protect those for whom the vaccine might not work. "When community transmission rates are very high, as they are now, you will hear of people getting infected even after the vaccines," said Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona. "But as more and more people get vaccinated, the chances of that happening will drop by a lot. At that point, we can very much look forward to going out to dinner, etc., and still be safe."
Arizona Daily Star Jan. 17, 2021
Former Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild: Kicking off the UA's Participatory Democracy Initiative

The University of Arizona College of Law, the School of Journalism, and the School of Government and Public Policy have launched a Participatory Democracy Initiative. Former Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild writes that the purpose of the initiative is to make a difference in practice by educating and developing students and the community to find ways out of the partisan thicket and share a common foundation for debate and rationally engaging in the challenges that lie ahead.
The Associated Press Jan. 15, 2021
Arizona research to study coronavirus spread in Yuma sewage

Gov. Doug Ducey announced $500,000 to fund a wastewater testing pilot project to provide early detection of COVID-19 throughout Yuma County. The project is a partnership with Yuma County Public Health Services District, the University of Arizona, and the Arizona Department of Health Services. It builds on the success of wastewater testing at University of Arizona dormitories to identify potential outbreaks, and will help the county further understand how wastewater testing may be used to inform public health in rural Arizona communities.
NPR Jan. 15, 2021
Mask-wearing, social distancing improve, but too slowly, survey shows

Americans are being more careful to avoid catching and spreading the coronavirus but are still not being careful enough to slow the pandemic, especially with worrisome, apparently more contagious new variants looming. That's the conclusion of the latest findings, released Friday, from the largest national survey tracking behavior during the coronavirus pandemic. "It was a bit startling to see how many people spent time indoors with someone outside their household," said Saskia Popescu, an epidemiologist at the University of Arizona.
USA Today Jan. 12, 2021
Far out: Astronomers discover the oldest, most distant 'supermassive' black hole and quasar in the universe

A team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona has observed the most distant quasar to date. Fully formed just 670 million years after the Big Bang and powered by the earliest known supermassive black hole, the quasar provides insight into the formation of massive galaxies in the early universe.
University Business Magazine Jan. 12, 2021
How 2 universities are joining COVID vaccination effort

The University of Arizona will serve as a point of distribution for COVID-19 vaccinations in Pima County beginning Jan. 22.
The Associated Press Jan. 11, 2021
10 winners announced for I Love My Librarian Award

Naomi Bishop, an associate librarian, at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Library in Phoenix, is one this year's I Love My Librarian Award winners, presented by the American Library Association and sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Each honoree receives $7,500, and a $750 donation to their library. The winners are nominated by library patrons for "expertise, dedication and profound impact" on their communities. Bishop was one of 10 winners for being "a champion for social justice."