A gathering place for great minds
(7/23/2008) The U's William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute has had a distinctly cosmopolitan flavor since it opened more than 20 years ago. Its leading researchers come from Russia, and they study mathematical models and abstractions of physics that lay the groundwork for advances in a large number of technologies that affect our lives.

Starwatch 2008 August
(7/18/2008) Most of the planets have taken the summer off, leaving their king, Jupiter, to reign in solitary splendor.

Lions caught in the crossfire
(7/15/2008) A study by University lion researcher Craig Packer and colleagues points to climate change as the agent that set African lions up for fatal infections. More such events can be expected as global warming continues.

Centaurus on the road
(7/14/2008) The University of Minnesota's solar car, Centaurus, is on its way to Calgary, Alberta, with stops in Sioux Falls and Fargo. The vehicle is one of 26 competing in the 10-day 2008 North American Solar Challenge.

Ambition without borders
(7/11/2008) University of Minnesota senior Anh Tran, who founded the first-ever chapter of Biology Without Borders, has recently earned a 2008 Howard R. Swearer Student Humanitarian Award from Campus Compact.

An evolving science
(6/30/2008) Talks at the University-hosted Evolution 2008 conference raised a plethora of intriguing questions about how organisms adapt and change. Here are some of the themes, including a note on what is believed to be an actual mechanism of genetic mutation.

UMD professor is real-life Indiana Jones
(6/27/2008) UMD Regents Professor Emeritus of geoarchaeology Rip Rapp's work compares in many ways to the swashbuckling hero of the latest hit movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, starring Harrison Ford. Rapp is also one of seven international archaeologists highlighted in a recently launched online report by the National Science Foundation.

New Medical Devices Center opens
(6/25/2008) A new, state-of-the-art laboratory facility at the University of Minnesota opened its doors on June 24, offering the public a glimpse at the future of medical device innovation.

Dr. Tatiana, sex therapist to the animal kingdom, to speak at U
(6/17/2008) Animals (and plants) have evolved innumerable ways to seduce each other. Evolutionary biologist Olivia Judson will explore some in a June 22 talk at the U.

Collision course
(6/17/2008) Architectural designs pleasing to humans are often deceptive to birds--sometimes with fatal consequences. The Bell Museum's Bob Zink is leading a study on bird-building collision and their effect on bird populations.

Leading the way
(6/10/2008) The sixth annual Symposium on Small Towns was an occasion for concerned people from all walks of life--higher education and p-12 school professionals, engineers, elected city leaders, rural development industry specialists, and politicians--to talk about ways to become more energy self-reliant.

New digs at Cedar Creek
(6/9/2008) Where else but the U's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve can students rig heat lamps in a field to test the effects of global warming? Last week the U honored Raymond Lindeman, who revolutionized the field of ecology there 60-plus years ago, with a new laboratory at the site.

From Tanzania to U
(5/28/2008) While Jane Goodall's research in Gombe and her outreach efforts have given the world a better understanding and appreciation for chimpanzees, University ecologists and computer scientists have teamed up to find new ways to use the data.

Bowling them over with economics
(5/20/2008) U grad student and instructor Andrew Cassey has taken his lectures on economics to an interesting venue--the trendy Bryant-Lake Bowl in Minneapolis. The result is "Principles of Economics" meets performance art, and audiences are eating it up.

Researchers pinpoint first step in sun-induced skin cancer
(5/20/2008) A "morning after pill" for sun exposure? Maybe someday. University of Minnesota researchers have found what could be the first event in the development of skin cancer.

A very expensive tape measure
(5/14/2008) A body scanner in the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel has opened doors for the University of Minnesota to conduct cutting-edge research and change the way apparel is designed.

Empowered by the sun
(5/9/2008) After a nail-biting year waiting for funding, students at the U will once again be able to compete in the North American Solar Challenge, July 13-22, with their handsome, high-tech car.

U names 2008 McKnights
(5/6/2008) The University has named four Distinguished McKnight University Professors and 13 McKnight Land-Grant Professors for 2008. The Distinguished McKnight award rewards mid-career faculty of note like Judith Berman, and the McKnight Land-Grant award supports promising junior faculty such as Katsumi Matsumoto.

Iron Man takes physics for a ride
(5/2/2008) As Iron Man soars at the box office, the U's James Kakalios ponders the physics of the superhero's suit--and says another U professor is making one of its features a reality.

Keeping up with traffic
(4/22/2008) The U's Department of Civil Engineering recently opened the doors to the new Minnesota Traffic Observatory, a world-class lab featuring innovative technologies to help researchers design roadways that are safer and easier to drive.

When physics is a social science
(4/18/2008) A University-sponsored program helps families discover the joy of science together. Through PACES (Parents And Children Experiencing Science), parents model scientific curiosity for their kids.

Starwatch 2008 May
(4/18/2008) In May the nighttime darkness gets squeezed into just a few hours by the expanding light of summer. But no matter; mosquitoes are still few, and stars are many. Most of the action takes place in the evening, now that Venus has dropped from the morning sky on its latest trip behind the sun.

Why Miss Muffett skedaddled
(4/16/2008) A U graduate student has helped uncover evidence that babies can quickly learn to recognize spiders. This may later help them develop a protective fear.

