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From the College of Natural Sciences
Seductive Frogs and Sexual Selection
Integrative Biology

Seductive Frogs and Sexual Selection

In this video, we take a brief look at one of the ways that Darwin's theory of sexual selection plays out. Male túngara frogs, as biologist Mike Ryan has shown in pathbreaking experiments, can make themselves more attractive to females by making more complex calls. They also, as the video demonstrates, make themselves more vulnerable to the predati...
McDonald Observatory Introduces Dark Skies Initiative
College & Campus

McDonald Observatory Introduces Dark Skies Initiative

FORT DAVIS, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory is kicking off a campaign to promote awareness of the causes, effects and solutions to light pollution — stray light shone into the sky where it's wasted, rather than down on the ground where it's useful. The observatory will be promoting dark skies awareness through its ...
First Bytes Camp Introduces Girls to Computer Science in Effort to Close the Gender Gap in Technology
College & Campus

First Bytes Camp Introduces Girls to Computer Science in Effort to Close the Gender Gap in Technology

AUSTIN, Texas—The First Bytes Summer Camp, sponsored by The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Computer Science, will (this week) introduce high school girls to the field of computer science. During the free week-long camp on campus, select Texas high school girls will work together on computer projects, tour local technology companies, ...
The Making of a Bat-Man
College & Campus

The Making of a Bat-Man

For more than 35 years, neurobiologist George Pollak has been using echolocating bats to study the mammalian auditory system, trying to understand how the auditory system processes communication signals and how animals are able to associate a sound with its location in space. He’s done groundbreaking work in, among other areas, decoding the meaning...
Alices in Scienceland
College & Campus

Alices in Scienceland

Local high school students get an inside view of the physics life, thanks to the Alice in Wonderland program. For one month this summer, 11 girls from Austin-area high schools will get a taste of the physics good life as participants in the Alice in Wonderland program. The girls will even get paid a $1,000 stipend. The immediate goal of the program...
Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research
Chemistry

Highly Efficient Solar Cells Could Result from Quantum Dot Research

Conventional solar cell efficiency could be increased from the current limit of 30 percent to more than 60 percent, suggests new research on quantum dots led by chemist Xiaoyang Zhu.

Texas Marine Scientist Studies Oil Spill Effects on Oxygen Levels in the Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’
Marine Science

Texas Marine Scientist Studies Oil Spill Effects on Oxygen Levels in the Gulf of Mexico ‘Dead Zone’

Marine scientist Zhanfei Liu is studying the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on oxygen levels in the northern Gulf of Mexico in part through a recently received National Science Foundation grant for Rapid Response Research (RAPID).

Biologists Use Bacteria from Hot Springs to Reveal Clues To Evolution of Early Life and To Unlock Biofuels’ Potential
Molecular Biosciences

Biologists Use Bacteria from Hot Springs to Reveal Clues To Evolution of Early Life and To Unlock Biofuels’ Potential

A bacteria that lives in hot springs in Japan may help solve one of the mysteries of the early evolution of complex organisms, according to a study just published in PLoS Biology.

Adolescent Brains Biologically Wired to Engage in Risky Behavior, Study Finds
Neuroscience

Adolescent Brains Biologically Wired to Engage in Risky Behavior, Study Finds

There are biological motivations behind the stereotypically poor decisions and risky behavior associated with adolescence, new research from a neurobiologist reveals.

AMSA wins second annual College of Natural Sciences Service Award
Human Ecology

AMSA wins second annual College of Natural Sciences Service Award

AMSA volunteers pose for a picture in Nicaragua. For its work bringing one-on-one medical care to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the UT chapter of the American Medical Students Association (AMSA) has been awarded the second annual College of Natural Sciences Service Award. AMSA’s main goals are to bring together students who are interested in medic...