News

USU Biology undergrad Timothy Miller was awarded the Frank L. Howard Undergraduate Fellowship from the American Phytopathological Society for a project proposal studying cultural and chemical management stragegies of Fusarium bulb rot in onions. Mr. Mille...

USU PhD student Mercy Odemba recently gave a talk "Weed Host Interactions with Spider Mites in Intermountain West Corn Production" at the PBESA meeting where she won second place for PhD students.

Utah State University physiological ecologist Susannah French is studying the effects of human-induced changes on varied lizards, including iguanas of the world’s tropics and, closer to home, the American Southwest’s side-blotched lizard. French foster

Frogs can teach us a lot about evolution and how organisms — including humans — adapt to an ever-changing world. “Frogs go through a wild time of life called metamorphosis — an entire shapeshift,” says Molly Womack, assistant professor in USU’s Departm

The Spring 2023 General Microbiology class (BIOL 3300) worked together to build a "Timeline of Microbiology." Spanning over 400 years, these 100 biographies demonstrate how contributions from scientists around the world have shaped our modern understandin...

Science scholars Emmaline Haderlie and Christen Ellis, with faculty mentor Erin Bobeck, study interactions in the brain, with a goal of exploring pain therapies to lessen the risk of opioid addiction. They present to Utah legislators Jan. 20.

Doctoral teaching assistant Megan Raddatz, standing, assists undergrad Kaleb Keller at a recording rig from the BIOL 5625 neurophysiology lab class. Students in the new course held a poster session Dec. 7.

John Flores, principal lecturer in the Public Health program of USU’s Department of Biology, was recognized during the 39th annual Utah Conference on Safety and Industrial Hygiene on Oct. 13-14, 2022, at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The confe...

Rooted in the soil as they are, plants have access only to what is immediately available in their environment — water, nutrients, sunlight, and temperature. Their immediate circumstances determine whether they live and reproduce, or wither and die. Even s...

USU alum Samridhi Chaturvedi PhD’19 says: “Our study shows that both similar ecological conditions, which drive natural selection, and similar pools of genetic variation, which provide the material for evolution, are critical for generating repeated evolu...

Bumble bees, with their large size and colorful, fluffy appearance, are among the most well-known species of bees and, like a number of species around the globe, are in steep decline. USU biologist Dr. Joseph Wilson says: “Our exercise suggests North Amer...

Entomologist Ricardo Ramirez is recognized during the Office of the Provost's fall lecture series.

At USU Uintah Basin, students have the opportunity to work in the laboratory of a faculty member for an eight-week, paid summer internship. During that time students have the opportunity to get involved in research and make hands-on discoveries. They also...

Minnesota's Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve was the site of experiments conducted by USU ecologist Noelle Beckman and colleagues, who reported findings in the Oct. 8, 2022 issue of the journal "Ecology."

Zach Gompert, associate professor in USU's Department of Biology and Ecology Center, is lead author of a paper investigating genetic effects in interacting species in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Michelle Baker, professor in the Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center, has been selected to serve as dean of Utah State University’s College of Science.

USU Uintah Basin undergraduate students under the guidance of Dr. Becky Williams help monitor Northern Goshawk populations in the Ashley National Forest.

Utah State University physiological ecologist Susannah French is studying the effects of human-induced changes on varied lizards, including iguanas of the world’s tropics and, closer to home, the American Southwest’s side-blotched lizard.

Utah State University physiological ecologist Susannah French is studying the effects of human-induced changes on varied lizards, including iguanas of the world’s tropics and, closer to home, the American Southwest’s side-blotched lizard.

USU Blanding undergrad Rex Harvey inspects a bee he net-collected at the USDA-ARS Pollinating Insect Research Unit Experimental Research Garden in Cache Valley. Harvey and fellow NASMP scholars present research Tuesday, June 14.

Interim Dean Baker enlisted support from department heads and the Provost’s Office to initiate the “collaborative laboratory” by securing a cluster-hire of five tenure-track faculty positions.

2022 Native American Summer Mentorship Program participants Shailyn Parrish and Malika Isabelle Oldman learn lab techniques from Biology. Participants will present research projects Tuesday, June 14.

Having grown up around horses, cattle, sheep and goats, Utah State University Blanding scholar Shailyn Parrish has few qualms around large animals.

