The UA-led OSIRIS-REx mission is the first by the U.S. to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth. This image is an artist’s conception of the spacecraft during a burn of its main engine. (Credit: Heather Roper/UA)
From unprecedented space exploration initiatives to a deeper understanding of how viruses spread to the socio-economic influence of ramen noodles, University of Arizona researchers found themselves at the forefront of some of the year's most exciting and eye-opening discoveries.
Here are 10 UA-related stories—as featured on UANews—that generated headlines across the globe in 2016 (those in bold also appear in the UA Department of Medicine news archive):
1.“Bound for Bennu! OSIRIS-REx Launch Was 'Perfect'” - Sept. 9
OSIRIS-REx is the first U.S. mission to carry samples from an asteroid back to Earth and the largest sample returned from space since the Apollo era. The UA leads the mission science team and observation planning and provided the OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite instrument. (New York Times, CNN, Washington Post, BBC, New Yorker, The Week)
2.“Newly Discovered Planet Has Three Suns” - July 6
UA graduate student Kevin Wagner identified the first planet ever found in a wide orbit inside a triple-star system. The planet, known as HD 131399Ab, "is one of the few exoplanets that have been directly imaged, and it's the first one in such an interesting dynamical configuration," said study author and UA researcher Dániel Apai. (Washington Post, National Geographic, Wired)
3.“UA's Mall Memorial Makes 'Quiet Statement'” - Dec. 5
The USS Arizona Mall Memorial, with its overt and subtle elements, speaks to UA tradition, design and the continuing effort to preserve the memory of 1,177 sailors and Marines killed on the USS Arizona battleship during the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. (CBS Evening News, USA Today, Arizona Republic)
4.“Noodles Supplant Cigarettes as Prison Currency of Choice” - Aug. 24
Ramen noodles are supplanting the once-popular cigarettes as a form of currency among state prisoners, but not in response to bans on tobacco products within prison systems. Instead, study author Michael Gibson-Light, a doctoral candidate in the UA School of Sociology, found that inmates are trying to figure out ways to better feed themselves as certain prison services are being defunded. (Christian Science Monitor, TIME, Washington Post)
5.“Findings Show How AIDS Spread Across North America” - Oct. 26
A new technique that allowed researchers to analyze genetic material from serum samples of HIV patients taken before AIDS was known provides a glimpse of unprecedented detail into the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic in North America. Michael Worobey, head of the UA's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, led the research. (NPR, New York Times, Buzzfeed)
6.“Birth Year Can Predict Odds in a Flu Pandemic” - Nov. 10
We are not blank slates with regard to how susceptible we are to emerging strains of flu virus, researchers from the UA and UCLA have discovered. The findings could provide information that might be relevant for the development of a universal flu vaccine. Michael Worobey served as a co-author of the study. (CNN, The Atlantic, The Guardian)
7.“UA Law School Opens Admissions to GRE Test Takers” - Feb. 10
At the UA's James E. Rogers College of Law, students now have an alternative to the LSAT. Applicants can take the Graduate Record Exam, or GRE, instead of the LSAT, making the UA the first law school in the country to offer this option. (Wall Street Journal, NPR, Inside Higher Ed)
8.“Cracked, Frozen and Tipped Over: New Clues From Pluto's Past” - Nov. 16
Research by two UA planetary scientists reveals fascinating clues about Pluto, suggesting the small world at the fringes of our solar system is much more active than anyone ever imagined. (New York Times, Washington Post, BBC)
9.“Runners' Brains May Have More Connectivity, UA Research Shows” - Dec. 14
Researchers at the UA found that running is intellectually demanding and could affect thinking patterns in people who run — even when they are not running. (New York Times, New York Magazine, Runner's World)
10.“The Wasp That Delivers 'Instantaneous, Debilitating Pain'” - June 27
"Ouch!" has never sounded so authoritative. Out of the mouth of UA entomologist Justin Schmidt, it takes on a whole new meaning. In his recent book, "The Sting of the Wild," Schmidt ranks different insect stings in order to determine the toxicity and pain of each bite. (National Geographic, NPR Science Friday, New York Times)
EXTRA INFO
And 10 more: Our UANews honorable mention list
- “Drought in Eastern Mediterranean Worst of Past 900 Years”
- “Amish Farms May Protect Children Against Asthma”
- “UA-Led Team Confirms 100-Plus Exoplanets Via Kepler's 'K2' Mission”
- “UA, Banner Receive Historic Funding in Precision Medicine”
- “UA-Built Concussion App in NCAA Competition”
- “Ancient Burials Suggestive of Blood Feuds”
- “Meet 'Adonis,' Europe’s Oldest Known Living Tree”
- “How Your BMI Might Affect Your Brain”
- “Study Debunks Notions About Native Americans, Alcohol”
- “UA Experts Combat Zika Virus”
ALSO SEE:
"$7 Million NIH Grant Aims at Helping Asthma Sufferers Better Control Attacks, Breathe Easier" | Posted: Aug. 11, 2016