Researchers say mercury buried in ancient rock provides the strongest evidence yet that volcanoes caused the biggest mass extinction in the history of the Earth. The extinction 252 million years ago was so dramatic and widespread that scientists call it “the Great Dying.” The catastrophe killed off more than 95 percent of life on Earth…
Platinum is Key in Ancient Volcanic Related Climate Change
Supervolcanoes are one of Mother Nature’s deadliest phenomena, and when they erupt, they can change the climate of the entire planet. To get a glimpse for how future catastrophic volcanic events might alter our lives, scientists at the University of Cincinnati dug deep into the past to find new evidence for volcanic related climate change.…
Carbon is the New Black
Engineers with the University of Cincinnati are leveraging a partnership with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to create clothing that can charge your cell phone. Move over, Iron Man. What makes this possible are the unique properties of carbon nanotubes: a large surface area that is strong, conductive and heat-resistant. UC’s College of Engineering and Applied…
New Interactive Map Shows Climate Change Everywhere in World
What does Salt Lake City have in common with Tehran? More than you might think, if you’re a climate scientist. University of Cincinnati geography professor Tomasz Stepinski created a new interactive map that allows students or researchers to compare the climates of places anywhere in the world. The map draws on five decades of public…
Biosensors Will be Inexpensive, Do More, Go Everywhere
When it comes to biometric sensors, human skin isn’t an ally. It’s an obstacle. The University of Cincinnati is developing cutting-edge methods to overcome this barrier without compromising the skin and its ability to prevent infection and dehydration. By making better noninvasive tests, researchers can open up enormous opportunities in medicine and the fitness industry.…
Expert Unlocks Mechanics of How Snakes Move in a Straight Line
Snakes are known for their iconic S-shaped movements. But they have a less noticeable skill that gives them a unique superpower. Snakes can crawl in a straight line. University of Cincinnati biologist Bruce Jayne studied the mechanics of snake movement to understand exactly how they can propel themselves forward like a train through a tunnel.…
UC Biologists Peek Into the Past to See the Future Through Tiny Spider Eyes
With the increasing advantages of DNA sequencing, University of Cincinnati biologists are unraveling many evolutionary mysteries behind the complex world of spider vision. Looking closely at the mysterious genetic blueprint for how these peepers developed and function is helping researchers see great opportunities for future research. New studies could include gene therapies in humans with…
New Biosensor Stimulates Sweat Even When Patient Is Resting and Cool
One downside to medical sensors that test human sweat: you have to sweat. Sweating from exertion or a stifling room temperature can be impractical for some patients and unsafe for others. And unless they are on the second leg of the Tour de France, it’s unlikely patients will want to sweat all day for the…
How do Blind Cavefish Find Their Way? The Answer Could be in Their Bones
Imagine living in perpetual darkness in an alien world where you have to find food quickly by touch or starve for months at a time. The limestone caverns of Mexico’s Sierra del Abra Tanchipa rainforest contain deep cisterns cloaked in utter blackness. This is where researchers at the University of Cincinnati traveled to find a…
Gold Coating Could Control Luminescence of Nanowires
In electronics, the race for smaller is huge. Physicists at the University of Cincinnati are working to harness the power of nanowires, microscopic wires that have the potential to improve solar cells or revolutionize fiber optics. Nanotechnology has the potential to solve the bottleneck that occurs in storing or retrieving digital data – or could…
‘Pink Snow’ Algae Could Lead to Glacial Melting
It may look pretty, but the swaths of delicately-colored, pretty “precipitation” may lead to an increase in glacial melting, according to interdisciplinary research at the University of Cincinnati. Pink snow, or “watermelon snow” as it is sometimes called is actually algae that grow on top of snow and ice in the spring and summer, especially…
Nanoparticles Fight Treatment-Resistant Breast Cancer
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have been able to generate multifunctional RNA nanoparticles that could overcome treatment resistance in breast cancer, potentially making existing treatments more effective in these patients. The study, published in the Dec. 14 online edition of American Chemical Society’s ACS Nano and led by Xiaoting Zhang,…
Researchers Examine Potential Drug Pathway to Combat Pneumocystis
Life Before O2
Somewhere between Earth’s creation and where we are today, scientists have demonstrated that some early life forms existed just fine without any oxygen. While researchers proclaim the first half of our 4.5 billion-year-old planet’s life as an important time for the development and evolution of early bacteria, evidence for these life forms remains sparse including…