iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Study led by @utah.edu engineers points ways to adjust data center operations to reduce pressure on Western grid—and costs by up to $590 million a year. attheu.utah.edu/science-tech...

attheu.utah.edu

How data center flexibility can relieve stress on the Western grid - @theU

Study led by U engineers shows data center operations can be adjusted to net savings worth up to $590 million a year.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

By reanalyzing archived seismic data, @utah.edu seismologists have confirmed 10 quakes beneath northeast Utah and southwest Wyoming since 1979 at depths below Earth’s crust in the mantle. @uussquake.bsky.social @uofu-science.bsky.social

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

To better understand long-term suicide trends, @utah.edu researchers analyzed federal mortality data going back to 1900. Their study shows suicide follow decades-long cycles shaped by social forces, not just individual psychology. attheu.utah.edu/health-medic...

attheu.utah.edu

Landmark study reveals century-long cycles in U.S. suicide rates and a long-term crisis among youth - @theU

Research led by Huntsman Mental Health taps 122 years of mortality data to build most comprehensive picture of suicide trends ever assembled.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

#GreatSaltLake biome is getting more crowded with @utah.edu’s discovery of new nematode species, one of which was just named, D. wo’aabi, for the Shoshone word for worm. Worm discoverer @drjuliejung.bsky.social talks about it on @npr.org www.npr.org/2025/12/16/n... @uofubiology.bsky.social

npr.org

Only two species can survive in Great Salt Lake? Scientist says — hold my Nalgene

Scientist Julie Jung set out on a hike along the Great Salt Lake to find nematodes. She ended up discovering a new species.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Documentary, The Memory of Darkness, Light, and Ice, details how @utahstate.bsky.social geoscientist Tammy Rittenour helped reveal climate secrets locked in Greenland’s ice sheet. Her Luminescence Lab dated old ice cores, pinpointing time when Greenland was ice free. www.usu.edu/today/story/...

usu.edu

USU Lab Contributes to New Documentary on Findings Beneath Greenland Ice Sheet

A new documentary shows how USU researchers are helping determine when life last existed where the Greenland Ice Sheet is now.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Inequities in park access along racial and ethnic lines abounds in the US, despited the many benefits public green space provides people, new @utah.edu study finds. Time to overhaul funding models to improve access for underserved communities. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff...

attheu.utah.edu

Who benefits from neighborhood parks? - @theU

A first-of-its-kind study found that public greenspaces are unevenly distributed in nearly all U.S. communities, leaving some residents—particularly those in ethnic enclaves—without access to a...

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Curated by ancient rodents and hardened with their pee: What pack rat middens reveal about Range Creek’s past. Geographers look to pollen grains and macrofossils preserved in poop piles to reconstruct Utah canyon's paleoecology. attheu.utah.edu/feature/the-... @utah.edu

attheu.utah.edu

The poop-pile time capsules of Range Creek Canyon - @theU

Paleoecologist Marti Sorensen analyzes pack rat middens to reconstruct the ecology of NHMU-managed archaeological preserve.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Private timberlands managed for industrial logging are more prone to severe burning in wildfires than national forests. LiDAR-based study led by @utah.edu shows why. @wilkescenter.bsky.social attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff... 2018 imagery mapped forest structure in Sierra before region burned

attheu.utah.edu

Industry managed forests more likely to fuel megafires - @theU

Forests managed by timber companies were more likely to exhibit the conditions that megafires love—dense stands of regularly spaced trees with continuous vegetation connecting the...

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Utah’s #BonnevilleSaltFlats have shrunk by 75% since 1925. @utah.edu geologists Brenda Bowen and Mark Radwin use remote satellite, aerial imagery to analyze loss of halite crusts sciencedirect.com/science/arti... At current decline rate, 185-358 acres a year, they could be gone by 2072

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Transdisciplinary study from #UniversityofUtah concludes unborn children are at higher risk of intellectual disabilities from their mothers’, even grandmothers’ exposure to air pollution while pregnant. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff... @utah.edu

attheu.utah.edu

Industrial pollution’s imprint lasts generations - @theU

According to new analysis using Utah Population Database, a woman’s prenatal exposures can increase risk of intellectual disabilities in daughter’s children.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

After 13 years of pouring money down this rathole, the state of Utah still pays people to indiscriminately kill coyotes, despite reams of evidence that this cruel policy does little to control this resilient predator, not to mention flagrant fraud on the part of some bounty collectors.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

