Utah’s Jordan River, according to University of Utah professor Jennifer Follstad Shah, is a hard-working river, supporting a growing population of more than 1 million people. But underneath all of the irrigation canals and reclamation discharge, new research shows, are natural water sources that continue to shape the character of the Jordan River. The study […]

University of Utah President Ruth Watkins has appointed Jennifer Mayer-Glenn as the new director of University Neighborhood Partners and special assistant to the president for campus-community partnerships. Mayer-Glenn will assume the position on July 1, 2019. She follows Sarah Munro, who has served as director of University Neighborhood Partners (UNP) since 2015 and has been […]

In countless grade-school science textbooks, the Earth’s mantle is a yellow-to-orange gradient, a nebulously defined layer between the crust and the core. To geologists, the mantle is so much more than that. It’s a region that lives somewhere between the cold of the crust and the bright heat of the core. It’s where the ocean […]

Cynthia Burrows, chair of the department of chemistry at the University of Utah, is the 2019 recipient of the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence, the U’s highest faculty accolade. The $50,000 cash award is presented annually to a faculty member who transcends ordinary teaching, research and administrative efforts. A group of distinguished faculty members on the […]

Contrary to what you may have been taught, water doesn’t always freeze to ice at 32 degrees F (zero degrees C). Knowing, or controlling, at what temperature water will freeze (starting with a process called nucleation) is critically important to answering questions such as whether or not there will be enough snow on the ski […]

Bring science to people where they are. That’s the driving philosophy that propels U biology professor Nalini Nadkarni to stretch the possibilities of science communication and bring the beauty of science to people and places that others have overlooked. Building public trust in science is about more than just providing information and improving science literacy, […]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects one in 10 women of reproductive age. It is characterized by irregular menstrual cycles, facial hair or acne and an increased number of eggs arrested in development. Many women also suffer from weight gain, Type 2 diabetes and depression. While first characterized by the medical community in the mid-1930s, few […]

If humanity is going to push the boundaries of space exploration, we’re going to need plants to come along for the ride. Not just spinach or potatoes, though—plants can do so much more than just feed us. A science experiment aiming to demonstrate plants’ capabilities in space has arrived at the International Space Station and […]

Air quality has been associated with numerous adverse health outcomes from asthma to pre-term birth. Researchers at University of Utah Health found women living along the Wasatch Front — the most populous region in the state of Utah — had a higher risk (16 percent) of miscarriage following short-term exposure to elevated air pollution. The […]

When your doctor asks how often you exercise, do you give her an honest answer? How about when she asks what you’ve been eating lately? If you’ve ever stretched the truth, you’re not alone. According to a new study, 60 to 80 percent of people surveyed have not been forthcoming with their doctors about information […]