
FAQ: COVID-19 testing on campus
University experts outline the COVID-19 testing and monitoring protocols being put in place as the campus looks to reopen.

Rochester biologists selected for ‘rapid research’ on COVID-19
Rochester biologists are exploring how coronavirus interacts with cellular proteins to cause COVID-19 under a priority NSF program.

Bats offer clues to treating COVID-19
Bats carry many viruses, including the one behind COVID-19, without becoming ill. University of Rochester biologists are studying the immune system of bats to find potential ways to “mimic” that system in humans.

Is teleportation possible? Yes, in the quantum world
Rochester physicists are exploring new ways of creating quantum-mechanical interactions between distant electrons. The research marks an important advance in quantum computing.

Are aliens real? Do aliens exist? Technosignatures may hold new clues
Adam Frank, professor of physics and astronomy, is searching for “technosignatures,” or the physical and chemical traces of advanced civilizations, among the 4,000 or so exoplanets scientists have found so far.

Study: Neurons can shift how they process information about motion
New Rochester research indicates some neurons can shift to process information about movement depending on the brain’s current frame of reference.

Rochester researchers unlock clues to a dramatic chapter of Earth’s geological history
New Rochester research indicates that the global glaciation period known as Snowball Earth began earlier than previously thought, work that adds to the understanding of how the planet’s climate changes.

Instrument to detect dark energy is poised for debut
Members of a University of Rochester cosmology group who are a key part of a multi-institutional effort to create the most detailed 3-D map ever made of the universe are looking forward to the launch of the instrument later this year in Arizona.
The team—Regina Demina, professor of physics; Satya Gontcho A Gontcho, postdoctoral research associate; Segev BenZvi, assistant professor of physics; and Kelly Douglass, visiting assistant professor of physics and astronomy—are working on the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) project, an initiative to provide a more comprehensive look at dark energy and how it’s influencing the expansion of the universe. The instrument—including the 5,000 robotic positioners of the telescope’s focal plane (above)—will capture data from 35 million galaxies, potentially providing insight about the life cycle of galaxies and about the cosmic web that connects matter in the universe.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the lead institution on the project, announced on June 1 that DESI was complete and was moving toward its startup.

‘Time is vision’ after a stroke
A person who has a stroke that causes vision loss is often told there is nothing they can do to improve or regain the vision they have lost. A new study offers hope for stroke patients who have suffered vision loss—provided their treatment begins early.

Mathematical model will monitor spread of COVID-19
Computational scientists win a National Science Foundation grant to develop a tool to provide accurate, timely information to local-level policymakers monitoring the spread of COVID-19.