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From the College of Natural Sciences
Cosmic Dawn III Recreates the Early Universe Epoch of Reionization in Unprecedented Detail

Cosmic Dawn III Recreates the Early Universe Epoch of Reionization in Unprecedented Detail

The CoDa III simulation shows galaxies forming in the early universe along the filaments and knots of the “cosmic web.”

The Cosmic Dawn ("CoDa") Project, an international team of astrophysicists, recently reached a new milestone – CoDa III – the first trillion-element simulation of how the universe evolved in its first billion years. This is when galaxies formed and flooded the universe with enough UV starlight to ionize all its atoms and lift the fog that blocked our view. CoDa III is the most detailed and accurate simulation ever produced of this cosmic era, known as the Epoch of Reionization ("EoR"), aligning theoretical and observational data for the first time.

James Webb Telescope Reveals Milky Way-like Galaxies in Young Universe

James Webb Telescope Reveals Milky Way-like Galaxies in Young Universe

New images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) reveal for the first time galaxies with stellar bars — elongated features of stars stretching from the centers of galaxies into their outer disks — at a time when the universe was a mere 25% of its present age. The finding of so-called barred galaxies, similar to our Milky Way, this early in the universe will require scientists to refine their theories of galaxy evolution.

How a CRISPR Protein Might Yield New Tests for Many Viruses

How a CRISPR Protein Might Yield New Tests for Many Viruses

In this illustration based on cryo-electron microscope images, a Cas12a2 protein unzips a DNA double helix, allowing it to cut the single strands of DNA (blue and green). Credit: Jack Bravo/University of Texas at Austin

In a first for the genetic toolset known as CRISPR, a recently discovered protein has been found to act as a kind of multipurpose self-destruct system for bacteria, capable of degrading single-stranded RNA, single-stranded DNA and double-stranded DNA. With its abilities to target so many types of genetic material, the discovery holds potential for the development of new inexpensive and highly sensitive at-home diagnostic tests for a wide range of infectious diseases, including COVID-19, influenza, Ebola and Zika, according to the authors of a new study in the journal Nature.

Chemistry Researcher Earns Prestigious Allen Distinguished Investigator Award

Chemistry Researcher Earns Prestigious Allen Distinguished Investigator Award

Yi Lu, a professor of chemistry and the Richard J. V. Johnson – Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry, has been honored with an Allen Distinguished Investigator award, it was announced today.

Right Time, Right Place

Right Time, Right Place

​Like the Hubble Space Telescope before it, the James Webb Space Telescope has the potential to change the course of astronomy and inspire a new generation of astronomers.

Health Benefits of Wind Power Rely on Which Fossil Fuel Plants It Replaces

Health Benefits of Wind Power Rely on Which Fossil Fuel Plants It Replaces

Health benefits of using wind energy instead of fossil fuels could quadruple if the most polluting power plants are selected for dialing down, new study finds.

Oh Bee-have! UT Scientist’s Book for Children Highlights the Many Facets of Bees

Oh Bee-have! UT Scientist’s Book for Children Highlights the Many Facets of Bees

Felicity Muth

Felicity Muth, a UT Austin assistant professor of integrative biology whose work focuses on cognition, didn't always know what animal she would ultimately work with to better understand the living world.

Doctors and Patients Have a New Tool to Aid in Conversations About Diet

Doctors and Patients Have a New Tool to Aid in Conversations About Diet

Talking with patients about nutrition can be delicate, and few medical doctors have training in nutritional science. But now, physicians will be able to get assistance from a new artificial intelligence system designed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.

Amateur Scientists Have Helped Astronomers Identify Nearly a Quarter-Million Galaxies

Amateur Scientists Have Helped Astronomers Identify Nearly a Quarter-Million Galaxies

The Hobby-Eberly Telescope collects images that citizen scientists use to identify galaxies in the Dark Energy Explorers project.

Astronomers on a historically ambitious and massive galaxy-mapping mission have activated more than 10,000 amateur scientists in 85 countries to help in their quest. Now they hope to significantly scale up their volunteer force for a unique project that could reveal for the first time the nature of dark energy.

Dense Bacterial Populations Create Mutant Breeding Grounds for Antibiotic Resistance

Dense Bacterial Populations Create Mutant Breeding Grounds for Antibiotic Resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a global health threat and killed an estimated 1.27 million people in 2019. The overuse of antibiotic medication is often blamed for creating these deadly pathogens, but now scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have found a new contributor: bacterial swarms that create ideal breeding grounds to evolve antibiotic resistance, even in the absence of antibiotics. The scientists' findings suggest a potential chink in bacteria's armor that could offer new ways of reducing antibiotic-resistant infections by using a combination of already existing drugs.