News: Research
Vulnerable Neighborhoods Bore Brunt of Pandemic Well into its Second Year
A study in PLOS Computational Biology from University of Texas at Austin epidemiologists examined COVID infection and hospitalization rates by zip code.
![A map of Travis County shows different Zip codes in different colors against a grid. Lines intersect higher and lower income areas.](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3-2-riskmap.jpg)
A New Way of Looking at the Differences Between the Sexes
Researchers set out to explain the variation in how the same genes are expressed in men and women.
![Illustration of a DNA helix in different colors](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/dna-thumbnail.jpg)
UT News
Invasive Grass in Texas Uses Chemical Warfare to Crowd Out Native Species
An invasive grass causing havoc in Texas and contributing to wildfires packs a one-two wallop against native plants. Guinea grass uses a combination of crowding that blocks out light from growing seedlings and what amounts to a chemical warfare in soil that is toxic to native plants, according to a new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.
![Researchers in the field examine Guinea grass](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/grass1-thumbnail-2400x1600.jpg)
Urban Gardens Are Good for Ecosystems and Humans
Traditionally, it has been assumed that cultivating food leads to a loss of biodiversity and negative impacts on an ecosystem.
![urban garden featuring plants and raised beds](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/2-feature-16x9-2400x1440-1-1200x800-c-default_0.png)
Loss of Reptiles Poses Threat for Small Islands Where Humans May Have Caused Extinctions
A new study has startling conclusions about how, on smaller islands in the Caribbean where human impact was greatest, extinctions have led to the loss of up to two-thirds of the supports for the ecosystem that native reptile species once provided there.
![Stylized image showing a lesser antillian iguana vs. an invasive mongoose](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/iguanavsmongoose-1200x800-c-default.png)
UT News
Holy Bat Memory! Frog-Eating Bats Remember Ringtones Years Later
Frog-eating bats trained to associate a phone ringtone with a tasty treat remembered what they learned for up to four years in the wild.
![A bat rests on a cloth](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/frog-eating-bat-guerra_2400x1440.jpg)
UT News
Legacy of Colonialism Influences Science in the Caribbean
An international collaboration of researchers shows how the legacy of colonialism remains deeply entrenched within scientific practice across the Caribbean.
![Map of the Caribbean](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/caribbean-map1400.png)
UT News
How Electric Fish Were Able to Evolve Electric Organs
How small genetic changes enabled electric fish to evolve electric organs.
![A glowing electric fish against a pitch dark background](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/zebrafish-gfp-1400px-1200x800-c-default.jpg)
UT News
Invading Hordes of Crazy Ants May Have Finally Met Their Kryptonite
UT Austin scientists have demonstrated how to use a naturally occurring fungus to crush local populations of invasive tawny crazy ants.
![Ants swarm on a larger, dead insect](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/cryptachaea-porteri2_mark-sanders1400.jpg)
Some Trees May Play an Outsized Role in the Fight on Global Warming
A new study shows that nitrogen-fixing trees could help forests remove more heat-trapping COS from the atmosphere than previously thought.
![Sunlight peeks through the trees](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/black-locust-trees-and-sun-2400x1600_0.jpg)