College of Natural Sciences, UT Austin

10/22/2026

Bacteria find safety in numbers.

A new UT study led by Rasika Harshey, a professor of molecular biosciences, and Vineet Kumar, a postdoctoral researcher, describes a form of temporary, community-level antibiotic tolerance.

When the antibiotic causes a bacterial cell to burst open, RNA released from the dead bacterium can bind and trap the antibiotic like a ‘molecular sponge’ to prevent it from reaching other live bacteria.

Rasika Harshey’s lab studies how dying bacteria can increase antibiotic resistance among their neighbors.

10/15/2026

We’ve all been there, struggling with the impulse to do something we want to do when we know we should do something else.

Now, new research led by neuroscientist Thomas Elston at The University of Texas at Austin has uncovered clues about how the brain regains control when these urges threaten to take over. The findings could help scientists better understand why people struggle to resist these urges in conditions such as addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder — and maybe even guide the development of neuroprosthetic devices that could help people better control these impulses.

Why people with addiction and obsessive-compulsive disorder struggle to resist urges.

10/15/2026

Congratulations to Kurtis Carsch, an assistant professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, on being selected as a 2026 Packard Fellow for Science and Engineering by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation!

The fellowship will fund Carsch’s research on materials with applications in energy, medicine and drug discovery.

The fellowship will fund research on materials with applications in energy, medicine and drug discovery.

10/13/2026

Helping others can benefit people with a major genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, finds new research led by The University of Texas at Austin. Regularly volunteering or even informally helping people outside their home was associated with slower cognitive decline in those at risk.

“Very few pharmaceutical or lifestyle approaches have been shown to slow the decline driven by this gene variant,” said Sae Hwang Han, a UT associate professor of human development and family sciences, and lead author of the study. “But we found helping others — a free, accessible behavior — was linked to markedly slower cognitive decline for this group.”

Researchers found that even modest time spent helping others was associated with cognitive benefits.

10/13/2026

What if your first year included real-world research?

Each year more than 1,700 College of Natural Sciences students discover new knowledge and develop innovations in unique programs here at The University of Texas at Austin. In the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), they choose from dozens of research streams with topics such as robot learning, big data in biology, studying the stars, uncovering useful products and compounds in nature, creating better health diagnostics, designing sustainable textiles and much more.

Not a freshman? The companion Accelerated Research Initiative (ARI) offers similar opportunities to transfer students and upper-division students who missed FRI in their freshman year.

Learn more about FRI and ARI at fri.cns.utexas.edu.

10/12/2026

Happy World Algae Day!

Celebrate by learning about the UTEX Culture Collection of Algae, one of the most diverse collection of organisms in the world, which is celebrating its 50th year at The University of Texas at Austin.

UTEX, which is run by world-class phycologist and curator David Nobles, Jr., is unique to UT Austin. The collection — containing more than 1,500 species — moved into a new space in the Moffett Molecular Biology Building this summer.

Nobles took the time to answer some questions about the uses of algae, the importance they play in our planet’s health, the history of the collection and more. Find his answers and some close-ups of beautiful algae at txsci.net/UTEX.

10/01/2026

We want YOUR scientific & mathematical imagery!

We are currently accepting submissions for our 2027 Visualizing Science competition and welcome your visualizations, photographs, microscope images, fractals, patterns, mathematical equations and more that are related to research conducted at UT Austin. Open to all current Texas Science students, staff and faculty, Visualizing Science celebrates the beauty of science and the scientific process.

🔗 Learn more at txsci.net/VizSci and submit your entries by November 4 for a chance to win accolades and a cash prize of up to $1,000!

This video features a few of the finalists from past years. The science behind these and other winning images from more than a decade of past contests can be found at txsci.net/VisSciShowcase2026.

09/23/2026

Welcome to the newest members of our Hall of Honor!

Every year, the College of Natural Sciences celebrates a select few outstanding alumni and friends of the community at its annual Hall of Honor ceremony. This year’s honorees were Celine Halioua, the Founder and CEO of Loyal; Morgan Micheletti, a pioneer in ophthalmology; Dheeraj Pandey, the Chairman and CEO of DevRev, Inc.; and the Winn Family, which runs the philanthropic Winn Family Foundation, Inc.

Learn more about them and meet past inductees at txsci.net/HallOfHonor.

Photos by Callie Richmond.

09/22/2026

UT physicist Dr. Katherine Freese discussed the possible detection of dark matter on StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Get the NEW StarTalk book, 'Lost in Space: 5,000 Facts for Navigati...

09/21/2026

Some great UT Turtle Pond research by undergraduates: