Latest News

• share
• favorite_border

University of Utah professor available to discuss college transfer and provide recommendations on how institutions can help students obtain degrees.

• share
• favorite_border

Students, and people in general, can tend to overestimate their own abilities. But University of Utah research shows that students who overcome this tendency score better on final exams. The boost is strongest for students in the lower 25 percent of the class. By thinking about their thinking, a practice called metacognition, these students raised their final exam scores by 10 percent on average – a full letter grade.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah David Eccles School of Business' Executive MBA program was ranked Top 25 in the U.S.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

In his new book available today, “New Children of Israel: Emerging Jewish Communities in an Era of Globalization,” Nathan Devir, assistant professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Utah, explores the next defining moment for the Jewish people — the inclusion of millions of unrecognized Jews from Africa and Asia.

• share
• favorite_border

University of Utah scientists gather with their peers in Provo, Utah, next week at the American Astronomical Society’s Division of Planetary Sciences annual meeting, Oct. 15-20. Below are summaries of presentations at the meeting, along with the time and date of the presentation and primary contact information.

• share
• favorite_border

After home mortgages, student loans are now the second largest consumer finance market in the country. Student debt is reshaping the way the American middle class approaches higher education, work, purchasing a home, and even retirement.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

University of Utah scientists have mapped the near-surface geology around Old Faithful, revealing the reservoir of heated water that feeds the geyser’s surface vent and how the ground shaking behaves in between eruptions. The map was made possible by a dense network of portable seismographs and by new seismic analysis techniques.

• share
• favorite_border

The 2017 hurricane season has highlighted the critical need to communicate a storm's impact path and intensity accurately, but new research from the University of Utah shows significant misunderstandings of the two most commonly used storm forecast visualization methods. The study, published in Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, looked at summary displays and ensemble displays for communicating information about a hurricane.

• share
• favorite_border

Many of the infotainment features in most 2017 vehicles are so distracting they should not be enabled while a vehicle is in motion, according to a new study by University of Utah researchers. The study, led by psychology professor David L. Strayer, found In-Vehicle Information Systems take drivers’ attention off the road for too long to be safe.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

The U-led study is the first attempt to map escape routes for wildland fire fighters from an aerial perspective. The researchers used LiDAR technology to analyze the terrain slope, ground surface roughness and vegetation density of a fire-prone region in central Utah, and assessed how each landscape condition impeded a person’s ability to travel.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law will officially unveil a new sculpture by Los Angeles-based Edgar Arceneaux, a rising star in the art world who has created an original work for the law school to represent Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic quote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Arceneaux will introduce the sculpture in a ceremony on the first floor of the law school, 383 S. University Street, from 5-6 p.m. on Sept. 28.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

A new study estimates employer-sponsored health plans spent at least $6 billion extra on infants born prematurely in 2013 and a substantial portion of that sum was spent on infants with major birth defects.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study demonstrates the strong influence ancestry plays in Americans’ interpretation of whether someone is black, white or multiracial, highlighting differences in the way race is socially constructed in the U.S. compared to other parts of the world.

• share
• favorite_border

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, released its annual report for 2016-17. It shows significant growth and achievements after opening the much anticipated Lassonde Studios building, a 160,000-square-feet student innovation center where all students are welcome to “live, create and launch.” Highlights for the year include top rankings for entrepreneurship education, praise from international news sources, 329 student startup teams formed, 7,800 college students participating, $663,000 in scholarships awarded, $369,000 in cash prizes awarded, 236 students trained on prototyping equipment and 32,000 feet of 3-D printer filament used.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Sweeping shots of majestic landscapes. Glaciers, forests and waterfalls. Research published today shows that these images, shown to people deprived of access to nature, can reduce tension, help defuse anger and make some of the harshest environments, like a solitary confinement cellblock in a maximum-security prison, a little easier to bear.

• share
• favorite_border

Dating websites often claim attraction between two people can be predicted from the right combination of traits and preferences, but a new study casts doubt on that assertion. The study, which used speed dating data, found a computer could predict who is desirable and how much someone would desire others — who’s hot and who’s not — but it could not unravel the mystery of unique desire for a specific person.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Epigenetics may explain how Darwin’s finches respond to rapid environmental changes.

• share
• favorite_border

University of Utah researchers led by chemical engineering and chemistry professor Marc has developed a rapid portable screening test for liver cancer that doesn’t involve sending a specimen to a blood lab and cuts the wait time for results from two weeks to two minutes, especially valuable for developing nations with little access to hospitals.

• share
• favorite_border

The study analyzed multiple species of Inga, a genus of tropical trees that produces defensive chemicals, and their various insect herbivores. The researchers found that closely-related plants evolved very different defensive traits. Additionally, their analysis revealed that herbivores may drive evolution of plant defenses, but may not show coevolutionary adaptations. Instead, they may ‘chase’ plants based on the herbivore’s own traits at the time they encounter a new host.

• share
• favorite_border

A new University of Utah-led study shows that targeted forest regeneration among the largest and closest forest fragments in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil can dramatically reduce extinction rates of bird species over time.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study offers insights into what people are deliberating about and what makes decisions about staying in or leaving a romantic relationship so difficult, which could help therapists working with couples and stimulate further research into the decision-making process.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah ranked 19th in the world on the Nature Index, a list of top institutions that produce the high-quality research behind commercialized goods and services. Measuring the impact of basic research on innovation, the list was commissioned by Nature Research, publisher of the top-tier scientific journal Nature and other publications.

