In a new study published in Science, Jay Storz, Willa Cather Professor of biological sciences at Nebraska, and a team of international collaborators illuminate the biological secrets that allow Phyllotis vaccarum, also known as the Andean leaf-eared mouse, to thrive at the highest elevations of any known mammal — almost 7,000 meters — atop the Central Andes.
Articles on the research appeared in the Omaha World-Herald, Earth.com, Live Science, Science, Science News and Smithsonian magazine.
Kelsy Burke, professor of sociology at Nebraska, and Katie Gaddini, associate professor of sociology at University College London, co-wrote a July 1 op-ed for The Guardian on Gen Z conservative women celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold state restrictions on transgender students participating in sports. “In stark contrast with the image that the Republican movement is led by stuffy, old, white men, these young women make the broader MAGA movement seem trendy, modern and even, well, feminist,” they wrote. “They take for granted the ubiquity of messaging surrounding ‘women’s empowerment’ and insist the feminist label can apply to their views, too.”
Max Perry Mueller, classics and religious studies, wrote a July 6 essay for Slate on how Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani’s great season is helping him cope with the death of his wife, Anna. “Shohei Ohtani is not healing me,” Mueller wrote. “But in my nightly witness of his history-breaking greatness, he helps give my grief a new form.”
Bedross Der Matossian, history, wrote a July 7 guest column for The Jerusalem Post on the Israeli government’s recent recognition of the Armenian genocide. Der Matossian argued that the recognition doesn’t go far enough because it doesn’t protect Armenians. “Recognition, if it is to have genuine moral significance, must be accompanied by concrete action to prevent persecution, protect vulnerable populations and uphold international law,” he wrote.
Government Technology published a July 10 article on the University of Nebraska system’s new AI Institute. Co-directors Santosh Pitla, biological systems engineering, and Adrian Wisnicki, English, were interviewed for the article.
Cousins DeMoine Adams and Dr. Richard Steward III both gave commencement speeches in May, the Pine Bluff (Arkansas) Commercial reported July 10. Adams — CEO of The Game Plan: Ready, Set, Perform; former CEO of TeamMates Mentoring; and a former Husker football student-athlete — delivered the keynote address during the morning undergraduate ceremony May 9 at Nebraska. Steward spoke to the graduating class at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York on May 28. Both are natives of Pine Bluff.
Eve Brank, psychology, was interviewed for a July 20 Spotlight on America story on the idea of holding parents criminally responsible for their children’s actions. Brank said there is limited evidence that this approach is effective and warned that enforcement might not fall evenly across communities. “Your lower-income parents, single parents, parents of color are disproportionately likely to face enforcement of these laws,” she said. The story was picked up by several broadcast outlets nationwide.
