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Fun With Chemistry (Audio)

Longer Acquaintance Levels the Romantic Playing Field

Partners who become romantically involved soon after meeting tend to be more similar in physical attractiveness than partners who get together after knowing each other for a while, a team at the University of Texas at Austin and Northwestern University has found.

New Device Bends Light at Sharp Angles

Most modern computers and communications devices use electrons to transmit and process information. But when they're crammed onto smaller and smaller devices, electrons become unruly, generating a lot of heat. Scientists have long dreamed of replacing electrons with particles of light called photons. Because photons don't generate much heat and move at light speed, computer chips could theoretically be made much smaller and faster than current chips.

Scientists Create New Tool to Study Emerging Materials for Spintronics

As traditional electronics begin to reach their physical limits of compactness and speed, scientists and engineers are looking for new ways to stay on track with Moore's Law. One possible solution is to develop spintronics, devices that use a property of electrons known as spin to represent the 0's and 1's in computers. A class of materials called topological insulators (TIs) might have the right properties for spintronics, but since they were discovered less than a decade ago, scientists still know little about their properties.

Corals Are Already Adapting to Global Warming, Scientists Say

Some coral populations already have genetic variants necessary to tolerate warm ocean waters, and humans can help to spread these genes, a team of scientists from The University of Texas at Austin, the Australian Institute of Marine Science and Oregon State University has found.

TIDES Helps Others Learn Science through Discovery

Not even a year old, the Texas Institute for Discovery Education in Science is opening its doors this summer to spread a message beyond the 40 acres about teaching through discovery.

UT Austin Ranks No. 19 in World for High-Impact Research

The University of Texas at Austin is ranked No. 19 in the world for high-impact science, according to the Nature Index.

Medication May Help Stop Drug and Alcohol Addiction

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have successfully stopped cocaine and alcohol addiction in experiments using a drug already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat high blood pressure. If the treatment is proven effective in humans, it would be the first of its kind — one that could help prevent relapses by erasing the unconscious memories that underlie addiction.

Military Children Will Receive More Support for Learning Math Under Dana Center Contract

The Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin has been awarded a $12.7 million contract by the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity to advance math education for children on U.S. military bases.

Welch Hall Renovations Approved

A building that is 85 years old – and home to a Chemistry Department ranked 12th in the nation – will receive much needed renovations, new laboratories and improved classroom spaces, thanks to the Texas Legislature.