Research News
Looking Deep Inside the Ancient Earth
With a mathematical time machine, UF Geologist Alessandro Forte and his collaborators reconstructed what the Earth's interior looked like 55 million years ago.
Corrupting the Immune System
New research from members of the Department of Biology at UF could help us to better understand Zika.
Civil Rights Bootcamp
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program hosted visiting West Point cadets for a crash course in racial equality, led by civil rights movement veterans and activists.
Ancient Mayan deforestation had long-term effects on watershed carbon cycles
Researchers: Mark Brenner, brenner@ufl.edu, 352-392-7226, Jason Curtis, curtisj@ufl.edu PIO: Rachel Wayne, 352-872-2620 The lowlands of Mexico and Guatemala experienced widespread deforestation by the Maya beginning about 4,000 years ago. The region has never fully recovered. Ancient Maya environmental impact provides a case study for the long-term effects of deforestation, and according to a new Nature […]
The Starving Snakes of Seahorse Key
Mysteriously vanished waterbirds. Cannibalistic snakes. An island with no freshwater except for rainfall. It may sound like a Crichton novel or SyFy original movie, but it’s the reality of Seahorse Key, part of the Gulf Coast Cedar Keys that University of Florida biologists have been researching since the 1930s, when the renowned late zoologist Archie Carr first began studying the unusually large cottonmouth population there.
Solving Cosmic Puzzles
Neutron stars are dead stars collapsed into the densest form of matter known to humans, with a teaspoon of neutron star matter weighing a billion tons, and their collision creates a swath of galactic debris. Decades ago, stargazing scientists formed plans to detect signals from this debris. Now, in the new era of aptly named “multi-messenger astronomy,” two international projects have achieved this goal: On August 17 of this year, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)’s two U.S.-based interferometers and the Virgo Collaboration’s Italy-based interferometer detected for the first time gravitational waves — ripples in space-time traveling at the speed of light — from the collision and subsequent merger of two neutron stars. The detection occurred just three days after yet another “chirp” from colliding black holes.
Bones Got Bite
Anthropological analysis of shark bites provides a new standard for forensic science.
A Route to Recovery
UF psychologist Lori Knackstedt studies an antibiotic that may cure cocaine addiction. Lori Knackstedt, professor of psychology, is seven years deep into research that’s yielded some surprising results: in cocaine-addicted rats, an antibiotic reduces their drug-seeking behavior and may prevent relapse. The drug Ceftriaxone appears to increase reuptake of glutamate, a neurotransmitter that regulates dopamine, […]
From K–T to Kermit
Among UF’s renowned team of extinction experts is David Blackburn, whose appreciation for frogs has led to his work on a groundbreaking new study. A paper published in July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that although frogs have been around for longer than dinosaurs, most of the world’s 6,700-plus living species of frogs evolved after a mass extinction 66 million years ago made way for new biodiversity.
Third Time’s a Charm
LIGO detects third set of gravitational waves from colliding black holes. UF physicists have played a key role in these detections.
Makin’ Waves
Marine biologist and UF Biology alumnus Mike Gil PhD’15 has been named a TED Fellow and is one of 21 international experts who will attend and speak at this year’s TEDGlobal, TED’s annual conference, which will take place in Arusha, Tanzania in August. “I'm truly honored by the distinction,” says Gil.
Professor of Anthropology Receives ACLS Fellowship
Professor of Anthropology Richard Kernaghan receives an ACLS fellowship for new book project.
You May Recycle, But You’re Still Not Cool
UF researchers conduct first implicit bias research on environmentalist attitudes and behaviors.
Professor of Chemistry Wins SEC Faculty Achievement Award
The Iron Man of UF has won again. Professor of Chemistry George Christou, known for his research in nano-magnets, has received the SEC Faculty Achievement Award for his accomplishments. The Southeastern Conference, an athletic association comprising 14 academic institutions, has honored one faculty member from each institution for the past six years. This year, they […]
Most dengue infections transmitted in or near home
Study findings could aid in interrupting transmission chains and reducing severe illness The majority of dengue virus infections appear to happen very close to home and are transmitted from the same family of mosquitoes, suggests new research led by the University of Florida and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings, published […]
Three Biology Faculty Named AAAS Fellows
Every year since 1874, the American Academy for the Advancement of Science names its fellows for significant contributions to society and technology. In 2016, its 391 fellows included five UF faculty, three of whom are from the Department of Biology: Prof. John “Jack” Ewel, Prof. Alice Harmon, and Prof. Robert D. Holt. Holt, Eminent […]
Professor of Political Science Receives National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship
Professor Leslie Elin Anderson investigates Nicaraguan politics. Professor of Political Science Leslie Elin Anderson has received a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities for her book project, Democratic Enclaves in Times of Trouble: The Politics of Resistance in Nicaragua. The fellowship is part of the NEH’s $16.3 million awarded in this grant cycle. […]
Professor of Archaeology Receives SEAC Lifetime Achievement Award
In October 2016, Dr. William H. Marquardt, Affiliate Professor of Anthropology and Curator of Archaeology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference in Athens, GA. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to a senior scholar who has made significant […]
Lessons Learned from Lives Lost
UF researchers uncover surprising patterns with the spread of the great flu of 1918 In 1918, an unusually deadly flu swept the world, claiming 50 to 100 million lives in a pandemic often called the Spanish flu. Kyra Grantz, a research assistant in UF’s Department of Biology and Emerging Pathogens Institute, hopes to help prevent […]
Election Experts
UF political science professors are a major resource for media. UF political science professors Daniel A. Smith and Michael McDonald have been featured as voting experts in nearly 60 news outlets — international, national, and regional — during the 2016 presidential campaign. Quoted directly or indirectly on a weekly, and recently daily, basis, the two […]