Tags: Human Nature

gene graphic
The CRISPR Revolution

The hottest new area of scientific investigation, moving forward thanks to the work of UGA faculty and graduate students, is featured in the current issue of UGA Research magazine: a recently developed gene-editing tool commonly known by the acronym CRISPR, which makes it possible to snip out and replace segments of DNA inside the cells of living organisms with extraordinary precision. The technology is only about three years old, but it’s both…

man and woman smiling
Talking it through

Among the many aspects of communication between couples - from sharing aspirations, hopes and dreams to paying the bills and planning visits to the in-laws - the nature of how we talk to each other rises to particular importance. And while discussions of all kinds shape the interactions with our significant others, factors determining our relative happiness and quite often, the very sustainability of the relationship, can go beyond the success…

woman in lab with instruments
Ingram to become first black female to earn a Ph.D. in physics at UGA

Amazing student Whitney Ingram continues to rise to new heights of greatness. The Double Dawg from Stone Mountain will soon become the first African American woman to earn her Ph.D in physics at UGA: “My love of science at a young age came from arts and crafts books, where you could build small projects,” Ingram told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That passion stayed with her through college, where she eventually earned her bachelor’s degree…

man next to computer screen
Searching for clues in neural tube defects

Geneticist Jian-Fu Chen's project to understand why neural tube defects, the second most common birth defect in humans, occur recently gained new support from the National Institutes of Health: The neural tube becomes the brain and spinal cord in a developing embryo. The defect occurs when a neural plate folds into a tube during an embryo's development, explained Chen, who works in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences' genetics…


Via Podcast: Communication Studies Professor Celeste Condit

Her research provides some perspective on how media and our use of words affects our ability to understand one another, the world around us and even ourselves. As we continue on through this election season, how we use our words and how we understand each other seems more important than ever. Recently featured in a Wabash College podcast, she also had the honor of giving the Brigance Forum Lecture on campus there this Spring. Her lecture there…


Satellite Precipitation Data, the Energy-Water-Food Nexus and the Urbanized Globe

Water, food and energy are inextricably linked. All three sectors impact one or both of the others. Improving water, energy and food security on a global level can be achieved through a nexus approach that integrates management of these resources across geographies and sectors. Having the data to do this, however, is a challenge.   Dr. Marshall Shepherd, director of UGA's atmospheric sciences program and the Georgia Athletic Association…

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Laptops in the classroom

A Washington Post article notes a West Point study that using laptops during class harms smart students even worse than others. But how does computing in class affect learning, the classroom dynamic, the professor's engagement? Anyone can get distracted by distracted people: Now there is an answer, thanks to a big, new experiment from economists at West Point, who randomly banned computers from some sections of a popular economics…

flowering plant close-up
How plants respond to climate change

Jill Anderson, an assistant professor of genetics, has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Program to study the effects of climate change on plants. Among the NSF's most prestigious, CAREER awards support junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar and the integration of education and research: Anderson's project tests whether plants will be able to survive on a warming…

micro-organisms on black
Understanding the microbiomes

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy hosted a May 13 event on microbiomes—communities of microorganisms that live on and in people, plants, soil, oceans and the atmosphere—featuring presentations from four scientists including UGA's Samantha Joye: Microbiomes maintain the healthy function of ecosystems, influencing diverse features of the planet from human health to climate change and food security. During the event, the…

b/w prints framed on a wall
Noted and Quoted, April 2016

April was a big month for Franklin faculty, students and alumni in the media - though, in truth, we might say that most months. A sample of the covergae of meaningful research, opinions and engagement over the previous few weeks: Surprising, vibrant reef discovered in the Muddy Amazon – National Geographic, Live Science, Atlas Obscura, International Business Times, Latin Post, Inquisitr, Irish Times articles quote marine sciences professor…

man, headshot with sky
The Physics of Financial Markets

Answering these questions from a physicist's viewpoint, Chhabra leads to a new framework for investing that extends Modern Portfolio Theory to incorporate large deviations such as bubbles and crashes. The colloquium will not assume prior knowledge of the subject matter and is instead aimed at an audience with a variety of backgrounds. We welcome Mr. Chhabra back to UGA and the department of physics and astronomy. The technical details of…

woman in lab with beaker
Hollander presents research at Posters on the Hill

CRISPR-associated proteins are some of the most promising new tools providing a way to make gene deletions, corrections of mutations and additions of new genes in any genome. Outstanding undergraduate researcher Erin Hollander, a junior Honors student majoring in biochemistry and genetics, was one of 60 presenters selected out of hundreds of applicants from institutions across the country to present her research at the nation's capital…

