Building a better light bulb, harnessing nuclear fusion or even researching the beginning of life on Earth requires magnetized electrons. To date, creating these special “spin-polarized electrons” is difficult and time-consuming. UNL physicist Tim Gay is developing a turnkey source of spin-polarized electrons with a $610,000 grant from the National Science Foundation funded by the […]

Some genes tend to jump around in our DNA, inserting themselves where they can cause trouble. Eating foods with enough biotin can help keep these “jumping genes” in place. UNL nutrition scientist Janos Zempleni has made important discoveries about how biotin suppresses jumping genes, which may one day lead to better prevention of some cancers […]

Nearly every adult carries the Epstein-Barr virus. Most will never know it, but for some, the virus will lead to cancer. UNL biologist Luwen Zhang has identified a gene that the virus targets to cause disease. His research may one day lead to better treatments against Epstein-Barr virus-related lymphomas. Zhang received $545,682 from the National […]

UNL College of Engineering is a partner on a grant of more than $4.8 million in a project to provide “green jobs” training in Nebraska. The grant is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Jonathan Shi, professor and department chair with Construction Management, and associate professor Kevin […]

The brain, which helps us understand the world, is itself the least understood organ. Mathematics is helping to reveal some of the brain’s mysteries. UNL mathematician Carina Curto’s research into neural networks is expanding understanding of the brain. Her work eventually could help other researchers develop new treatments for brain disorders, such as autism and […]

$640K from NIH may lead to better disease treatments It’s widely understood that eating a diet high in saturated fats increases the risk for a long list of chronic and deadly diseases, including diabetes and coronary heart disease. Understanding how this works at a molecular level, however, is much more complicated. Paul Black, professor and […]

UNL has received $6.9 million of federal stimulus funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to help fund construction of a new nanoscience research facility. The grant will cover half the $13.8 million cost to construct the Nanoscience Metrology Facility. It will be adjacent to the north end of the new Physical Sciences […]

If you’ve ever tried to quit smoking, understanding how you got hooked in the first place probably seems irrelevant. But UNL psychologist Rick Bevins believes those first experiences play a key role in nicotine’s grip on you today, and understanding that role will eventually help you quit. With a $534,413 two-year grant from the National […]

Federal funds fuel Whitbeck’s project Women make up nearly one-third of the homeless population in the United States. Yet little is known about how they become homeless or how they live. UNL sociologist Les Whitbeck hopes his new research project surveying the lives of homeless women will lead to better understanding and to programs that […]