Science Utah

Salt Lake City, the northern Wasatch Front, and the Uinta Basin all had high concentrations of ground-level ozone this year. When it occurs in the upper atmosphere, ozone is good for organisms because it blocks harmful UV rays. But when it occurs at ground level, ozone harms plants and animals by burning the tissues they use to breathe. 

When was the last time you thought about a time before internet? It wasn’t that long ago, only 50 years since the first message was sent between computers at the University of Califonia, Los Angeles and the Stanford Research Institute.

Soil is the largest terrestrial carbon pool, accounting for over three times more carbon than all plants on earth. According to a researcher who specializes in environmental issues, this could make it a key tool in the fight against climate change.

Utah State University researchers have recently released a new online tool to help Utahns improve their mental health.

Did you know that the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources depends on hunters and outdoor enthusiasts to track migratory birds in Utah?  

The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee is considering a bill to fund the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

Last week, the 3.9 earthquake centered near Tremonton came as a big surprise to Box Elder County geologists - caused by one of many unknown faults in northern Utah.

The University of Utah will be hosting a symposium on Thursday about air quality in the state. Dr. Steve Bannister will be a guest panalist. He studies the economic influence of air quality in Utah and around the world.

Previously thought to be extinct, black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in the United States. Thanks to captive breeding programs, these ferrets are being bred and reintroduced to prairie habitats across the Western US, including Coyote Basin near Vernal.

Not long ago, Pelican Lake, roughly between Vernal and Deschene, was full of bluegill fish and bass.

There is no cure for Parkinson’s Disease, but for mice with induced Parkinson’s, exercise seems to slow the progression of the neurodegenerative disease, and surveys suggest something similar could be happening with humans. A research group at University of Utah is looking into this kind of treatment with a grant for controlled experiments.

Drs. Bruce Bugbee and Lance Seefeldt are both scientists at Utah State University. Dr. Bugbee is a botanist, he studies plants; and Dr. Seefeldt is a biochemist, he studies the chemistry of living organisms. It may not sound like these scientists have very much in common, but they do have one common interest.

The Navajo sandstone is one of Utah’s most iconic rock formations, with its massive white-pink cliffs strikingly visible in Zion and other national parks and monuments. Deposited during the Jurassic time period, these sandstones tell us the story of a major turning point in Earth’s history when fertile lands turned into an immense desert – in a process called desertification. 

Citizens of Utah joined people around the world on Friday in an international climate strike.

Bighorn sheep are a charismatic species in the Western United States, but populations throughout the West have struggled due to a widespread respiratory illness originally introduced by European settlers.

The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) recently received $9.6 million for its Emergency Watershed Protection Program (EWPP) to help Utah County restore watersheds affected by the Pole Canyon and Bald Mountain fires.

There are 42 threatened or endangered species that call Utah home. These species are protected by federal law through the Endangered Species Act. However, the Trump administration recently announced some big changes to the act, which may have a large impact on those species.

Beginning August 28, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will be adding rotenone to several lakes and streams in the Eastern Uinta Mountains aimed at helping eliminate invasive species that threaten the populations of Colorado River Cutthroat trout. 

Dr. Mathieu Francoeur, a professor and mechanical engineer at the University of Utah, has created a tiny device that could increase the efficiency of all of our electronics. 

Some vaccines have been extremely successful. 

“If you want to see one of the greatest public health achievements ever, follow smallpox, and how we were able to eradicate it.”

Doctors in Cache Valley have a new tool to help them detect and diagnose breast cancer earlier in their patients - 3D mammography.

As wildfires are becoming larger and more frequent across the nation, scientists are interested in the potential impacts smoke emissions may have on the atmosphere and air quality. 

The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steam rollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of the past. It reminds us of all that was once good and that could be again.”

Many Utahns are familiar with the species Anabrus simplex, though they may not know it by that name. According to folklore associated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the spring of 1848 these little critters attacked newly planted crops that were vital for the survival of Mormon settlers.