Texas Biodiversity Center

06/19/2026

On the UT campus and looking for a fascinating piece of scientific history? Check out the newly-installed display of the X-ray machine pictured here. This isn't any old X-ray machine. It's over 100 years old, and was part of the ground-breaking research done by Nobel Laureate Hermann Joseph Muller. He was a geneticist and UT professor best known for founding the field of radiation genetics. Much of the research that led to his 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was conducted at UT Austin in the 1920s using fruit flies and this very X-ray machine! The display is in the lobby of the PAT building.

06/18/2026

06/15/2026

We're hiring a Communications Coordinator to join our team! This is a full-time opportunity at UT Austin's Biodiversity Center. Learn more and apply at tinyurl.com/apply-bccc

06/15/2026

May 24, 2026Texas Science & Natural History Museum Debuts “Masters of the Night” Bat ExhibitAustin, TX—Texas Science & Natural History Museum announces the open

06/04/2026

Meet Stengl-Wyer Fellow Daryl Barth! She studies the gut microbiomes of plastic-eating superworms to uncover novel enzymes capable of breaking down persistent plastics like polystyrene, polyethylene, and nylon.

This article is about 2025 Stengl-Wyer graduate fellow Daryl Barth.

05/29/2026

Coral reefs occupy just 1% of the seafloor but support more than 25% of all marine species, making them critical to ocean biodiversity. In the Caribbean, reefs are especially threatened because major reef-building corals are no longer reproducing successfully, and restoration efforts have had mixed results. Professor Misha Matz (Integrative Biology) warns that losing coral reefs would be both an environmental and societal disaster, affecting marine life, food supplies, shoreline protection, and tourism. To help prevent reef collapse, Matz and colleagues have proposed introducing resilient non-native corals from other regions to help rebuild Caribbean reef ecosystems.
https://cns.utexas.edu/news/features/can-scientists-proposal-save-coral-reefs-our-hemisphere

05/26/2026

Are you in the neighborhood of the PAT building on the UT Austin campus? Check out our newly-finished "Raining Fish" display! It's all about the two recent fish falls we had here in Texas. The Ichthyology Collection was able to acquire some of the fish from these events. The Ichthyology Collection is one of the very few natural history collections on the planet to have fish fall specimens! Come check out the display on the north entrance of PAT.

05/14/2026