BIOLOGY, ANTHROPOLOGY - Home is where the microbes are. That’s one takeaway from newly published research by an interdisciplinary University of Oregon team that found a shared home environment to be the strongest predictor of human microbiome similarity.

The UO’s Undergraduate Research Symposium is back this year with a virtual format that organizers say will make for an inspiring and accessible event. The symposium itself is May 27, but related events are going on throughout the week as part of the Week of Research.

Co-organized by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success, the inaugural Week of Research will be held remotely and is open to students, faculty members and staff.

COMPUTER SCIENCE, EARTH SCIENCES - University of Oregon research inspired by an undergraduate has uncovered a communications hazard that could accompany earthquakes along the Cascadia subduction zone: Internet traffic and cell signaling facilities could be crippled.

EAST ASIAN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - An analysis of Twitter activity between March and August 2020 by University of Oregon linguists unmasked strong support for face coverings to reduce exposure to COVID-19, but feedback from journal reviewers led to a deeper dive into their data.

COMICS AND CARTOON STUDIES, PHYSICS - The University of Oregon Science/Comics Interdisciplinary Research Program pairs artistic students with accomplished scientists to create dynamic illustrations that tackle subjects not normally seen in the pages of a comic book.

The Glacier Lab is a group of graduate students, CHC undergrads and postdocs who study the societal impacts of glaciers, icebergs and snow worldwide. Members of the lab come from diverse academic backgrounds, including environmental studies, anthropology, history and English.

BIOLOGY, NEUROSCIENCE - Imagine a drug that could temporarily reenergize plasticity in the brain to treat autism or schizophrenia, or even help an adult’s aging brain pick up a new language or learn to play a musical instrument.

A University of Oregon program that provides education to incarcerated Oregonians is expanding with a boost from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, one of the largest supporters of the arts and humanities in the United States.

PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY - Nicole Wales will probably not be the only University of Oregon senior graduating this June with dreams of becoming a science professor. And there will also be others who represent the first in their family to attend college. What really sets Wales apart, though, are the challenges she overcame just to get to the university, let alone thrive as a scholar and researcher.