2019
Computer scientists work to improve electric muscle stimulation (EMS) technology
July 30, 2019
![Profile of lab volunteer wearing a virtual reality headset with two illustrations. One illustration depicts the virtual box that the volunteer is directed to touch. The second illustration depicts the haptic prediction error through EEG waves.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
With the help of fMRI imaging, Lopes designed a system that allowed researchers to isolate differences between the motor and sensory systems of the brain. This data could be used to guide engineers in designing the next wave of EMS devices.
Geophysical scientists publish study on how viruses could potentially affect climate
July 30, 2019
![Image of a large bloom of carbon-capturing cyanobacteria](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
By feeding cyanobacteria virus-infected nitrogen, Asst. Profs. Coleman and Waldbauer obtain findings that illustrate virus-driven nutrient flow in marine ecosystems.
PhD student helps collect over 7,500 images to challenge image recognition technology
July 25, 2019
![Picture of Steven Basart holding a cat](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Computer Science graduate student Steven Basart recently published a data set that can improve the accuracy of AI model image recognition technology.
Chemistry professor featured as a 40 under 40 Chicago Scientist
July 24, 2019
![Headshot of Bryan Dickinson](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Prof. Bryan Dickinson is listed as one of Halo Cures Inc. 40 under 40 Chicago scientists, awarded to scientists for their tireless pursuit of cures and treatments that help people live better lives. Dickinson's work specializes in the creation of functional molecules to solve difficult problems in biology and medicine.
Researchers engineer RNA systems to better understand various biomolecular interactions in diseases
July 24, 2019
![three scientists observe as one scientists inserts a liquid into a test tube with a pipette.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
A team lead by Prof. Bryan Dickinson has developed a biosensor, split RNA polymerase, which serves as the perfect tool to study a broad range of targeted biomolecular interactions.
50 years later, UChicago scientists continue to decode moon’s mysteries
July 19, 2019
![astronaut on moon](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
50 years after the moon landing, researchers at the University of Chicago are still tackling questions about the moon's formation, age, and makeup.
New measure of Hubble constant adds to mystery about universe’s expansion rate
July 16, 2019
![Illustration of Red Giant Stars in universe](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Prof. Freedman and her team announced a new measurement of the Hubble constant using a kind of star known as a red giant. Their observations, made with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, indicate that the expansion rate for our corner of the universe is just under 70 kilometers per second per megaparsec—slightly smaller than their previous measurement.
Scientists use 3-D imaging and AI to examine questions around climate and biodiversity
July 16, 2019
![images of shell fossils](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Geophysical Sciences Prof. David Jablonski and statistician Tingran Gao lead an interdisciplinary initiative to create a 3-D image database of more than 3,000 shells of the bivalve class from around the world. Funded by a seed grant from UChicago’s Center for Data and Computing, this growing database will allow scientists to ask deeper questions about biodiversity both between and within species, and how climate change might affect the survival, distribution, and shape of organisms with ecological, economic and dietary importance.
Chicago Quantum Exchange announces 5 new corporate partnerships
July 11, 2019
![Postdoctoral Student in laboratory](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
David Awschalom, Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Professor in the Department of Physics, states that the new Chicago Quantum Exchange partnerships with Boeing, Applied Materials Inc., ColdQuanta Inc., HRL Laboratories LLC, and Quantum Opus LLC "will help both academia and industry leverage each other's knowledge at the leading edge of quantum computing. "
Scientists combine light and matter to make particles with new behaviors
July 9, 2019
![Circles of circulating light rays against black background](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
By shaking electrons with lasers, researchers led by Assoc. Prof. Jonathan Simon were able to create electrons with 'doppelganger' features. Simon's published work could one day help create more powerful computers or virtually "unhackable" quantum communications.
UChicago research on microbes and microbiomes across the Great Lakes
July 9, 2019
![Graduate student wearing red headlight examines tube containing a water sample.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
The Chicago Tribune features Asst. Prof. Maureen Coleman's research, which seeks to better understand what microbes are present in the Great Lakes and what role they play in the environment.
Postdoc discusses the search for Earth-like exoplanets with Cosmos Magazine
July 2, 2019
![Image of multiple planets and galaxies with human silhouette sitting in bottom left corner.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
Cosmos Magazine features postdoctoral researcher, Stephanie Olson, who elaborates on what it takes for an exoplanet to be habitable and the possibility of finding a planet more habitable than Earth itself.
Scientists use X-rays from faraway galaxy cluster to reveal secrets of plasma
June 25, 2019
![Intergalactic plasma shown in pink and purple, while an optical image of individual galaxies is in white.](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
University of Chicago astrophysicist, Irina Zhuravleva, led a study that provides a brand-new glimpse of the small-scale physics of intergalactic plasma. Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists took a detailed look at the plasma in a distant galaxy cluster and discovered the flow of plasma is much less viscous than expected and, therefore, turbulence occurs on relatively small scales—an important finding for our numerical models of the largest objects in the universe.
Using human genome, scientists build CRISPR for RNA to open pathways for medicine
June 24, 2019
![Cartoon image of gloved hands removing strands of RNA with tweezers](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
A group of scientists from the University of Chicago has announced a breakthrough method to alter RNA—and instead of using a protein from bacteria, like CRISPR, the new system is built out of parts from the human genome. Announced June 20 in Cell, the discovery could open new pathways for treating diseases or injuries by temporarily altering how the genetic template is carried out in the cell.
Scientists use atoms to simulate quantum physics in curved spacetimes
June 24, 2019
![starburst in center with squiggly lines and thermometers](https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/shared-resources/i/template/transparent.gif)
A team of physicists at the University of Chicago has built a quantum system to simulate the physics of Unruh radiation. The breakthrough advances our understanding of these complex physics—and could ultimately help us explain how the largest and smallest phenomena in the universe fit together.