Research by Dr. Susannah French finds that a high-sugar diet supplied by tourists is giving Bahamian rock iguanas the lizard equivalent of high blood sugar.

USU Biology alumna Alexandra Lish named a 2022 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.

Dr. Susannah French is a professor and associate department head in the Department of Biology in the College of Science. Dr. French has built a nationally and internationally lauded research program.

Biology's Andy Anderson and his volunteer team of students and alumni offer unique learning, outreach, and recruiting opportunities.

Biology lost a dear friend, colleague, teacher and mentor Dr. Frank Messina. Frank passed away unexpectedly at home on February 25th. Frank was the quintessential faculty member and one of the best known faculty by our undergraduate students.

Mortui Vivos Docent or The Dead Teach the Living. Andy Anderson and his volunteer team - known as the USU Cadaver Tour Club, provide a unique opportunity to view the lab’s human bodies donated for learning and research.

Dr. Sara Freeman presents 'The Science of Social Bonds: From Animals to Autism' at Science Unwrapped Friday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m in the Emert Auditorium, Room ESLC 130, of the ESLC or via AggieCast. In-person guests are encouraged to wear masks.

Plants produce an enormous diversity of secondary metabolites — that is, compounds not essential for their growth and reproduction, she says. “We’re exploring the evolutionary mechanisms that maintain this diversity and how these secondary metabolites may...

Nature equips plants with a variety of tools to disperse their seeds. They can simply drop them or release them to the wind or a nearby stream. Plants with fleshy fruits have the advantage of enticing hungry animals to partake of their delicious bounty, c...

USU Ecology doctoral student Jessica Murray, at a field site in Costa Rica's Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Preserve, is a 2022 recipient of the Ecological Society of America’s Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award.

USU neurobiologist Sara Freeman holds a coyote brain. One of 35 recipients of a prestigious 2021 Oak Ridge Associated Universities' Powe Research Grant, Freeman is studying the biological basis of pair bonding in mammals.

A recently published biography details the scientific life of Dr. Donald W. Roberts. Don's career took him to 64 countries, heading multiple international research projects. Don championed those that worked with him and was a mentor to many scientists.

A female Aedes aegypti mosquito gets blood from a human host. USU ecologist Norah Saarman describes tracking these disease-carrying mosquitos with satellites and genetics at Science Unwrapped Friday, Oct 29. All are welcome. James Gathany, CDC.

Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education has selected USU Biology grad student Kate Richardson's proposal to study Enhancement of Samurai Wasp for Biocontrol of Invasive Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Utah.

Biology Graduate Student Morgan Christman is the 2021 recipient of the ZoBell Scholarship. The ZoBell scholarship was created to assist and encourage graduate students seeking degrees in biology, chemistry and biochemistry, geology, or physics.

We are saddened to report the passing of Dr. Donald Wilson Roberts. In addition to being a very distinguished scientist he was also an accomplished dancer, and for many a dear friend. Obituary and memorial details are inside.

Akila Ram receives PhD with help from Major Professor/PI: Dr. Erin Bobeck with a dissertation called "The Periaqueductal Gray in Opioid Tolerance and Chronic Pain".

Watch the inaugural Indigenous Knowledge Symposium sponsored by MESAS with funding support from HHMI - Sovereignty, Identity, & Indigenous Knowledge in Higher Education

Researchers from the Biological Engineering and Biology Departments developed a new method of growing skeletal muscle cells: not on a plastic surface but on the three-dimensional silkworm silk fibers.

USU Biologist Norah Saarman is part of a team studying landscape connectivity in the Aedes aegypti mosquito species, a primary vector for the spread of dengue, chikungunya and Zika

Discovery of the smallpox vaccine by Edward Jenner in 1798, considered one of the greatest medical advancements in modern history, was met with celebration as well as worry – much as emerging COVID-19 vaccines are received today.

While recently compounding a dose of Remdesivir, the antiviral medication used to treat COVID-19, pharmacist MaLaura Creager’s thoughts wandered back to her general chemistry

Day by day, news of emerging COVID-19 vaccines is popping up like spring dandelions. This week, with a shot broadcast ‘round the world, British nonagenarian Margaret Keenan stepped up for the first jab, followed shortly by 81-year-old William Shakespeare ...

