News: Research
Targeted Grazing May Help Beat Invasive Buffelgrass
Researchers head to Kenya to unlock the weaknesses of invasive buffelgrass to combat it here in Texas.
![Image of buffelgrass and cattle](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/buffelgrass_thumb_1.png)
Otters, Especially Females, Use Tools To Survive a Changing World
A new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools — most of whom are female — are able to eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.
![A sea otter feeds on a marine animal](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/otter_thumb.png)
Study Challenges Popular Concept of Spread of Cultural Innovations
Researchers find that Eurasia’s East-West orientation likely did not aid in cultural domination.
![Antique style world map with Europe and Asia centered](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3x2-world-map_0.jpg)
Red Flags: I’m Not the Bug for You!
The matador bug’s vibrant red hind-leg flags are neither a mating display nor a distraction tactic, they’re part of an elaborate defense strategy.
![A black and yellow bug with red flaps on its hind legs sits on a green leaf](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/matador_bug_by_ana_endara_1200x800.jpg)
UT News
Surviving a Volcanic Supereruption May Have Facilitated Human Dispersal Out of Africa
Graduate students Jessica Valdes and Keenan Riordan were on a team that found humans may have dispersed during arid times along “blue highways.”
![Map of northeastern Africa indicating location of an archaeological site](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/photograph-9-1-scaled-1200x800-c-default.jpg)
Why the Powerhouses of Cells Evolve Differently in Plants
New research solves a mystery as to why mitochondria in some plants evolve faster than others.
![A pink flower with green stem against a tan background](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/havirdthumb.png)
Climate Change and Habitat Loss Are Big Factors in Frog Pandemic
The worldwide decline in frog populations is due to a fast-spreading infection, but people also play a role.
![A small frog perches on a large rock](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/frog-thumb.jpg)
Increased Use of Paxlovid Could Cut Hospitalizations, Deaths and Costs
Epidemiologists found that treating even 20% of symptomatic cases would save lives and improve public health.
![A hand holding two white pills in the palm](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/pax-thumbnail.jpg)
First Brainwide Map Shows How Sex and Intimacy Rewire the Brain
Steven Phelps and his team found 68 brain regions in prairie voles associated with mating and bonding.
![A pair of small furry rodents snuggle](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/prairie-voles-aubrey-kelly-2400x1600.jpg)
Genes That ‘Don’t Play Well Together’ Drive Development of Distinct Species
Justin Havird, Erik Iverson and their colleagues have identified genes involved in hybrid incompatibility in swordtail fishes.
![Fish swimming in an aquarium](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/birchmanni_m_1-1200x800.jpg)