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University of Notre Dame researchers have reported the discovery of a major population of the mosquito species Aedes aegypti, the species capable of carrying tropical diseases such as Zika virus, dengue fever and chikungunya, in a Capitol Hill neighborhood in Washington, D.C. To add insult to injury, the team identified genetic evidence that these mosquitoes have overwintered for at least the past four years, meaning they are adapting for persistence in a northern climate well out of their normal range.

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A team of researchers has observed the brightest ultra metal-poor star ever discovered. The star is a rare relic from the Milky Way’s formative years. As such, it offers astronomers a precious opportunity to explore the origin of the first stars that sprung to life within our galaxy and the universe.

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A common marketing message from consumer brands is "you will perform better with us." Research from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business examined whether using performance brands such as Nike and 3M had any effect on consumers' output.

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Scott Merrill, an architect known for his originality and creative application of architectural precedents, has been named the recipient of the 2016 Richard H. Driehaus Prize at the University of Notre Dame.

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“The Revenant,” a movie nominated for 12 Oscars including for best picture and best actor, is a film that takes liberties telling the true story of mountain man Hugh Glass. Jon Coleman, professor of history at the University of Notre Dame, says the fiction in the storytelling is, in a way, the "most historical part."

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Using web samples from black widow spiders fed with crickets, researchers at the University of Notre Dame have successfully used DNA samples to identify both the spider and the species of its prey. Such noninvasive sampling to obtain genetic information could have practical implications in several fields including conservation research and pest management.

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An unexpected bump in data from CERN's Large Hadron Collider is causing physicists to theorize about what caused it — with potentially exciting results. Adam Martin at the University of Notre Dame is part of a group of physicists offering theories about what it could mean.

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A five-year collaboration between the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame and the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, has resulted in a new, public dataset for researchers of democracy. The first of its kind, the newly released Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) dataset provides scholars with vast research opportunities on hundreds of aspects of democracy.

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Villages on the moon, constructed through cooperation between astronauts and robotic systems on the lunar surface, could become a reality as early as 2030. That’s the consensus of a recent international conference of scientists, engineers and industry experts, including Clive Neal, a University of Notre Dame planetary geologist.

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Researchers from the University of Notre Dame used the centrality of cellphones in college students’ lives to delve deep into students’ usage habits and how their social networks affect their everyday lives. Next, the researchers will apps and wearable devices to study whether social circles influence fitness.

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Joan Brennecke, Keating-Crawford Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, is the recipient of a $2 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant for research that could fundamentally change the way the country uses and produces energy.

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Jimmy Gurulé, professor of law in the University of Notre Dame Law School, with six other law professors, has filed an amici curiae, or friends of the court brief, on behalf of the families of the 241 U.S. servicemen killed in the 1983 truck-bombing attack on a Marine barracks in Beirut.

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How a mother discusses her own weight concerns in front of her daughter influences her daughter's body image, according to a study from the University of Notre Dame.

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Frank Incropera. former dean of the University of Notre Dame’s College of Engineering, acknowledges that it’s somewhat unusual for an engineer to delve deeply into the topic of climate change. Scientists, not engineers, have played the most prominent roles in the climate change debate to date. However, Incropera believes solving the problem going forward will require a joint effort from the two specialties.

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Did you receive affection, play freely and feel supported in childhood? Childhood experiences like these appear to have a lot to do with well-being and moral capacities in adulthood, according to University of Notre Dame researchers.

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New technology called spectral CT imaging allows clinicians to get a more complete picture of patients' health. The technology for colored imaging is not only on the horizon, but it is also on the University of Notre Dame’s campus, where researchers are giving the phrase “in living color” a new meaning.

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The enduring popularity of and interest in droids like C-3PO and R2-D2 speaks to the fascination many people have with robotics and artificial intelligence. Although no one will have their own C-3PO soon, a number of University of Notre Dame researchers are working to make droids more science fact than science fiction.

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Employee overqualification has been widely considered harmful for organizations, which is why most companies tend to screen out such job applicants. Research from the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business suggests, however, that hiring overqualified employees brings benefits.

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Ballot initiatives, those petition-driven public votes on contested issues, are often disparaged by liberals and conservatives alike for their avoidance of conventional representative democratic processes and their vulnerability to manipulation. However, researchers have found that people living in states that rely more heavily on those initiatives are, on average, happier, especially lower- and middle-income people.

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The John J. Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values at the University of Notre Dame has released its fourth annual list of emerging ethical dilemmas and policy issues in science and technology for 2016. This list is designed to get people thinking about potential ethical dilemmas before controversial science or technology goes mainstream.

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A large number of studies have shown that an increased body mass index is associated with a greater risk for ovarian cancer with worse overall survival. However, the influence of obesity on ovarian cancer metastasis had not been evaluated. Researchers from the University of Notre Dame and its affiliated Harper Cancer Research Institute set out to determine whether obesity contributes to ovarian cancer metastatic success. In other words, are tumor cells better able to successfully metastasize when the “host” is obese versus lean?

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How are Christians responding to persecution in Iraq, Syria, China, India and elsewhere around the world? An international conference to be held in Rome Dec. 10-12 will explore this question, at a time when violence against Christians around the world has increased sharply. The conference is the peak event of a three-year project studying Christian responses to persecution, where researchers will share their findings.

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An innovative project to help manage the European refugee crisis has recently been proposed by Richard M. Economakis, associate professor and director of graduate studies in the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture, and is now under consideration by officials of the United Nations, the European Union and the Greek government.

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Non-healing chronic wounds are a major complication of diabetes. The reasons why diabetic wounds are resistant to healing are not fully understood, and there are limited therapeutic agents that could accelerate or facilitate their repair. University of Notre Dame researchers have discovered a compound that accelerates diabetic wound healing, which may open the door to new treatment strategies.

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A new technological solution developed by researchers from the University of Notre Dame is aimed at enhancing the physical health, vitality and brain fitness of seniors residing in independent living communities.

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In the lead-up to 21st meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 21), 10 countries have come from behind to make marked progress in their ability to withstand the shocks and stresses of climate change, while five are distinctly less resilient, according to data released Nov. 17 by the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Index.

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University of Notre Dame researchers applied mathematical modelling to field data from several sites where lymphatic filariasis is endemic. They found that WHO's current program to eliminate LF is not enough to be successful in all areas, and make recommendations to eradicate the disease.

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When team members are motivated toward promoting the benefits of others, they are higher-performing and stay in their teams for a longer period, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Notre Dame and University of Illinois at Chicago.

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Media are invited to join ND-GAIN's 2015 Country Index Release via webinar

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Two University of Notre Dame anthropologists looked beyond the nuclear family for effects on testosterone levels in men and found that not only spouses, but also other relatives, good friends, colleagues, neighbors and fellow church members can play a role.

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As private school vouchers gain popularity and the financial implications become more complicated, one question remains: Where does the money spent by these programs ultimately go? University of Notre Dame researchers found that the programs raise a lot of money for schools.

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Police are less likely to show up at protests involving religious actors or organizations — unless the protesters are fundamentalist Christians, according to a new study. Notre Dame researchers found fundamentalist Christian groups attracted more police attention than either secular or other Christian groups.

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While much attention has been paid to how the Supreme Court decides its cases, far less attention has been paid to the question of which cases the Court chooses to decide — and which cases it chooses not to. Notre Dame law professors argue that the Court may not be living up to its purpose.