At the Entomological Society of America's National meeting, USU Biology PhD student Brenna Decker's poster was selected as the winner for SysEB, Taxonomy, Biogeography, and Biodiversity.

Centuries ago, as humans began to domesticate animals and till the earth, their communities increased in population density – of both people and animals. Close proximity brought benefits, but also brought new dangers...

Plastic has become ubiquitous in modern life and its accumulation as waste in the environment is sounding warning bells for the health of humans and wildlife. In a recent study, Utah State University scientist Janice Brahney cited alarming amounts of micr...

‘A’ Day of Giving 2020 A 24-hour Campaign Starting at midnight Thursday, October 8. We invite you to join fellow Aggies in establishing the College of Science Student Emergency Hardship Fund

Five Utah State University College of Science graduate students are among 12 recipients of the USU School of Graduate Studies’ and the Office of Research’s most recent cycle of Graduate Research and Creative Opportunities (GRCO) grants.

Bees and flowers seem inseparable harbingers of spring, but what happens when pollinators emerge later than their sources of nectar and pollen?

USU Uintah Basin faculty members Lee Ann Jolley and Benjamin Burger have discovered a previously unknown pig-like animal that lived 47 million years ago.

Michelle Baker, associate dean in Utah State University’s College of Science and professor in the Department of Biology and the USU Ecology Center, will serve as the college’s interim dean, beginning January 1, 2021. Baker’s appointment, announced by USU ...

Traits that form an organism’s appearance, including color, are determined by many different genes and the creature’s environment. “Humans and domestic animals, for example...

Driving across the arid American Southwest, one views miles upon miles of scrubby creosote bushes. Well-adapted to the hot, thirsty landscape, the evergreen shrub

Utah State University biologist Edmund ‘Butch’ Brodie, Jr. and colleagues from São Paulo’s Butantan Institute report the first known evidence of oral venom glands in amphibians. Their research, supported by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific an...

Eleven Utah State University science majors are recipients of College of Science Undergraduate Research Minigrants for the 2020-2021 academic year...

Initiated in 2014, Utah State University’s Native American Summer Mentorship Program was created with the express purpose of bringing scholars together to experience hands-on research.

Utah State University epidemiologist Scott Bernhardt is among Utah Medical Reserve Corps volunteers helping the Bear River Health Department gain control of a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases...

Utah State University public health faculty member Carl Farley is one of the first five industrial hygienists in the nation to complete requirements to become an Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems Registered Auditor.

What do you do when a global pandemic prevents you from bringing students to campus to participate in research experiences?

Naturalist John Muir’s famous quote, “The mountains are calling and I must go …” could be the call of the Western tanager as the brightly plumed songbird makes its annual spring trek from the tropics of Mexico and Central America to the mountain forests o...

The Navajo Nation, which straddles the Four Corners area of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, spans more than 27,000 square miles and is home to more than 170,000 people.

USU Tooele entomologist Joe Wilson discusses Asian Giant Hornets on USU Office of Research's "Instead" podcast.

Idaho native, 2020 Human Biology graduate and aspiring surgeon excels in cross country, academic and research.

Each semester, Utah State University’s Department of Biology hosts a public poster session, during which undergraduates showcase their research projects, internships and field course experiences...

Eight Utah State University scholars are honorees of the prestigious 2020 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship search. The Aggies, whose awards are collectively valued at about $828,000, are among nearly 2,000 students selected from mo...

Utah State University scientist Joseph Wilson is on a mission. The conservation biologist wants to encourage efforts to protect bees, but realizes a lot of people know little about them.

Julie A. Robinson, chief scientist of the International Space Station Division at NASA, and Utah State University alum, will serve as USU’s commencement speaker for its 133rd graduation ceremony as the university celebrates the accomplishments of Aggie wo...

Utah State University ecologist Noelle Beckman and colleagues Philippe Marchand of the University of Quebec, Liza Comita of Yale University, Joseph Wright of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama...

In the animal kingdom, survival essentially boils down to eat or be eaten. How organisms accomplish the former and avoid the latter reveals a clever array of defense mechanisms. Maybe you can outrun your prey. Perhaps you sport an undetectable disguise.

