This first-of-its-kind study will establish a new concept for producing valuable fungal products and may ultimately lead to medicines that can be delivered in plant seeds, eliminating downstream processing.

Hao Yan, assistant professor of chemistry, and his research team have researched a novel way to grow nanodiamonds that are extremely small and uniformly sized without using explosives.

Researchers in Richard Dixon’s lab have been studying C-lignin, a type of fiber in the seed coats of certain exotic plants, since his team member Fang Chen discovered it in 2011. Helping plants produce C-lignin could lead to crops that are useful for creating an economically feasible plant-based jet fuel, among other applications.

A team of students from UNT’s Texas Academy of Mathematics and Sciences, mentored by UNT BioDiscovery Institute’s Calvin Henard and Mauricio Antunes, is the first group from UNT to participate in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. The team genetically modified bacteria to mitigate greenhouse gases.

Representatives from the U.S. Army Reserve’s 75th Innovation Command, First Innovation Group recently visited UNT to recognize the importance of emerging technology from the university in supporting their mission to strengthen national defense.

A possible malaria outbreak in birds in Chile could lead to a better understanding of the impact global warming has on disease transmission, according to Andrew Gregory, assistant professor of biological sciences.

Kent Chapman and Mina Aziz, researchers at UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute, have received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to look at how plants talk to their neighbors -- specifically the role of fatty acid amide hydrolases, which exist broadly in plants, in communication between plants and microorganisms.

Warren Burggren and Pamela Padilla are exploring a poorly understood field called epigenetics, the study of how the expression of genetic traits can be altered without change to the DNA itself.

A team of researchers in the BioDiscovery Institute are working to reduce damage to cotton plants from aphids and Fusarium fungal infections after having received a National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

A UNT professor believes he has found a better drug for treating potentially deadly blood clotting disorders. Department of Biological Sciences Professor Pudur Jagadeeswaran has been conducting research with zebrafish to isolate proteins that could be manipulated to treat blood clotting disorders in humans more efficiently with few side effects.

Calvin Henard researches methanotrophic bacteria to convert methane gas into bioplastics, biofuels and other valuable products, rather than allow it to be released into the atmosphere.

Three UNT Chemistry professors’ research could lower greenhouse gases and save money worldwide as they answer questions leading to a more environmentally friendly and efficient production of ammonia, a chemical vital to agriculture worldwide.

UNT physics professor Bibhudutta Rout from, alongside Saraju Mohanty from computer science and engineering and Elias Kougianos from electrical engineering are collaborating with a team from the Grambling State University on a half-million dollar NSF grant to advance medical security and broaden participation of historically underrepresented students in STEM education and research. 

A new $2 million grant aimed at increasing participation and diversity in Ph.D. science and engineering programs focusing on research relevant to human health will be put into action at UNT this fall. G-RISE, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, will develop a diverse pool of Ph.D. students for careers in the biomedical research fields at UNT.

Chemistry professor Shengqian Ma will spearhead the development of an industrial direct-air carbon dioxide capture module as part of a $2 million, three-year project for the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a prototype low-cost system for capturing carbon dioxide waste from manufacturing emissions and cleanly converting it into ethanol.

UNT became a Bee Campus USA in 2016, and in 2019 the College of Science recruited Elinor Lichtenberg, assistant professor of ecology, who studies plant-pollinator interactions.

Kent Chapman, Regents Professor of biological sciences and director of UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute, was recently awarded the 2021 Fellow of ASPB Award by the American Society of Plant Biologists.

A UNT College of Science professor has moved researchers across the globe closer to understanding how to make condensed tannins in forage crops such as alfalfa, not only making food more nutritious for animals, but potentially improving food supply and limiting global warming.

A UNT researcher is working to knock out a crop fungus that could improve food availability for future generations. Jyoti Shah, chair of the biological sciences department, and his team are working to identify genes in the wheat plant that may make it susceptible to Fusarium head blight. Reducing activity of these genes makes the wheat plant more resistant to the disease.

UNT researchers are gaining the attention of the physics world with their discoveries that could lead to new methods of mechanically reflecting sounds or other vibrations, such as earthquakes. Potential applications of their acoustic shield range from removing traffic noise to enabling interception-free private communication to protecting buildings from earthquakes, tsunamis or ultrasonic attacks.