KUER @kuer.org · 08/07/2025

AI chatbots can be an asset in mental health treatment. But things get risky when they try to do work that requires a license for humans.

kuer.org

In its first year of work, Utah’s AI office laid out mental health best practices

AI has a role to play in mental health care, but it also comes with potential risks.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Thanks to federal funding and curious scientists, the U.S. has long driven life-saving discoveries in genetics. That legacy is in serious jeopardy under proposed cuts to NSF and NIH. Retired @utah.edu biomedical researchers explain what's at stake in @sltrib.com op-ed

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

@utah.edu campus is Utah’s official arboretum with 11,600 trees spanning 300 species, from Walter Cottam’s legendary gambel oak hybrids to majestic Japanese zelkova in Cottam’s Gulch. Read the university magazine cover story by Lisa Anderson. @redbuttegarden magazine.utah.edu/issues/summe...

magazine.utah.edu

A Tree Grows on Campus - The University of Utah Magazine

As Utah’s official state arboretum, the U campus and Red Butte Garden & Arboretum contain an impressive collection of awe-inspiring trees.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 18/06/2025

‘Jar of bones’ recovered from Utah’s public lands and held for 20 years in the collections of @nhmu.bsky.social found to be those of a Cretaceous lizard previously unknown to science. Study by @utah.edu gives it a name: Bolg amondol, relative of modern Gila monster. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff...

attheu.utah.edu

New monstersaur species a ‘goblin prince’ among dinosaurs - @theU

Discovery of Bolg amondol, a name inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” universe, reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila monster relatives that roamed Utah’s prehistoric tro...

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

@utah.edu medical ethicists are revealing untold story of Black inmate used in malaria experiments at #Stateville Penitentiary and how it led to discoveries that help prevent adverse drug reactions today. attheu.utah.edu/health-medic...

attheu.utah.edu

A new look at the Stateville prison malaria experiments - @theU

Utah scholars pull back the curtain on the untold story of Black prisoners and the science of preventing adverse drug reactions.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 27/05/2025

LED lighting doesn't just save electricity, it can also prevent bird collisions with buildings, which kills millions a year. Researchers with @utahstate.bsky.social figure out how shining ultraviolet light on glass makes windows appear solid. www.npr.org/2025/05/26/n...

npr.org

How LED lights can help birds avoid fatal run-ins with windows

Shining ultraviolet lights on windows can substantially decrease the number of birds that fly into them and die, new research at Utah State University shows.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

Diane Maggipinto @dianemaggipinto.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Our energy future? Cue Fred Flintstone @washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The University of Utah @utah.edu · 07/05/2025

“It’s like they have a superpower.” Genetic analysis of all-women extreme divers finds changes linked to blood pressure, cold tolerance. Secrets of the Haenyeo divers ⬇️🤿

attheu.utah.edu

Secrets of the Haenyeo divers - @theU

“It’s like they have a superpower”: Genetic analysis of all-women extreme divers finds changes linked to blood pressure, cold tolerance.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The University of Utah @utah.edu · 08/05/2025

Spring runoff is older than you think: Research by #UofU hydrologists finds water flowing out of Western ranges is, on average, more than 5 years old, demonstrating that runoff has a prolonged underground journey.

attheu.utah.edu

Spring runoff is older than you think - @theU

Research by U hydrologists finds water flowing out of Western ranges is, on average, more than 5 years old, demonstrating that runoff has a prolonged underground journey

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The University of Utah @utah.edu · 13/05/2025

We're partnering with @xprize.org to revolutionize healthy aging. The $101-million, 7-year global competition will leverage our Utah Data Coordinating Center to validate the science of competing XPRIZE teams, who are working toward a goal of extending "health spans."

attheu.utah.edu

U and XPrize partner to revolutionize healthy aging - @theU

The U’s Utah Data Coordinating Center will validate the science of teams vying for the $101 million XPRIZE Healthspan, a competition aimed at closing the gap between health and lifespan.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The University of Utah @utah.edu · 14/05/2025

University Police find answers in 1973 missing student cold case: “We never stopped hoping for answers about Doug’s disappearance. We are relieved to finally have some answers. After 52 years, this result, while sad, is nothing short of a miracle.” 📰 attheu.utah.edu/safety/unive...

