In this artist's impression of Voyager 2's 1989 encounter with Neptune, the gas giant's Great Dark Spot is visible in the distance. Thought to be a hole in the giant planet's cloud cover, winds in that area have been clocked at 1,500 miles per hour, the fastest in the solar system (not the subject of this study). (Photo: NASA)
Storms on Uranus, Neptune Confined to Upper Atmosphere Applying newly developed analysis techniques to data obtained by NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft in 1989, a team involving two UA planetary scientists discovered that weather phenomena on Uranus and Neptune are confined to the upper 680 miles of atmosphere instead of reaching deeper into the planets' interior as was previously thought.
Scheduled for launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-REx will travel to asteroid Bennu, scoop up a sample of pristine material leftover from the formation of the solar system, and return it to Earth in 2023.
UA-Led Asteroid Mission is a Go NASA has granted final approval of the OSIRIS-REx sample return mission led by the UA. The target asteroid, uniquely interesting scientifically, is one of the most potentially hazardous objects known - it has a one-in-2,000 chance of colliding with Earth in the late 22nd century. The asteroid could hold clues to the origin of the solar system.
One of many fresh impact craters spotted by the UA-led HiRISE camera, orbiting the Red Planet on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since 2006. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/UA)
UA Mars Camera Reveals Hundreds of Impacts Each Year Taking before and after pictures of the Martian terrain, researchers with the UA-led HiRISE camera have identified nearly 250 fresh impact craters on the Red Planet. The results provide scientists with a better yardstick to estimate how frequently craters are blasted on Mars, allowing them to assess recently formed features with greater accuracy.
A scanning electron microscope image shows the tiny, 1-millimeter-long bladders used to catch small organisms by Utricularia gibba, the humped bladderwort plant (color added). The submerged growing plant is a voracious carnivore, with its bladders leveraging vacuum pressure to suck in tiny prey at great speed. (Photo: Enrique Ibarra-Laclette and Claudia Anahí Pérez-Torres)
Carnivorous Plant Throws Out ‘Junk’ DNA UA genomics experts have helped decipher the DNA of the carnivorous bladderwort. This genome is the smallest ever sequenced from a higher plant, and scientists say that nearly all of it - 97 percent - comprises genes that code for proteins, suggesting the majority of noncoding DNA may not be crucial for complex life.
Much more suited for arid environments than rubber trees, the guayule plant is a promising candidate for more sustainable, high-yield natural rubber production. (Photo: Jack Dykinga/USDA)
UA Receives $3M Grant for Sustainable Biorubber Production The UA's Dennis Ray will lead the effort of breeding guayule, a rubber-producing plant suited for arid environments, to achieve higher yields and reduced harvest cycle time. Tech Launch Arizona, a technology commercialization center at the UA, assisted with the UA partnership with Yulex Corporation, which is providing the grant.
In this artist's impression of Voyager 2's 1989 encounter with Neptune, the gas giant's Great Dark Spot is visible in the distance. Thought to be a hole in the giant planet's cloud cover, winds in that area have been clocked at 1,500 miles per hour, the fastest in the solar system (not the subject of this study). (Photo: NASA)
Scheduled for launch in 2016, the OSIRIS-REx will travel to asteroid Bennu, scoop up a sample of pristine material leftover from the formation of the solar system, and return it to Earth in 2023.
One of many fresh impact craters spotted by the UA-led HiRISE camera, orbiting the Red Planet on board NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter since 2006. (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS/UA)
A scanning electron microscope image shows the tiny, 1-millimeter-long bladders used to catch small organisms by Utricularia gibba, the humped bladderwort plant (color added). The submerged growing plant is a voracious carnivore, with its bladders leveraging vacuum pressure to suck in tiny prey at great speed. (Photo: Enrique Ibarra-Laclette and Claudia Anahí Pérez-Torres)
Much more suited for arid environments than rubber trees, the guayule plant is a promising candidate for more sustainable, high-yield natural rubber production. (Photo: Jack Dykinga/USDA)

Weirdest Mars Craters Spotted by HiRISE

  • Discovery News
  • May 8, 2013
The Martian surface is peppered with impact craters of all shapes, sizes and ages. The High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment, or HiRISE, team has identified which craters it considers to be the strangest. The UA operates the HiRISE camera, which is on board the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Solving the Mysteries of the Human Condition Using Genetic Tools

  • Scientific American
  • May 8, 2013
The UA Genetics Core is home to rows of rectangular machines that hum busily at all hours of the day and night. These machines, which produce hundreds of thousands of pieces of data in a single run, sequence DNA and RNA, the genetic code and the genetic messages that program the building blocks forming a plant, animal or human.

Researchers Use Satellites to Map Fire

  • Arizona Public Media
  • May 8, 2013
UA researchers using a technique called remote sensing have found that a wetter winter usually means a milder summer fire season. In remote sensing, satellites capture reflected sunlight, which can be processed and analyzed to study the Earth. Modeling rainfall and vegetation makes it possible to produce maps that show places at risk for wildfire.

Arizona Middle-School Science Push Hits a Wall

  • The Arizona Republic
  • May 7, 2013
The UA College of Medicine-Phoenix and the Arizona Science Center have teamed up to explore developing a new science curriculum for underserved inner-city and rural seventh and eighth-graders. The program aims to introduce students to new biomedical sciences they may be unfamiliar with, such as bioengineering and biotechnology.

UA Geneticists Find Causes for Severe Childhood Epilepsies

  • UANews
  • May 6, 2013
Using a DNA sequencing technique capable of deciphering all human genes at the same time, UA researchers have discovered genetic mutations underlying seizure disorders in previously undiagnosed children. Efforts are under way to establish a genomics diagnostic center at the UA and extend the capabilities to other areas such as cardiology, immunology and gastroenterology.

New UA Center to Help Schools Prepare High-Tech Workforce

  • Inside Tucson Business
  • May 3, 2013
The UA's STEM Learning Center seeks to coordinate ongoing University efforts around STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – education. The center also will help area K-12 schools and the University better prepare students for the workforce.

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