girl on bike, man with sign
Sustainability, NSF Grad Fellowships and a Postcard

Seventeen UGA students and alumni were among the 2,000 fellows selected from nearly 17,000 applicants nationwide for the 2016 competition. And Interim Associate Provost Noel Fallows shares with us this postcard from University of Liverpool professor Alan McCarthy, who recently spent three days at UGA courtesy of the department of genetics and the department of marine sciences: “The focus of my research is the development and application of…

students with thank you signs
Thank a Donor Day

The Fifth Annual Thank a Donor Day is taking place today in Tate Plaza until 1 p.m. Come join our students, including many Franklin Ambassadors, in expressing their gratitude to UGA donors with photos, cards and giveaway prizes. We appreciate the supprt of our donors as well as the efforts of the stewardship staff that connects UGA alumni and friends with opportunities to impact campus and help enhance the UGA experience for all students.…

four men in a lab
Advanced Functional Fabrics partnership moves forward

The AFFOA partnership builds on recent breakthroughs in fiber materials and manufacturing processes that will soon allow scientists to design and manufacture fabrics that see, hear, sense, communicate, store and convert energy, regulate temperature, monitor health and change color. ... UGA researchers who will play critical roles in AFFOA include Sergiy Minko, the Georgia Power Professor of Polymers, Fibers and Textiles in the College of Family…

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Fulbright Scholars explore the world

UGA faculty participating in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 Core Fulbright Scholar and Fulbright Specialist programs evaluated the impact of rural nursing in Ecuador, brought research on telenovelas to universities in Chile, and will examine the coast and teach about invasive species in Chile. The incoming class of scholars includes Robin Shelton, professor in the department of physics and astronomy, who will travel to Berlin in spring 2017 to…

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UGA Honors Week

The accomplishments of faculty, staff, students and alumni at the University of Georgia take center stage this week as the campus community celebrates Honors Week 2016. With recognition of extraordinary individual accomplishments of faculty in teaching, research and service, the Franklin College takes its place as the academic home of excellence on campus. Individual faculty members featured in print and online publications this week include:…

students talking near a poster
CURO highlights undergraduate research

Earlier this week, more than 400 students participated in the annual two-day Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) symposium at the Classic Center in downtown Athens. Showcasing their research knowledge through poster sessions and presentations, this year’s group of students represented a cross-section of the Franklin College departments. Students' broad research interests included everything from chemistry, computer science and…

man in lab with test tube
Xie receives NSF CAREER Award

Assistant professor of chemistry Jin Xie has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Program: CAREER awards are among the NSF's most prestigious. The five-year grant supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholar and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Xie's research is focused on advances in…

open book on a step outdoors
Homerathon!

 

researchers in b/w photo
Noted and Quoted, March 2016

Franklin faculty expertise continues to gain influence in the media on a wide variety of crucial issues affecting American society and the world. A sample from the month of March: The Washington Post files an editorial written by professors Marshall Shepherd and John Knox. The post is about “the unfortunate demise of the National Achievement Scholarship Program.” U.S. News map: What going viral looked like 120 years ago. An interactive map,…

man with eggs and microscope
How neurons grow: tracking stem cells

Extraordinarily novel, and painstaking, interdisciplinary research project to develop a better understanding of how neurons grow, connect and function: Goodfellow, a graduate student in the University of Georgia's Regenerative Bioscience Center, has developed a unique approach of marrying stem cell biology and 3-D imaging to track and label neural stem cells. His findings were published in the journal Advanced Functional Material.…

man with glasses
Chemist Michael K. Johnson named Regents Professor

The 2016 recipient of the Regents Professorship is chemist Michael K. Johnson, an internationally renowned pioneer in the development of methods for investigating the biological properties of metals that are essential to life processes in plants and animals.  Regents Professorships are bestowed by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia on faculty members whose scholarship or creative activity is recognized nationally…

woman with computer screen image
Focus on the faculty: Jennifer McDowell

The mysteries of the brain shape the contours of psychology professor Jennifer McDowell's research and teaching: What are your favorite courses and why? “Biologic Foundations of Behavior”— most graduate students in clinical or counseling fields have to take it, end up taking it with me, and a subset of students   always dread it. When I was new, I felt sorry that they were forced to take the class.  I have evolved.  Now I…

U.S. map with coastal counties highlighted
Study predicts impacts of sea level rise

Assessing the risk from rising seas using year 2100 population forecasts for all 319 coastal counties in the continental U.S., a new UGA study predicts that more than 13 million American homes will be threatened by rising sea levels by the end of the century: The study is based on analyses by Mathew Hauer for his doctoral work with the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; Deepak Mishra of the UGA department of geography; and Jason…
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