University of Arizona in the News

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee has announced the national Top 30 honorees for the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year Award. University of Arizona diver Delaney Schnell is among the nominees.

Ancient caves mark the beginning of recorded burial rituals, but there's still so much we don't know about the history of human graves. "By at least 120,000 years ago we have what we believe are deliberately buried human bodies," said Mary Stiner, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona.

Experts say climate change is pushing the Sonoran Desert to the brink, with saguaro cacti as a bellwether of the impending disaster.

More than 270 reports of unidentified anomalous phenomena, known as UAPs or UFOs, were made to the U.S. government in a recent eight-month period, the Department of Defense said in a recent report to Congress. Chris Impey, Distinguished Professor of Astronomy at the University of Arizona, discusses the findings.

Research by University of Arizona professor of physics Johann Rafelski and undergraduate researchers Evan LaForge and Will Price into hypothetical super-heavy elements confirms the theoretical existence of a stable element with atomic number 164, well beyond the unstable, radioactive elements between atomic numbers 105 and 118, which have only ever been observed in laboratory settings.

Tucson makes this list of cities with universities that offer a plethora of recreational opportunities for students with outdoor interests.

Research led by University of Arizona associate professor of dendrochronology Bryan Black nearly pinpoints the dates of two large earthquakes that shook the Pacific Northwest in late 923 or 924 C.E. The team used underwater chainsaws to cut sections from trees preserved at the bottom of six lakes to identify when they fell and died.

The University of Arizona College of Engineering on Thursday signed onto a collaboration with the non-profit Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance to study U.S. capabilities in "near space" – the area 12 to 62 miles above the Earth's surface – and develop effective sensors for warning, tracking and targeting potential threats in that environment, as well as weapon systems to neutralize those threats.

Research led by University of Arizona researchers Mark Brusseau and Bo Guo found soils of all types serve as a "significant reservoir for PFAS" – so-called "forever chemicals" used widely in consumer and industrial products that have been linked to health issues including cancer, developmental effects and reproductive disorders – particularly in the vadose zone, the area just above the groundwater table.

New research published Wednesday in the journal Neurology links COVID-19 to an elevated risk of developing Guillain-Barré syndrome – which causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nerves – within six weeks after infection with the virus. "There are other viral illnesses that are associated with an increased risk of GBS. So, having this knowledge helps us when we assess patients and helps us as we counsel patients," said University of Arizona professor of neurology Dr. Holli Horak, who was not involved in the study.