A protein produced by viral DNA is orchestrating the critical “SOS response” in a large group of bacterial species, according to a new study in Nucleic Acids Research. “It’s the SOS response because if the bacteria or virus doesn’t get it right, they die,” Ivan Erill says. Continue Reading Viral inventors: UMBC study finds virus DNA orchestrates a critical cellular pathway in bacteria
“Across time, literature has often served as a site of protest. Dr. Tran’s work addresses this important aspect of literary studies,” says Jean Fernandez, professor and chair of English. “The English department is proud of the recognition she has garnered with this prestigious award.” Continue Reading UMBC’s Sharon Tran receives a Career Enhancement Fellowship for writing on Asian girlhood and anti-Asian racism
“These results are important because spatial variation of dust around the globe can help determine whether dust is cooling or warming the planet overall,” which is still unknown, Qianqian Song says. Using new techniques to identify dust among all atmospheric particles opens up new avenues for research in this area. Continue Reading New study led by UMBC’s Qianqian Song furthers understanding of atmospheric dust’s role in climate
A metric that climate scientists rely on, called NDVI, has limitations that may be causing them to misinterpret their results. Fred Huemmrich’s new paper suggests “that there very well may be more ecological change going on at high latitudes than we are perceiving, if we’re leaning on NDVI as the metric we’re using to detect these changes.” Continue Reading Scientists may be underestimating Arctic ecosystem changes, new UMBC research shows
NASA has announced a major award of $72 million over three years for the new Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR) II center. UMBC serves as the lead for a national consortium and will receive over $38 million. Morgan State University serves as the primary partner. The GESTAR II consortium will support over 120 researchers, creating extensive opportunities for breakthroughs in earth and atmospheric science research. Continue Reading NASA awards $72 million for new UMBC-led Earth science research partnership
Eight members of the UMBC community, including faculty and alumni, spoke about their work, providing online and in-person audiences a glimpse of UMBC’s local, national, and global impact. Continue Reading UMBC’s GRIT-X talks return for Homecoming 2021, highlighting research with a public impact
Emissions from household products are on the rise compared to emissions from combustion engines, but their effect on air quality is poorly understood. “So, if we want to have a better understanding of air quality, now and as climate continues to change, we really need to be able to understand how the chemistry changes with this new class of emissions,” says Reem Hannun. “It’s a new, interesting dynamic.” Continue Reading UMBC’s Reem Hannun to co-lead urban air quality study with NOAA Climate Award
“The mission is to enable an innovative, effective, and sustainable U.S. Atlantic salmon production platform that will transform the U.S. food and aquaculture systems and secure and increase high-quality and affordable seafood production for the world,” Yonathan Zohar says. Continue Reading UMBC’s Yonathan Zohar to lead $10 million partnership to scale land-based salmon aquaculture
The new funding will “enable closer connections between NASA and universities, which simplifies sharing ideas and performing joint research and technology development,” Jan Merka says. He emphasizes, “Another significant benefit is connecting students with research opportunities and mentors in heliophysics.” Continue Reading UMBC to receive $10 million from NASA to support sun and space environment research
A new study describes nuances of how trees affect temperature in cities, which could help urban planners reap the greatest benefits from tree planting efforts and protect their most vulnerable residents. Continue Reading UMBC’s Matthew Baker gets to the root of how trees cool cities
Spider silks and glues are incredibly difficult to produce synthetically, but could have important medical or industrial applications. Mercedes Burns and Sarah Stellwagen will study sticky substances produced by other animals, which are “sticky like spider silk glues, but maybe their genetic architecture is easier for us to duplicate,” Burns says. Continue Reading UMBC’s Mercedes Burns to explore spider glues and silks with new $900K NSF grant
“Be willing to be an independent thinker and be willing to be wrong,” says graduate student Amanda Belunis as ways to succeed in analytical chemistry. Continue Reading The Rocky Yet Rewarding Road of Graduate Research
