Research & Academics

Dec. 7, 2018

Predicting and managing the global carbon cycle requires understanding the ecosystem processes that control carbon uptake and storage.

Although scientists generally think of carbon cycling in terms of the uptake and exchange between ecosystem plant and soil pools and the atmosphere, a new study of animals and the zoogeochemistry of the carbon cycle published in the journal Science shows animals also play a significant role by mediating carbon exchange between ecosystems and the atmosphere. The study was… Read more

Dec. 3, 2018

The ancient Nasca civilization, which flourished hundreds of years before the Inca along the southern coast of Peru, could be considered one of the earliest examples of a culture adapting to climate change. The Nasca thrived in one of the driest deserts in the world by growing corn and potatoes to sustain them, building an impressive irrigation system of aqueducts that still function today. The Nasca survived a drought, the intensification of agriculture and internal social conflict,… Read more

Nov. 27, 2018

Researchers have long known how diseases are spread, most of which involve contracting germs through air, feces, mucus membranes, blood or other bodily fluids. But because germs are naked to the human eye, seeing the process in which these pathogens move has remained a mystery. Until now.

A team of biologists from several institutions throughout the United States, including Northern Arizona University researchers Jeffrey Foster and Katy Parise, looked at disease transmission in bats. What they found revealed… Read more

Nov. 26, 2018

Indigenous people have the lowest rate of university enrollment and graduation rates of any group in the United States—and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, they represent only 0.5 percent of students nationwide. Professionals in STEM careers are underrepresented as well—Native Americans make up only 0.4 percent of the engineering workforce, according to the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.

Jani Ingram, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Northern Arizona University who has worked extensively… Read more

Nov. 19, 2018

Observable effects of climate change that scientists had predicted in the past are now a reality: Glaciers are shrinking, plant and animal ranges have shifted and trees are flowering sooner.

New research out of Northern Arizona University adds yet another noticeable result of the warming planet—thinner leaves on tropical trees, which snowballs into much bigger issues than just the appearance of a rainforest canopy.

Christopher Doughty, faculty member in NAU’s School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems, and a… Read more