News Archive - 2012

  University of Georgia scientists have utilized a well-known cell-signaling protein in fighting influenza and the results have been promising: Kimberly Klonowski, assistant professor of cellular biology in the UGA Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and her colleagues found that administering a cell-signaling protein known as IL-15 to mice infected with influenza reduces their peak viral load by nearly three times. "We gave the IL-15…

Social media tools have the perception of keeping us all connected, but we probably shouldn't dismiss the extent to which they are also self-serving, so says a new study: New research from the University of Georgia finds what people may really "like" about social networking are themselves. "Despite the name ‘social networks,' much user activity on networking sites is self-focused," said Brittany Gentile, a UGA doctoral candidate who looked at…

 

  Coevolution is the change of a biological object triggered by the change of a related object. And up until now there has been little evidence of it driving changes in Earth's history, though that, too, seems to be changing: A new University of Georgia study shows that some native clearweed plants have evolved resistance to invasive garlic mustard plants—and that the invasive plants appear to be waging a counterattack. The study,…

Robotics finding its way into theatre is the subject of a New York Times feature story today. The story quotes department of theatre and film studies head David Saltz on the reality of robots and live theatre: Comedy seems to come easily to robots, whose exaggerated features and stilted movements make them natural stooges. “The more you try to imitate a human, the more creepy it can get,” Ms. Knight said. “Sometimes if you make it more…

Scientists at the University of Georgia, the University of California, San Diego, UCLA, California State Polytechnic University and the Australia National University have collaborated on a study, published in the journal Nature, suggesting new information on how planets are formed. The study: began with a curious and unexpected finding: Within three years, the cloud of dust circling a young star in the Scorpius-Centaurus stellar nursery simply…

Douglas Anderson in the Sterling-Goodman Professor of English at UGA. He has taught and written about Benjamin Franklin throughout his career, including most recently The Unfinished Life of Benjamin Franklin, published by Johns Hopkins in spring 2012. Here he talks about Franklin the man, his ideas about education and his connection to the Franklin College, as well the college's central role at UGA.    

  CBSNews.com ran a story about a very interesting discovery in Ontario - a giant, hitherto unknown 16th century settlement: Occupied between roughly A.D. 1500 and 1530, the so-called Mantle site was settled by the Wendat (Huron). Excavations at the site, between 2003 and 2005, have uncovered its 98 longhouses, a palisade of three rows (a fence made of heavy wooden stakes and used for defense) and about 200,000 artifacts. Dozens of examples…

And speaking of great work by our post-docs and graduate students, graduates of the Franklin College’s doctoral program in clinical psychology can be found in academic and clinical settings across the nation, and two recent alumni have been honored for their work by the American Psychological Association’s Society of Pediatric Psychology: Laura Simons, who earned her PhD from UGA in 2006 and now an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical…

The Lamar Dodd School of Art presents the exhibition "Tiny Universe," on view from June 20th to August 3rd in the Gallery 307 on the third floor of the school of art. The exhibition brings together six artists who use a variety of concepts and media to create a unique framework for understanding the world around us. Employing memory, experience, religion and humor, the artists in this show have essentially made their own universes for the…