• share
• favorite_border

A U-led team developed a method for analyzing DNA sequence data to reconstruct early history of archaic human populations, revealing an evolutionary story that contradicts conventional wisdom about modern humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans. The Neanderthal-Denisovan lineage nearly went extinct after separating from modern humans. Just 300 generations later, Neanderthals and Denisovans diverged around 744,000 years ago. The global Neanderthal population grew to tens of thousands of individuals living in fragmented, isolated populations.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

After participating in a single, 15-minute session of one of these mind-body therapies, patients reported an immediate decrease in pain levels similar to what one might expect from an opioid painkiller. This study is the first to compare the effects of mindfulness and hypnosis on acute pain in the hospital setting.

• share
• favorite_border

The Sorenson Impact Center and Social Finance have selected three organizations across the United States as winners of a nationwide Pay For Success competition.

• share
• favorite_border

Using sophisticated algorithms and a new fabrication method, a University of Utah team of electrical and computer engineers has discovered a way to create inexpensive full-color 2-D and 3-D holograms that are far more realistic, brighter and can be viewed at wider angles than current holograms.

• share
• favorite_border

In the most comprehensive review to date of studies on subjective well-being, a team of researchers conclude there is a connection between happiness and health in some instances — from better wound healing and immune system function to emotional resilience. The researchers say what’s needed now is more work to unravel when, how and what types of subjective well-being are most influential.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah’s J. Marriott Library created an interactive, geospatial archive depicting the story of Utah radioactive fallout related to atmospheric nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site.

• share
• favorite_border

New research from two University of Utah professors asserts 1966 U.S. Supreme Court decision that led to the creation of Miranda rights may today impede law enforcement’s ability to solve crimes.

• share
• favorite_border

A new research article proposes that more attention be given to what’s right with children who grow up in high-stress environments so their unique strengths and abilities can be used to more effectively tailor education, jobs and interventions to fit them. Stress-adapted children and youth possess traits — such as heightened vigilance, attention shifting and empathic accuracy — that aren’t tapped in traditional learning and testing situations. In addition, these skills may actually allow at-risk children to perform better than their peers from low-risk backgrounds when faced with uncertainty and stress.

• share
• favorite_border

Older Americans are cheating on their spouses more than their younger counterparts, with 20 percent of married Americans over age 55 reporting they’ve engaged in extramarital sex. Just 14 percent of those under age 55 say they’ve cheated

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have discovered the earliest evidence of wild potato use in North America. This is the first archaeological study to identify a spud-bearing species native to the southwestern United States, the Four Corners potato (S. jamesii), as an important part of ancient human diets.

• share
• favorite_border

While modern marine concrete structures crumble within decades, 2,000-year-old Roman piers and breakwaters endure to this day, and are stronger now than when they were first constructed. University of Utah geologist Marie Jackson studies the minerals and microscale structures of Roman concrete as she would a volcanic rock. She and her colleagues have found that seawater filtering through the concrete leads to the growth of interlocking minerals that lend the concrete added cohesion.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah announced that Elaine Clark, professor of educational psychology at the U, has accepted the appointment as the new dean of the College of Education. For a seamless transition, Clark will begin July 1 as the current dean, María Fránquiz, moves to her new position as deputy chief academic officer for Faculty Development and Innovation. 

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah has appointed Martell Teasley as the next dean of the College of Social Work. Teasley, who will begin his term on July 1, 2017, comes to the U from the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he served as chair of the Department of Social Work in the College of Public Policy for the past five years. His impressive array of experience also includes the development of a disaster management certificate program at Florida State University’s College of Social Work, employment as a drug and alcohol counselor, time as a licensed practical nurse and a decade of service with the U.S. Army.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have solved a decade-long puzzle about lithium, an essential metal in cellphone and computer batteries. Using extreme pressure experiments and powerful supercomputing, the international team has unraveled the mystery of the structure of lithium.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

While most startup companies are lucky to work in a dirty garage, 17 student startups at the University of Utah have dedicated space this summer at the new Lassonde Studios building. The teams are startups-in-residence in the Company Launch program provided by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a nationally ranked division of the David Eccles School of Business.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have long shown links between father involvement and daughters’ sexual behavior, with the standard explanation attributing that influence to shared genes that impact both a father’s behavior and relationships and his child’s problem behavior, including engaging in risky sex and affiliating with delinquent peers. But a new study led by a University of Utah researcher and published in Developmental Psychology suggests that even though genes likely play a part, they may not be the whole story.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Utah has launched a new center dedicated to providing a transformative influence on health care by unifying research on mindfulness and other integrative behavioral health interventions.

• share
• favorite_border

A University of Utah-led team has discovered that a class of “miracle materials” called organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites could be a game changer for future spintronic devices. Spintronics uses the direction of the electron spin — either up or down — to carry information in ones and zeros. A spintronic device can process exponentially more data than traditional electronics. The researchers discovered that the material possess two contradictory properties necessary to make spintronic devices work.

• share
• favorite_border