Further Findings

Take a look at your bedroom. Is it scattered with laundry? Adorned with photos? Are you only leaving a sliver of space in the closet for your partner’s clothes? These seemingly mundane domestic scenarios may reveal a surprising amount of information about a couple’s relationship, according to a forthcoming study led by Lindsay Graham, a psychology graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin.

In collaboration with Sam Gosling, professor of psychology and author of “Snoop: What Your Stuff Says
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Although his goal is to someday help destroy HIV and other viruses and retroviruses that form persistent, lifelong infections, biologist Chris Sullivan can’t help but admire the strategies that many of these viruses have evolved to evade our defenses.

Chris Sullivan, associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology.

“It’s brilliant,” says Sullivan, associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology. “Take Herpes simplex virus 1, for instance, which is one of the masters. It goes in and infects very long-lived neurons, and then
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We’ve rounded up some of the research highlights of the spring 2012 semester at The University of Texas at Austin.

One piece of news, growing support for a medical school at the university, isn’t exactly current research, but it could lead to vast research opportunities in health and medicine for years to come.

Noteworthy research included authoritative reports on the process of hydro-fracturing in mining natural gas, water resources in the important food-producing regions of California’s Central Valley and the Great Plains,
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It seems that the only time astronomers at The University of Texas at Austin took a break from finding new planets and bigger black holes during the fall 2011 semester was when university geologists edged in with evidence of a lake under the surface of Saturn’s moon, Europa.

As busy as those researchers were, the semester also brought discoveries in green energy, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, concealed handguns and the relationship between children’s happiness and their parents.

Here’s a look at
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Psychology undergraduate Martinique Jones has conducted research in Houston schools.

We put the spotlight on several undergraduates who conduct research to mark Research Week, which was April 11-15.

Check out their stories on the Know Web site.

Martinique Jones
Major: Psychology
Research Topic: The African American Dream: A Progressive Discussion of Academic Achievement in African American Students

Margaret Sanders
Major: Plan II and Psychology
Research Topic: The Effect of Categorization on Judgments of Paintings

Zachary Garber
Major: Government
Research Topic: William Lauder’s Impact on the History of Barbados

Jose Ybarra
Major: Human Biology
Research Topic:
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The Research Alert, the e-newsletter for the university’s research community, has entered the 21st with a new look.

Now in html format, the Research Alert e-mail is brighter, cleaner and easier to read and includes photos and other images.

The weekly Research Alert notifies researchers of funding opportunities in the sciences, arts and humanities. The newsletter is put together and published by the Office of the Vice President for Research.

The Research Alert also has news about awards made to UT Austin researchers,
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Penguin fossil found in Peru showed surprising evidence of feathers and their colors.

During the fall semester of 2010, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin revealed:

An ancient penguin with surprising colors

Honey bees with a failure to communicate

Criminal virus spreaders using evolutionary forensics

An electron switch between molecules with cool battery potential

That as biological clock ticks down, libido rises

A dinosaur who thrived when its competition died

Ways the earth moves

That’s not all.

A team of students launched two satellites, which they built, into
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Top patent officials from around the world gave an Austin audience insight into current intellectual property issues. They were James Pooley, deputy director of the World Intellectual Property Organization; Jerry Kappos, director of the United States Patent Office; and Lee Soowon, director of the Korean Intellectual Property Office. They talked with Richard Miller, chief commercialization officer of The University of Texas at Austin. Photo by Marsha Miller.

Patent protection has gone global, according to David Kappos, the director of the United
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Janet Walkow, , director of the College of Pharmacy Drug Dynamics Institute, will work with the Dell Pediatric Research Institute.

Some University of Texas at Austin researchers are moving into brand new laboratories at the Dell Pediatric Research Center with the expressed aim of turning research into treatments for childhood health problems.

Nancy Neff, who handles public affairs for the College of Pharmacy and the Schools of Social Work and Nursing, talked to several of those researchers about their work in anticipation of
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Stan Watowich, World Community Grid user

The World Community Grid (WCG) now has a half-million users dedicating the unused power of their personal computers—and bigger computers, in some cases—to solving pressing scientific questions.

A story on the Web site of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), which donates cycles from one of its high-performance computers to the WCG, looks at the WCG and how it works.

The story highlights the research of Stan Watowich, an associate professor of Biochemistry at The University of Texas Medical Branch.

His
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