Tag: Discovery

Biologist Rene Martin’s research revealed, for the first time, that birds-of-paradise are biofluorescent, meaning they absorb light from the sun and re-emit intensely bright colors. Martin’s work generated headlines across the world, including in The New York Times, the Guardian and Smithsonian Magazine.

Nebraska is leading a national effort to assess the health risks posed by antimicrobial-resistant pathogens in the environment. The study is one of the first to use field data to gauge the level of risk posed by activities like swimming and fishing in waters contaminated by resistant bacteria.

Despite their microscopic size, methanogens play a major role in the global carbon cycle. A Nebraska research team uncovered another dimension of how they function, painting a clearer picture of environmental carbon flow and providing key information for the sustainable development of bioenergy sources.

A wearable device developed by Husker engineer Eric Markvicka may help patients with chronic conditions stay ahead of disease flare-ups, which is key to improved outcomes and reduced mortality. A multimodal approach provides insight into a wearer’s holistic health and enables earlier, faster and more accurate identification of disease exacerbations.

Humans have strategies for dealing with bothersome environmental noise: headphones, white noise, soundproofing materials and more. Husker research suggests that animals, too, have methods for tuning out. Biologists Eileen Hebets and Brandi Pessman published one of the first studies showing that the funnel-weaving spider can change how it receives sound when faced with local, human-generated noise.