All the Reasons that 'Bee' is the Science Unwrapped theme Friday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. in the Eccles Science Learning Center on campus. Featured speaker is USDA-ARS entomologist Theresa Pitts-Singer. Admission is free; all ages welcome.

Imagine fleeing untenable conditions in your homeland. While you may feel relief, you’re immediately confronted with uncertainty and frustration, as you learn to navigate a new country, a new language and a new culture...

Undergrad researcher Anna Figgins to present genomics research to legislators on Utah’s Capitol Hill Feb. 18.

Undergraduate Research Fellow and Honors Student Rachel Sagers is among Aggies presenting study findings to legislators on Utah’s Capitol Hill Feb. 18.

“Daily Bread,” “Breaking Bread,” “Bread and Butter,” “Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread.” Bread has been a staple, and a symbol, of sustenance, community and survival since antiquity.

USU nutrition scientist Carrie Durward is featured speaker for Science Unwrapped Friday, Oct. 11. The gathering begins at 7 p.m. in the Emert Auditorium, Room 130 of the Eccles Science Learning Center on campus. All are welcome.

“When you talk only with researchers in your field, it can become a bit of an echo chamber,” says Utah State University neuroscientist Max McDermott. The first-time presenter at USU’s interdisciplinary Hansen Life Sciences Retreat says questions he receiv...

Cutting-edge Utah State University research is featured Saturday morning, Sept. 28, in “Spider Thread,” the premiere episode of Season 6 of the CBS TV program “The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation.” The broadcast airs at 8:30 a.m. Mountain on Salt Lake City...

As part of a research project, Utah State University physics major Matthew Hogan sits in a lab and watches plants grow. And it’s a far-from-boring exercise, he says. “It’s a new learning experience every day,” says the Undergraduate Researcher.

When Undergraduate Research Fellow Audrey Lidgard entered Utah State University, she envisioned a career as a large animal veterinarian. After a few semesters at USU, the Salt Lake City native turned her attention to research and much smaller animals: liz...

The periaqueductal gray is a partially uncharted region of the brain. Discoveries in the 1970s revealed it plays a role in pain inhibition and opioid functions, yet the full purpose of the “PAG,” as the gray area located in the midbrain is informally know...

Spider silk is an engineer’s dream material. Lightweight, strong, elastic and biocompatible, it’s an ideal building block for a myriad of applications, including medical implants, body armor and vehicle components. But trying to farm spiders...

Utah State University ecologist Bonnie Waring heads one of seven projects chosen nationally by competitive peer review for a U.S. Department of Energy Terrestrial Ecological Sciences grant. Waring receives a two-year, $295,967 award to fund her project.

Greg Podgorski, associate professor in Utah State University’s Department of Biology, has been named associate dean for undergraduate programs and services for the university’s College of Science. He succeeds Richard Mueller, who recently retired from the...

American biologist E.O. Wilson supports the biophilia hypothesis – “BET” for short – suggesting humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life.

Utah is experiencing an explosion in population and a changing economy. These conditions are transforming the way the state uses water, particularly in the case of urbanization.

All wildflower enthusiasts are invited to participate in the annual Richard J. Shaw Memorial Wildflower Walk Tuesday, June 4, 2019, in the hills of North Logan’s Green Canyon. Utah State University’s Intermountain Herbarium hosts the activity, which begin...

Even though she was well on her way to finishing high school with a 4.0 GPA and was among the Top 10 students in her class, Karina Hernandez wasn’t seriously considering attending college after graduation in the spring of 2014.

It’s a dog-eat-dog world and, in the struggle for existence, organisms interact with each other and their environment in a myriad of ways. Along that journey, they adapt, or perish, as they’re exposed to peril at every turn...

Biochemist Dr. Tianbiao "Leo" Lui and Evolutionary Biologist Dr. Zachariah Gompert are the College of Science's 2019 NSF CAREER awardees.

Utah State University celebrates the completion of the Life Sciences Building on its Logan campus Friday, April 5, at 1 p.m. in the new building’s lecture hall, Room 133. All are invited to attend. “Our celebration is the culmination of precision planning...

USU biologist Bonnie Waring is featured speaker for Science Unwrapped Friday, Jan. 25. The gathering begins at 7 p.m. in the Emert Auditorium, Room 130 of the Eccles Science Learning Center on campus. All are welcome.

