University of Arizona in the News

Hundreds of people gathered at the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall Friday as students in the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine celebrated their white coat ceremony, marking the start of their clinical year. "They're ready. They learned what they need to know, so now, (they will) open up their minds and their hearts, and work with the veterinarians and their practices to really do their best for animals and their clients," said the dean of college, Julie Funk.

As unrelenting heat scorches Arizona, some entomologists worry about the tolerance of honeybees – a species vital to our ecosystem, especially food production. Arizona honeybees battle the heat by using water and their wings to keep their hives at a temperature between 92 and 104 degrees, explained University of Arizona entomologist Shaku Nair. However, with temperatures so high, there’s only so much they can do. "It's a very major concern," she said. "Honeybees can forage up to 113 degrees.

In the last few months, artists such as Cardi B, Harry Styles and Kelsea Ballerini have all had objects chucked at them while performing. Jennifer Stevens Aubrey, a professor of communication at the University of Arizona whose area of expertise includes media effects and audience behaviors, believes two COVID-related factors are at play. First, an erosion of manners and etiquette after a long hiatus from public life, and next the strengthening of parasocial relationships during the pandemic. Fans feel they know performers, and in their minds, they have a friendship.

Jonathan Bean, associate professor of architecture, sustainable built environments and marketing at the University of Arizona, writes that building codes and rental rules could be greatly improved for comfort by regulating mean radiant temperature rather than air temperature.

This column includes a review of "The Grieving Brain" by University of Arizona associate professor of psychology Mary-Frances O’Connor, director of the Grief, Loss and Social Stress Laboratory.

In a college sports landscape where the only stable thing seems to be instability, the third straight summer of realignment rages on, with all eyes now on the state of Arizona to see whether one, or both, of the Pac-12 schools will follow Colorado’s lead and bolt to the Big 12.

University of Arizona researchers have made a novel discovery regarding rhythmic brain signals known as theta oscillations. Those neural dances, primarily observed in the hippocampus, were previously thought to be driven mostly by external events. However, the study revealed that memory recall actually stirs up more of these oscillations than real-time experiences. This research carries implications for novel therapeutic strategies in conditions affecting memory, such as seizures, stroke and Parkinson's disease.

August will open and close with a pair of "supermoons" – when the moon appears full while also nearing its closest point to Earth – with the first occurring tonight and the second Aug. 30. A supermoon can be up to 30% brighter and appear about 14% larger than full moons that occur at the farthest point from Earth, but instances where the moon appears largest typically occur when it is close to the horizon, creating an optical illusion.

The most powerful person in college athletics at the moment is a cardiac surgeon turned hospital administrator turned president of the University of Arizona. Dr. Robert Robbins is his name and in the conference realignment game his opinion on the future for Wildcat athletics will shape the look of college sports in the future.

When the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft delivers its precious asteroid samples to Earth on Sept. 24, two University of Arizona researchers will be among the first to examine the scientific treasure trove. Professor of planetary sciences Thomas Zega and assistant professor of planetary sciences Pierre Haenecour from the university’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory are part of NASA’s "quick-look team," a small group of researchers assigned to conduct the first science on what the spacecraft collected from the asteroid Bennu.