Photo of Douglas Brick from The Daily Utah Chronicle, 1973

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Utah needs more herpetologists like Geoff Smith. Here's the latest news from IguanaThon

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

This guy is onto what could be an awesome board game!

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

KUER @kuer.org · 20/05/2025

Singularism involves a “tea ceremony” with hallucinogenic mushrooms that allow participants to “have these overwhelming, powerful mastery experiences.” Provo sees it as a covert way of selling drugs.

kuer.org

A psychedelic sacrament. A Provo police raid. What counts as a religion?

A Provo group uses hallucinogenic mushrooms to commune with God. Provo authorities don’t think they’re a legitimate religion.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

Sammy Roth @sammyroth.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

You won’t regret reading this delightful story by @sean-greene.bsky.social.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The University of Utah @utah.edu · 25/04/2025

Researchers from @uuhsresearch.bsky.social and other institutions have developed the most comprehensive atlas of genetic change through generations. It shows parts of the human genome change much faster than we thought, providing insight into human disease & evolution.

attheu.utah.edu

Parts of our DNA may evolve much faster than previously thought - @theU

Knowing how human DNA changes over generations is essential to estimating genetic disease risks and understanding how we evolved.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

The Salt Lake Tribune @sltrib.com · 25/04/2025

UPDATE: At least 10 international students attending Utah colleges and universities on recently revoked student visas saw their status reinstated Friday — but The Tribune has learned that one student already left the U.S. about a week ago.

sltrib.com

Nearly a dozen Utah international student’ visas reinstated after reversal by Trump administration

Nearly a dozen Utah international students have had their visas reinstated, hours after the Trump admin announced it was halting orders, for now, to revoke some 1,500 visas nationwide.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 18/04/2025

Faster melts, drier futures. Dust storms darken the snowpack, speed up melt and make runoff predictions harder, according to @utah.edu research. Hydrologists use 23 years of satellite data to reveal how much sooner Colorado Plateau snow melts. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff...

attheu.utah.edu

Major dust-up for water in the Colorado River - @theU

Using pioneering remote sensing techniques, new research could help predict the timing and magnitude of snow darkening and impacts on melt rates on snowpacks, in real time.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Some people use Vibroseis trucks to find oil and gas. @utah.edu researchers use them to characterize underground volcanic features, like the #Yellowstone magma reservoir. New research bring this potentially explosive feature into sharp focus. attheu.utah.edu/science-tech...

attheu.utah.edu

Using vibrations to see into Yellowstone’s magma reservoir - @theU

U geophysicists have located the top of the potentially explosive underground formation that drives Yellowstone's hydrothermal features.

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

BWJones @bwjones.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

Most folks do not understand how far in advance the planning and logistics of NIH grants take. We prepare for months or years for these submissions for one of 3 cycles per year. This study section cancellation delays grants by at least 6 months when study sections are cancelled.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

Spray tons of hydrogen peroxide into the atmosphere from a network of 600-meter towers to remove methane, a major driver of climate change. What could go wrong? Plenty, according to new research from @utah.edu. @amayhew.bsky.social attheu.utah.edu/research/tec...

attheu.utah.edu

Technology for oxidizing atmospheric methane won’t help the climate - @theU

U atmospheric scientists show proposed ‘geoengineering’ effort to remove potent greenhouse gas could worse air quality while providing minimal benefits

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Reposted by Brian Maffly

Diane Maggipinto @dianemaggipinto.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

It took but a few minutes for #cat to find a new perch on the new piece of furniture and #dog is accusing me of special treatment

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Desert woodrats survive on a toxic diet of creosote. @universityofutah.bsky.social researchers uncover clues how the rodent rapidly evolved tolerance for the poisonous plant as it proliferated across the Southwest after the last Ice Age. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff...

attheu.utah.edu

Woodrats use ‘quantity over quality’ as a detox plan - @theU

Woodrats tolerate extremely toxic creosote—by producing an abundance of existing detox enzymes.

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Brian Maffly @brianmaffly.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

If you want to reduce coyote numbers, shooting them is the last thing you should do. New trap-camera research from @universityofutah.bsky.social shows coyote populations are often highest in places where they are hunted. attheu.utah.edu/research/coy...

attheu.utah.edu

Coyote numbers are often higher in areas where they are hunted - @theU

Counterintuitive findings are based on images from hundreds of trap cameras deployed in nationwide campaign to document wildlife.

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