University of Arizona in the News

University of Arizona associate professor of psychiatry Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the university's Sleep and Health Research Program, discusses the effects a lack of sleep has on human health, and the wider implications for economic activity.

University of Arizona professor of geography development and environment Jason Jurjevich recently unveiled a new interactive map that documents 56 years of race-based neighborhood covenants in the Tucson area. "It's been sobering," Jurjevich said. "I think what we're seeing in Tucson mirrors a lot of what we're seeing in other cities, in terms of the extent to which these were part of housing development."

A video posted to social media by a climate change skeptic with ties to the mining industry minimizes the significance of modern concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, which stand at roughly 420 ppm as of last month. However, all 40 glacial cycles (i.e. "ice ages") over the last roughly 2.6 to 2.7 million years likely began with CO2 concentrations below that threshold, according to University of Arizona professor of hydrology and atmospheric science Marcus Lofverstrom.

As Hurricane Idalia charges toward Florida, one factor that could amplify its effects on coastal communities is the unusually warm water in the Gulf of Mexico, which is partly the result of the sultry weather that has been smothering the South all summer. "The element of having really warm waters in the Atlantic during an El Niño climate pattern, we haven't really seen that before, not to this extreme," said Kim Wood, an associate professor of hydrology and atmospheric sciences at the University of Arizona.

Among nearly 800,000 people in the U.S. surveyed across 150 studies, just 29% reported completed a living will that detailed their care wishes, and only 33% designated a health care power of attorney, according to a 2017 review of previous research. University of Arizona professor of communication Jake Harwood recommends families shore up issues surrounding elder care and end-of-life issues when parents reach their 70s.

Over-pumping of groundwater supplies results in significant subsidence in many areas. Arizona, for example, has 169 miles of mapped earth fissures, according to the Arizona Geological Survey, an office at the University of Arizona.

The final rehearsal for the University of Arizona-led OSIRIS-REx mission takes place this week in Utah as a team from the university's Lunar and Planetary Lab, along with NASA and military specialists, prepare to collect samples from an asteroid after seven years of work.

State and federal agencies find themselves scrambling to combat rising deaths and injuries among people who work in triple-digit temperatures. Protections against extreme heat generally lag as a policy priority at all levels of government, according to University of Arizona assistant professor of planning and sustainable built environments Ladd Keith. But as heat waves get longer and hotter, that could change. "In some ways, we have a very long way to catch up to the governance gap in treating the heat as a true climate hazard," Keith said.

The University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine awarded degrees to its first graduating class on Aug. 24.

On Thursday, the inaugural class of the University of Arizona College of Veterinary Medicine enjoyed their Commencement ceremony at the Tucson Convention Center, marking the end of three years of hard work. More than 100 students received Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees.