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)

UA Lands NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day

  • NASA
  • March 28, 2013
Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day was taken by the UA's Adam Block using the Schulman Telescope at the UA Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter. The image shows spiral galaxy NGC 3169, which appears to be unraveling some 70 million light-years away. Its beautiful spiral arms are distorted into sweeping tidal tails as it interacts gravitationally with neighboring NGC 3166.

UA Aiding Citrus-Disease Research

  • Arizona Daily Star
  • March 27, 2013
The UA will receive part of a $9 million federal contract to research citrus greening disease, which is harming the nation's citrus industry and keeping Arizona's industry on guard. Professor Judith Brown of the UA School of Plant Sciences will lead the research conducted in Arizona.

Voyager 1 Thought to be Along Magnetic Highway at Solar System's Edge

  • Arizona Daily Star
  • March 27, 2013
Faculty and graduate students with the UA's Lunar and Planetary Lab are monitoring conflicting signals coming from Voyager 1, which may become the first spacecraft to ever leave our solar system. LPL professor Randy Jokipii is one of thousands of engineers and scientists who had a role in the space project, which completed its primary science mission long ago studying the outer solar system.

The 'Go-to Guy' for Sick Grapes

  • The San Luis Obispo Tribune
  • March 26, 2013
When grape growers struggle with ailing crops, they call UA alumnus Geoff Hale for expert consultation. He pursued plant science after taking, and really liking, agriculture classes at the UA. Hale likens his work to that of a physician: "Plants have a basic ratio of needs of nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, iron. You don't want to be too high or too low in any element."

Arizona is New Frontier in Search for Vital 'Rare Earth' Elements

  • Arizona Daily Star
  • March 26, 2013
A growing global concern about supplies of "rare earth" elements for computers, hybrid cars and other staples of everyday life has sparked exploration in Arizona. Mary Poulton, director of the UA Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources, said strong geologic associations could exist between some rare earth and copper deposits.

Bug Brains Reveal Secrets of Smell

  • Arizona Public Media
  • March 25, 2013
For more than three decades, UA neuroscientist John Hildebrand has worked with some of the world's smallest brains - the brains of insects. He studies their sense of smell and how it affects their behavior. Understanding how insect brains handle the business of smelling could give humans new tools for keeping pests at bay.

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