February 5, 2026 Above: Badomero “Toto” Olivera. Photo Credit: Todd Anderson Baldomero ‘Toto’ Olivera named inaugural K. Gordon Lark Chair of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah. Gordon Lark. Photo credit: Larry Okun The University of Utah has named Distinguished Professor Baldomero “Toto” Olivera the inaugural recipient of the K. Gordon Lark Endowed Chair […]
Read MoreFebruary 5, 2026 Above: Jessica Brown, speaker at Science@Breakfast Jessica Brown started her Science@Breakfast talk January 29, 2026 with a simple task she asked of the audience—take a single deep breath. After the collective room inhaled and exhaled, Brown quickly mentioned, “And now I will let you know that you have each inhaled up to […]
Read MoreFebruary 2, 2026 Researchers analyzed samples of Utahns’ hair going back a century to document a 100-fold decrease in lead concentrations. Prior to the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, Americans lived in communities awash with lead from industrial sources, paint, water supply pipes and, most significantly, tailpipe emissions. A dangerous neurotoxin that accumulates […]
Read MoreOctober 16, 2025 Above: The Thinker, by Auguste Rodin For the first time, scientists can freeze-frame the exact moment an animal makes up their mind and commits to a choice—simply by looking at their brain activity. In the new study led by Princeton University, researchers used AI to trace the trajectory of decision making in […]
Read MoreMay 20, 2025 Above: Thure Cerling Whether it’s roadkill livestock or his own beard hairs, Thure Cerling’s keen eye for objects to analyze has led to scientific discoveries, both unexpected and groundbreaking. Over the course of an academic career spanning five decades, the University of Utah geoscientist has developed numerous forensic tools, such as isotope […]
Read MoreMay 7, 2025 Salt Lake City—The office of the Governor of Utah announced that University of Utah biologist M. Denise Dearing is this year’s recipient of the prestigious 2025 Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology in the Academia/Research category. The selection for this significant honor follows a rigorous process involving peer nominations, evaluation by […]
Read MoreMay 2, 2025 Cholera kills thousands of people and infects hundreds of thousands every year—and cases have spiked in recent years, leaving governments with an urgent need to find better ways to control outbreaks. Current public health guidelines discourage treating cholera, a severe diarrheal disease caused by waterborne bacteria, with antibiotics in all but the most […]
Read MoreAdapted from a press release produced by the University of Michigan. The power of a rattlesnake’s venom to incapacitate its prey may depend on more than just its potency, or even the prey animal’s tolerance for the poison. According to a new study published Tuesday in Biology Letters, it also depends a bit on the weather. “Even across […]
Read MoreJanuary 13, 2025 Above: Luiza Aparecido Luiza Aparecido is a new assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences and an expert in plant ecophysiology, focusing on how plants respond to a changing climate. Born and raised in the São Paulo State in Brazil, her journey to the University of Utah is rooted in her […]
Read MoreCalifornia’s Caldor Fire burned more than 220,000 acres in the Sierra Nevada in 2021, destroying more than 1,000 structures. Photo by Acacia England, U.S. Forest Service. U biologist Jon Wang, with UC Irvine colleagues, uses satellite imagery to document the growing destructiveness of Western wildfires since 1980. Wildfires continue to damage California’s forests as human-driven […]
Read MoreSeptember 25, 2024 Above: Eleinis Ávila-Lovera Like all living things, plants have to respond and adapt to various stressors in their environment. But unlike most living things, plants must cope with these issues while being completely immobile. This stalwart resilience fascinated Eleinis Ávila-Lovera in her undergraduate years, an interest that has guided her entire educational journey as a […]
Read MoreSeptember 17, 2024 As Utah’s Great Salt Lake shrinks, exposing more of its playa, concerns grow about the dust the dry lakebed emits. But scientists lack the data to fully understand what pollutants are present in these airborne sediments. Researchers from the University of Utah, including atmospheric scientist Kevin Perry and biologist Michael Werner, are […]
Read MoreSBS’s “Highly-Cited” researchers spur collaboration in forest science Banner Photo Credit: Rob DeGraff via Flickr The first scientific journal, still in print, was launched in 1665 by the Royal Society in London, but peer review and the ubiquitous citations we’ve come to expect in research documents are a relatively recent innovation. According to the Broad […]
Read MoreSBS gathered December 15, 2022 to remember the life and legacy of the late K. Gordon Lark, founder of the Department of Biology, now the School of Biological Sciences. The event, chaired by professor and former SBS chair/co-chair of SBS Neil Vickers, included prepared remarks by Baldomero “Toto” Olivera and Nobel laureate Mario Capecchi. Both […]
Read MoreA RETROSPECTIVE VIEW by Baldomero Olivera I have no formal academic training in pharmacology. It’s no surprise, therefore, that my path to a research career in this field has been idiosyncratic. Ultimately, my increasing involvement with pharmacological science came about because it was the indispensable scientific discipline required. At critical moments in my scientific life, […]
Read MoreThe School of Biological Sciences has appointed Ofer Rog, assistant professor of biology, as the Mario Capecchi Endowed Chair. The prestigious three-year faculty appointment will allow Rog to continue his work researching chromosomes, the entities that hold genetic information. The University of Utah established the chair to honor Utah’s first Nobel laureate, Mario Capecchi, through […]
