Basketball star Jennifer Azzi to speak at the U

February 28, 2017

Former professional basketball player and coach Jennifer Azzi will speak at University of Utah’s 10th annual Edie Kochenour Memorial Lecture, March 3, 12-1:30 p.m. in the Union Saltair Room, 200 Central Campus Drive. Azzi’s talk will be followed by several breakout sessions from 1:45 to 3 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, […]



U partners with Salt Lake City School District to increase college access for west side students

February 27, 2017

The University of Utah recently launched a new initiative called Our CASA (Communities Aspiring, Succeeding, Achieving), with six spaces opening at school and community sites across the west side of Salt Lake City. This initiative is part of a partnership with Salt Lake City School District, University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) at the University of Utah, […]



How seawater strengthens ancient Roman concrete

February 24, 2017

Around A.D. 79, Roman author Pliny the Elder wrote in his Naturalis Historia that concrete structures in harbors, exposed to the constant assault of the saltwater waves, become “a single stone mass, impregnable to the waves and every day stronger.” He wasn’t exaggerating. While modern marine concrete structures crumble within decades, 2,000-year-old Roman piers and […]



Playing favorites: Brain cells prefer one parent’s gene over the other’s

February 24, 2017

SALT LAKE CITY – Most kids say they love their mom and dad equally, but there are times when even the best prefers one parent over the other. The same can be said for how the body’s cells treat our DNA instructions. It has long been thought that each copy – one inherited from mom […]



Stabilizing energy storage

February 21, 2017

Because the sun doesn’t always shine, solar utilities need a way to store extra charge for a rainy day. The same goes for wind power facilities, since the wind doesn’t always blow. To take full advantage of renewable energy, electrical grids need large batteries that can store the power coming from wind and solar installations […]



An Alternative to Opioids? Compound from Marine Snail Is Potent Pain Reliever

February 20, 2017

A tiny snail may offer an alternative to opioids for pain relief. Scientists at the University of Utah have found a compound that blocks pain by targeting a pathway not associated with opioids. Research in rodents indicates that the benefits continue long after the compound have cleared the body. The findings were reported online in […]



U law professor: Change rules of CRISPR patents to broaden possibilities of future scientific breakthroughs

February 16, 2017

New research published by University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Associate Professor Jorge Contreras in the journal Science today proposes that universities currently holding CRISPR patents open their licenses to broader segments of the biopharma industry — a change that could potentially lead to important discoveries for human health and medicine. “Because the potential for CRISPR as the […]



Scientists Discover How the Cells in Skin and Organ Linings Maintain Constant cell numbers

February 16, 2017

Research published today in Nature from scientists at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah shows how epithelial cells – such as skin cells – naturally turn over, maintaining constant numbers between cell division and cell death. In addition to skin, epithelial cells comprise skin-like linings that coat internal organs, giving organs a […]



Intensive Blood Pressure Control Could Prevent 100,000 Deaths Each Year

February 13, 2017

Researchers have projected that aggressively lowering blood pressure could help prevent more than 100,000 deaths in the U.S. each year. “The public health impact of adopting intensive treatment in the right patients is enormous,” says Adam Bress, University of Utah assistant professor of population health sciences. Bress and his fellow experts from institutions across the country built […]



“Field patterns” as a new mathematical object

February 13, 2017

University of Utah mathematicians propose a theoretical framework to understand how waves and other disturbances move through materials in conditions that vary in both space and time. The theory, called “field patterns,” published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society A. Field patterns are characteristic patterns of how disturbances react to changing conditions. Because field […]