E20 and late-model vehicles
(4/16/2008) A 13-month study conducted by U professor Dave Kittelson shows that E20--a blend of fuel containing 80 percent gasoline and 20 percent ethanol--has no negative impact on the drivability and maintenance of late-model cars and trucks.

March Madness goes hi-tech
(3/28/2008) On March 28 and 29, Williams Arena is hosting the first-ever Minnesota Regional FIRST Robotics Competition from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition attracted more than 50 teams of students from the six-state region.

Infectious enthusiasm
(3/25/2008) Working together, legumes and bacteria supply the world with protein. University researchers are studying how this common, but nevertheless amazing, partnership works.

Documenting carbon storage and biodiversity
(3/25/2008) A University of Minnesota professor's research in Costa Rica's dry tropical forests could help explain large-scale variations in the carbon cycle.

Secrets of the hive
(3/19/2008) Traditional healers from South America to Eastern Europe and China have valued bee propolis as a remedy for ailments such as skin problems, oral sores, and the common cold. Today, University of Minnesota researchers are looking at it as a possible inexpensive treatment for HIV.

Gecko tech: Evolution produces ideal adhesive
(3/19/2008) A researcher at the U's Bell Museum of Natural History is helping to complete an evolutionary history of the 1,100 species of gecko. The information will be useful to scientists hoping to develop a synthetic gecko adhesive.

In search of the perfect human
(3/17/2008) Through May 4, the U's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the Science Museum of Minnesota are sponsoring an exhibit, "Deadly Medicine: Creating the Master Race," and a series of public lectures that explore eugenics and the Holocaust.

Tilting toward turbines
(3/11/2008) The University's Morris campus has received bonding authority to add new wind and steam turbines. The campus is on track to energy self-sufficiency by 2010.

Water works
(2/29/2008) The U's student chapter of Engineers Without Borders brings hope to small villages around the world.

A welcoming climate
(2/28/2008) Climate change has many causes besides emissions from vehicles and power plants. Three new faculty are uncovering the often overlooked roles of vegetation.

Starwatch 2008 March
(2/25/2008) Our moon put on quite a show during February's lunar eclipse. In March the moon can't reproduce that kind of glory, but it seems to make an effort by pairing itself with stars and planets all month long. In fact, we can get a good picture of the night sky just by tagging along with the moon as it makes its rounds.

New research takes aim at oral cancer
(2/19/2008) An interdisciplinary research team at the University of Minnesota is working to change oral cancer statistics by studying the proteins found in saliva.

Lecture-free biology
(2/19/2008) In the new freshman biology sequence, students must master text material on their own and think for themselves--with a little help from their friends.

The missing link
(2/15/2008) As America gains weight, the incidence of insulin resistance and diabetes is growing, too. Understanding the link between obesity and insulin resistance is a goal of U professor David Bernlohr.

Converting pristine lands to biofuel farms worsens global warming
(2/7/2008) Biofuels may be a source of renewable energy, but destroying pristine land to produce them makes global warming worse. A new study documents the damage.

Biomedical informatics leaders join forces for research, education
(2/5/2008) The first Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology Research Symposium brought together teams from the University of Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic, IBM and the Hormel Institute.

Celestial tsunamis
(1/29/2008) University-designed instruments aboard NASA's twin STEREO spacecraft have picked up huge radio waves that may lead to damage to spacecraft and even astronauts.

Starwatch February 2008
(1/28/2008) Dead of winter? Not this February. The shortest month packs in so many events we hardly have space to talk about them, so let's get to it.

Slime sublime
(1/25/2008) University researcher Roger Ruan knows algae can remove pollutants from water and make usable fuel. But can their abilities be scaled up and put to commercial use?

Research on the rise
(1/17/2008) The National Science Foundation's latest figures show the University starting to regain ground as a research institution. Revenue from technology commercialization is also up.

Autism up close
(1/15/2008) Scott Selleck is one of a group of researchers in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development working to unravel the cause of autism.

Researchers create a new heart in the lab
(1/14/2008) University researcher Doris Taylor and her colleagues have found a way to create beating hearts in the laboratory by first stripping away the cells, leaving only the matrix, then repopulating with new cells.

A speck of Stardust, a window on the young solar system
(1/4/2008) Physicist Bob Pepin studied pieces of the young solar system--namely, grains of comet dust. He says gases from near the infant sun probably bombarded their way into the dust, which researchers think was later flung out past Neptune and incorporated into comets.

Starwatch January 2008
(12/26/2007) The weather may be cold, but January is a hot month this year for spotting celestial objects that have made news. First is none other than Mercury, the elusive messenger of the gods.

Fighting HIV in cyberspace
(12/21/2007) A new Web-based software program is the latest tool University of Minnesota researchers are using to help fight the spread of HIV.

When alumnus Earl Bakken invented a wearable pacemaker, he sparked a revolution in medicine
(12/21/2007) Alumnus and Medtronic founder Earl Bakken was feted this month to honor his invention 50 years ago of the world's first wearable cardiac pacemaker.

Starwatch December 2007
(12/17/2007) Mars takes the role of December's featured performer. After brightening all year, the planet finally reaches its pinnacle of glory on the 18th, when its irregular orbit brings it within 56 million miles of us--closer than it will be again until 2016.