Archive for the ‘Physical/Natural Science’ Category 
U.S.’s Innovative Edge Tied to Research in States Like Alabama
Statewide, Alabama receives less than one-half of 1 percent of all National Science Foundation research dollars annually. However, with political winds seemingly blowing in favor of a proposed doubling of the NSF budget, a group of national experts, including the University of Alabama’s Dr. Keith McDowell, is developing a new vision for science and engineering programs within those historically under funded states.
A ‘Deal of Distinction’
The Licensing Executives Society named an agreement between The University of Alabama and chemical giant BASF one of its “2006 Deals of Distinction” in connection with its annual meeting in New York City in August.
Take Two Drops of Lizard Spit and Call Me in the Morning
Gila monsters are reclusive, cold-blooded, raw egg-loving lizards whose venomous bites can cause intense pain. Ah, but within that same mouthful of venom-laced saliva is a marvelously therapeutic protein – one which has already been synthesized and used in diabetic drug treatments. And, it’s one which University of Alabama researchers are analyzing in hopes it could later improve the digestive performance of humans compromised by intestinal cancer and/or surgery.
Devastating Consequences
With Hurricane Katrina’s intense destruction in 2005, government officials and private citizens can no longer take public infrastructure for granted. Through a series of research projects, The University of Alabama’s Aging Infrastructure Systems Center for Excellence is improving the productivity and resilience of aging assets in America.
If A Frog Had Pockets
If anyone or anything ever needed a champion to take up its cause, it was the lowly chytrid. Not so long ago, the microscopic fungus was relatively unknown, unloved and, although it didn't seem to impact the tiny organism's psyche, generally regarded as unimportant. And this dismissive approach was coming from many mycologists, those botanists who specifically study fungi.
Who Am I?
Thirteen years ago Dr. Marcus Brown, associate professor of computer science at The University of Alabama, and one of his now former graduate students were awarded a patent for their novel invention which identifies a person by how they type their name.
UA Works to Stop PD
There’s an almost audible buzz emitting from a basement level laboratory in The University of Alabama’s Biology Building. The five graduate and 10 undergraduate students who work there, alongside Drs. Guy and Kim Caldwell, UA biology professors, are pumped. So too are their aforementioned faculty mentors.
‘Actual Mileage May Vary’
As gas prices hover near the $3 a gallon mark, drivers are tempted to try and squeeze every inch of travel possible from each drop of gasoline.
A Different Kind of Drug Problem
The world has a drug problem. It’s not limited to the one you may be thinking of, and scientists are starting to look for solutions to it in places you might not imagine – places like the surfaces of volcanoes lying almost a mile beneath the ocean’s surface.
A Fish Story Unlike Any Other
And you thought Tuscaloosa, Ala., wasn’t an international travel destination. More than 1,000 fish carcasses from around the world – including China, Russia, Vietnam and Africa – are periodically arriving at The University of Alabama as part of a $3 million National Science Foundation-sponsored project scientists hope will ultimately reveal more about gene function in fish and, eventually, humans.
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Research News
- NSF Awards $1 Million CAREER Grant to UA Professor
June 13, 2013 - UA Historian, Author Receives Two Prestigious Awards
June 13, 2013 - UA’s Alabama-Cuba Initiative Continues With Play
June 10, 2013 - UA Undergraduate Wins Competitive Marine Microbiology Internship
June 10, 2013 - UA Leads Multi-Institute Research of Oklahoma Tornado Damage
June 3, 2013 - More Research News