Read MoreEarlier this year, when BioKids was awarded a half-million-dollar stabilization grant, where those monies were allocated spoke to the ethic of this celebrated childcare and pre-school at the School of Biological Sciences. “My first priority was to take care of our staff—to ensure they are receiving equitable wages and benefits,” says Christine Medina, Director. “They […]
Read More“I took two years off following my bachelor’s in education,” says Jon Groot, PhD. “All I knew was that I wanted to learn more. [I had] no end point in mind. I was just going for what interested me.” The Salt Lake City native moved to Seattle and spent four months in Asia, including Japan […]
Read MoreNorman Negus passed away just shy of his 96th birthday, after a busy and productive life. Born in Portland OR, as a young man, he served during WWII in the Army Air Corp. He then entered Miami University (Ohio) where he earned his Bachelor’s (1948) and Master’s degrees (1950) in Zoology. He was awarded the […]
Read MoreThese scientific breakthroughs led to the development of a bladeless LASIK procedure, paper microscopes, and the discovery of a non-opioid pain reliever hidden in the venom of cone snails WASHINGTON, D.C. – On September 14, 2022, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society, hosted the 11th annual […]
Read MoreForests are engaged in a delicate, deadly dance with climate change, hosting abundant biodiversity and sucking carbon dioxide out of the air with billions of leafy straws. They can be a part of the climate solution as long as global warming, with its droughts, wildfires and ecosystem shifts, doesn’t kill them first. Top Photo: William […]
Read MoreAnts are among the most numerous insects in the world, numbering from 10-100,000 trillion individuals globally with more than 10,000 species. But you don’t have to tell that to John “Jack” Longino, professor of biology. Known affectionately as “Ant Man” in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Utah and beyond, Longino is […]
Read MoreEmeritus Faculty Dr. Robert Kingston Vickery Jr, 99, passed away July 20, 2022 in Salt Lake City after a life full of adventures, accomplishments and love. “Bob was an internationally recognized Plant Geneticist and Chair of the Department of Genetics, one of the traditional Departments at Utah that were merged to form the Biology Department,” […]
Read MoreDistinguished Professor Baldomero Olivera is featured in the Filipino Postal Office’s “Living Legends” commemorative stamp series. Affectionately referred to as “Toto,” Olivera has pioneered research on marine cone snails, demonstrating the therapeutic potential of their venom, already resulting in an FDA-approved drug. The University of Utah’s biochemistry and pharmacy departments (UofU Health) are currently expanding […]
Read MoreThreats impacting forests are increasing nationwide. by Paul Gabrielsen Planting a tree seems like a generally good thing to do for the environment. Trees, after all, take in carbon dioxide, offsetting some of the emissions that contribute to climate change. But all of that carbon in trees and forests worldwide could be thrown back into […]
Read MoreFUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS REMAIN ABOUT WHAT FACTORS LIMIT TREE GROWTH. A NEW SBS STUDY MAY HOLD ANSWERS. TOP PHOTO CREDIT: Antoine Cabon A conifer forest in Northern California. by Paul Gabrielsen science writer, University Marketing & Communications What will happen to the world’s forests in a warming world? Will increased atmospheric carbon dioxide help trees grow? […]
Read MoreThure E. Cerling, Distinguished Professor of Biology, is the 2022 recipient of the Rosenblatt Prize for Excellence. by Paul Gabrielsen science writer, University Marketing & Communications Cerling is also department chair of the Department of Geology & Geophysics, Francis H. Brown Presidential Chair, and Distinguished Professor of Geology and Geophysics. The Rosenblatt Prize is the […]
Read MoreThe Leonardo Museum of Creativity & Innovation awards the innovation and dedication of a distinguished American ecologist March 22, 2022—Each year, The Leonardo presents the Leonardo Award to an individual who has demonstrated a lifelong sense of curiosity and learning, and whose work inspires the creative potential in others. The award reflects the museum’s dedication […]
Read MoreFor much of history, tree canopies were pretty much completely ignored by science. It was as if researchers said collectively, “It’s just going to be empty up there, and we’ve got our hands full studying the trees down here! So why bother?!” Listen to the podcast here: But then, around the mid-1980s, a few ecologists […]
Read MoreSBS and the University of Utah welcome SBS’s newest faculty, Assistant Professors Chan Yul Yoo and Heejin Yoo. Their research is in the areas of plant biology and Ecology/Evolution and both are positioned in the Molecular, Cellular & Evolutionary Biology Program (MCEB) The Yoos come to us from Oklahoma State University. They earned their PhDs at Purdue University. Chan […]
Read MoreFour University of Utah scientists have been selected as 2021 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The awardees are materials science professor Ling Zang of the College of Engineering, and three faculty from the School of Biological Sciences: Distinguished Professor M. Denise Dearing and Professors Dale Clayton and Kelly Hughes. […]
Read MoreThe expanding CRISPER-Cas universe continues to provide new tools for manipulating genomes in animals. James “Jamie” Gagnon who currently holds the Mario Capecchi Endowed Chair at the School of Biological Sciences understands that embryonic cells “talk” to each other to coordinate the construction process. “Cells are master linguists – they use dozens of different languages, […]
Read MoreIn new paper, co-authored by SBS Professor, engineers discover what makes a tree-killing fungus so hard to put down. By Vince Horiuchi | public relations associate, College of Engineering University of Utah It’s called Armillaria ostoyae, and it’s a gnarly parasitic fungus with long black tentacles that spread out and attack vegetation with the ferocity […]
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