Declines in native bee populations are widely reported, but can existing data really analyze these trends? In the Jan. 17, 2019, online edition of PLOS One, Utah State University and USDA researchers report findings about pollinator biodiversity in Califo...

Makenzie Breitenbach, a biology undergraduate student at Utah State University (USU) Uintah Basin, was awarded the Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunity (URCO) grant to perform research on local emissions and air quality. She is working with the...

The state of Utah’s nickname is “The Beehive State,” and the moniker couldn’t be more apt, say Utah State University scientists. One out of every four bee species in the United States is found In Utah.

The Utah State University community is invited to enjoy brain-energizing fun as USU’s College of Science Student Council hosts ‘Science Week’ Nov. 2-9. “We invite all Aggies to channel their ‘inner geek’ and join us in some great activities,” says...

Utah State University ecologists celebrated past and current achievements during the USU Ecology Center’s 50th Anniversary Luncheon and Symposium held Oct. 24, 2018, in the Huntsman Hall Perry Pavilion on campus.

Many bees nest in stems, twigs and crevasses, which makes them adept stowaways, says Utah State University entomologist Skyler Burrows. For this reason, customs officials and other managers monitor...

As wildfires continue to rage across the American West and the resulting smoky haze obscures mountain views outside his office window, Utah State University scientist Will Pearse ponders

That pointy thing sticking out of a bee or wasp? It’s technically known as a “sting,” even though most of us call it a “stinger.”

Conservation biologists recognize a sobering reality. “We’re losing species left, right and center,” says Utah State University scientist Will Pearse. “We call it the ‘Noah’s Ark Problem,’ and we have to pick species to save.

Envisioning a device the U.S. Navy is developing with Utah State University synthetic spider silk conjures images you’d expect in a James Bond thriller. Think strong, stretchy fibers wrapping relentlessly around a boat propeller and effectively...

Utah State University is among 33 institutions nationwide selected to join the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Inclusive Excellence Initiative. USU joins 24 other schools, chosen in 2017 during the initiative’s inaugural year.

Though mostly rooted in the ground, plants have a number of innovative ways to disperse their seeds and get on with the business of propagation. They drop seeds or release them to the wind.

What’s your favorite work of art on the USU campus? Is it James Russell’s celebratory Sojourn near Old Main? Or could it be Joseph Kinnebrew’s whimsical SNAFU (better known as “The French Fries”)? Perhaps your sentimental heart has a soft spot for the bel...

All wildflower enthusiasts are invited to participate in the annual Richard J. Shaw Memorial Wildflower Walk Tuesday, June 5, 2018, in the hills of North Logan’s Green Canyon...

Can you picture how a strand of DNA winds and unwinds or how a virus punctures a healthy cell? How do scientists envision molecular and cellular processes invisible to the human eye.

Utah State University professor Randy Lewis has achieved international renown for his pioneering efforts in producing synthetic spider silk. But the Aggie biologist, who graduated from the California Institute...

Visceral leishmaniasis, a deadly parasitic disease also known as “Kala-azar,” “Black Fever” and “Dumdum Fever,” is transmitted to humans by sandflies.

Utah State University professor Nancy Huntly has been named a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, the world’s largest community of professional ecologists. One of 28 honorees this year, Huntly will...

According to the CDC’s National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, more than 1 in 3 women, and more than 1 in 4 men, in the United States experience rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

Caecilians are serpent-like creatures, but they’re not snakes or giant worms. The limbless amphibians, related to frogs and salamanders, favor tropical climates of Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Utah State University scholar Mikayla Austin remembers how it felt to return to college after a few years absence. “I felt a bit intimidated,” says the self-described non-traditional student, who resumed studies at USU’s Brigham City campus, after her e

The split-second into a stumble and fall is filled with shocking terror, with a blink of time to react. The instant dread is warranted, as accidental tumbles send millions of Americans to emergency rooms each year. The problem is especially serious for th...

Modern chemical ingredients known as “adjuvants” make cosmetics, cleaning solutions and paints, as well as pesticides, glide on with ease in cost-effective application. But one type of these, potent organosilicone surfactants, may spell trouble.