ENGLISH, CREATIVE WRITING - Turns out that even in space, politics feel just like they do at home. Partisan tribes living on a moon of Jupiter shout at one another in the sci-fi world of Invisible Things, the new novel by Mat Johnson, an author, screenwriter, and Philip H. Knight Chair at the University of Oregon.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, DATA SCIENCE - The University of Oregon will open a new School of Computer and Data Sciences in fall 2023, combining the university’s growing strength in computer science with its five-year investment in data science.

BIOLOGY - Even worms have a ticking fertility clock. A new study from UO biologists suggests one possible reason why reproduction slows with age. Older worms are less efficient at repairing broken DNA strands while making egg cells—part of a process that’s essential for fertility.

BIOLOGY - Nanomia bijuga, a marine animal related to jellyfish, swims via jet propulsion. And it can control these jets individually, either syncing them up or pulsing them in sequence. These two different swimming styles let the animal prioritize speed or energy efficiency, depending on its current needs, a team of UO researchers found.

University of Oregon's Environment Initiative partnered with APRU Sustainable Cities and Landscape Hub to support students exploring place-based climate resilience solutions across the Pacific Rim.

EARTH SCIENCES - UO’s Oregon Hazards Lab is expanding the state's network of fire detection cameras.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Teeth from an extinct monkey species are a clue to the ages of fossils of human ancestors throughout South Africa. A study from UO anthropologist Stephen Frost and a team of colleagues updates the proposed ages of key fossil sites in South Africa, sites that hold important clues to human evolution.

NEUROSCIENCE - The animal's sophisticated visual system could offer clues to brain evolution

GEOGRAPHY - Cartographers at the University of Oregon’s InfoGraphics Lab were a key partner on a new report on migrations of deer and elk that highlights the challenges the animals face and offers solutions and tools for conservation.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES - A new award is shining a spotlight on the hard work of department leaders at the University of Oregon. The Office of the Provost is recognizing Mark Unno and Gretchen Soderlund as the Outstanding Department Heads of 2022. Both winners will receive a $5,000 award.

ANTHROPOLOGY - Ever since the first human-controlled spacecraft escaped Earth’s gravity, people have been pushing toward permanent human life inhabiting planets beyond Earth. Some might say it's brand-new territory, but UO professor and Museum of Natural and Cultural History associate director Scott Fitzpatrick argues that humans have already faced similar great unknowns.

BIOLOGY - Gut microbes encourage specialized cells to prune back extra connections in brain circuits that control social behavior, new UO research in zebrafish shows. The pruning is essential for the development of normal social behavior.

CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - A University of Oregon chemist who is studying RNA structures that carry specific biological functions hopes to translate the findings into advances that will impact all of humanity, such as the COVID vaccine.

BIOLOGY - A new gene editing technique developed by UO researchers compresses what previously would have been years of work into just a few days, making new kinds of research possible in animal models.

The University of Oregon continued its multiyear streak of increasing grant funding in fiscal year 2021-22 (FY22). Numerous faculty members received recognition for their contributions to research, as well as the number of research awards with direct positive effects on local and regional communities.