NAU researchers awarded DoD grant to investigate invasive species impacting threatened, endangered plants  

The Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) has awarded Northern Arizona University a grant upwards of $1 million to support a five-year research project aimed at understanding the impact of invasive species on threatened and endangered (T&E) plants.

COVID-19 vaccination activates antibodies targeting parts of virus spike protein shared between coronaviruses

Could the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine reawaken previous antibody responses and point the way to a universal coronavirus vaccine? A new analysis of the antibody response to a COVID-19 vaccine suggests the immune system’s history with other coronaviruses, including those behind the common cold, shapes the patient’s response, according to a recently published study published in Cell Reports.

Public health expert: COVID-19 pandemic highlighting health care disparities in U.S. system

The COVID-19 pandemic opened a Pandora’s box of inequalities in the U.S., highlighting the widespread disparities in health care and social injustice. Black and Hispanic communities have experienced a disproportionately large number of COVID-19 related deaths; this is especially true…

NAU professors examine the role racial disparities play in mortality rates of rural, urban residents

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers collected nationally representative data from 3,131 U.S. counties between 1968-2016, and looked at historical trends in death rates between older black and white adults living in different communities.

Atmospheric scientist says US carbon dioxide emissions have dropped to unprecedented levels during pandemic

As the demand for transportation fuels has plummeted at an unprecedented rate in the last month due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a Northern Arizona University scientist says the dramatic decrease in local air pollution and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels above cities is significant, measurable and could be historic, depending on how long commuters and other drivers stay off the road.