News: Research

2025

Scientists create ‘odd’ objects that adapt and move over obstacles

March 17, 2025

Physicists from the University of Amsterdam and the University of Chicago have demonstrated a series of ‘odd’ objects that are remarkably good at moving across any terrain they encounter—including uphill and over obstacles placed in their way.


UChicago researchers revolutionize network traffic generation with AI breakthrough

March 17, 2025

illustration of a brain made of connections

A team in the Department of Computer Science has developed NetDiffusion, a cutting-edge AI-powered framework that generates highly realistic synthetic network traffic.


Illuminating water’s hidden chains

March 17, 2025

illustration of a water wire: a linear structure composed of more strongly hydrogen-bonded water molecules

Prof. Giulia Galli unpacks breakthrough research that probes water's molecular architecture.


Study by UChicago scientists finds four tiny planets around one of our nearest stars

March 17, 2025

artist’s conception of the view from one of the four planets orbiting Barnard’s Star

MAROON-X, an instrument created by Prof. Jacob Bean's team, finds evidence for planets around famous Barnard’s Star.


Targeting mitochondria

March 17, 2025

mitochondria illustration

Lin Lab provides innovative strategy for combating cancer.


Researchers turn herbal tea ingredient into soft gels for biomedical use

March 17, 2025

Changxu Sun holds up a small malva nut and a submerged one

In a new UChicago study, researchers discovered a method to transform an ingredient used in herbal tea to make hydrogel, a substance that can be used for biomedical purposes.


Chinese mathematicians in US say they have cracked century-old fluid mechanics puzzle

March 17, 2025

illustration of a ring made of water

Two young Chinese mathematicians, including associate professor of mathematics Yu Deng, along with an international collaborator, may have solved a century-old problem in fluid mechanics--an area of study that is critical to many engineering fields, including hydraulic systems, the design of dams and bridges, and aerodynamics. [paywall]


The road map to alien life passes through the ‘Cosmic Shoreline’

March 17, 2025

planet-like beachballs on the shore

UChicago astronomer Jacob Bean is playing a critical role in groundbreaking research of atmospheres on exoplanets.


How UChicago scientists are protecting artists from AI theft

March 17, 2025

statue in front of stylized resistors

A UChicago team is creating software to combat AI’s ability to use artists’ work. Computer science professor Ben Zhao sits down with WBEZ Chicago to discuss the project.


The Great AI Art Heist

March 17, 2025

cartoon hand in

A lab at UChicago is protecting artists from theft by a new adversary: the machines.


The hidden cost of Netflix’s autoplay: A study on viewing patterns and user control

March 12, 2025

Photo of Netflix's home page

A new UChicago study from the Department of Computer Science reveals how Netflix’s autoplay feature subtly shapes viewing habits. The research highlights how turning off autoplay resulted in behavioral changes in participants, including reduced viewing time and increased awareness of media consumption.


Relaying volunteers’ input on machine learning to researchers

March 5, 2025

Big data cloud computing illustration

Chicago’s Adler Planetarium message board hosts conversations between staffers, scholars, and some of the roughly 2.8 million volunteers in Zooniverse, the world’s largest platform for crowdsourced research online. Starting around late 2023, staffers noticed a flurry of uncertainty and discomfort from volunteers centered around machine learning. The Zooniverse team recognized that this discomfort required a larger conversation. A grant from The Kavli Foundation will enable that conversation exploring the ethics of machine learning in citizen science in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics (KICP); the Kavli Center for Ethics, Science, and the Public at the University of California, Berkeley; and the National Science Foundation-Simons SkAI Institute.


Lab experiments add to evidence that Earth’s mantle is more complex than thought

March 3, 2025

Icon of earth's layers

A team of geologists and mineral physicists at Harvard University, the University of California, Argonne National Laboratory, and the University of Chicago has found evidence via lab experiments that show the Earth's mantle is far more complex than previously known.


The Moon Solidified 4.43 Billion Years Ago

March 3, 2025

Icon of the Moon

In a new research project, UChicago Prof. Nicolas Dauphas and a team of scientists used rocks gathered during the Apollo missions to learn more about the Moon's origins.
 


Today’s forecast Partially cloudy skies on an ultra-hot Neptune

March 3, 2025

Photo of Neptune

A new article provides insights into the extreme atmosphere of a rare ultra-hot Neptune. Michael Radica, a postdoctoral researcher in Astronomy and Astrophysics, was second author of this study.