Research Briefs
A COMPENDIUM OF RECENT HIGHLIGHTS
Brutal Bicentennial
Here’s your statewide forecast for the 2036 Texas bicentennial: twice as many days with 100-degree heat, severe drought and 50% more urban flooding. “Texas’ weather is changing,” says State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon, Regents Professor, College of Arts & Sciences, “and it’s doing so in a way that will make it harder to live here and more expensive to recover from increasingly disruptive events.”
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Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs
President Joe Biden selected Marvin L. Adams, professor, College of Engineering, to oversee Energy Department programs for the design, maintenance, assessment, manufacturing and dismantling of all U.S. nuclear warheads. Adams is considered the nation’s top academic expert on the nuclear stockpile. His research has advanced the nation’s ability to use complex computer algorithms to assess a weapons’ reliability.
Image: Texas A&M Engineering
Viral Evangelizing
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many churches to swiftly adopt social-media technology to serve their congregations, according to a report from a Texas A&M communications researcher. Several church leaders “had to get a crash course in using the internet,” says Heidi A. Campbell, professor, College of Arts & Sciences. Some used Facebook to livestream their services. Others posted videos to YouTube.
Illustration: Olli Turho / iStock.com
Is the Shortest Route Safest?
By taking a route that cuts travel time by 8%, a driver may increase risk of a crash by 23%. Texas A&M engineers compared routes between five Texas cities. They found that navigation systems often influence “drivers to take routes that may minimize travel time, but concurrently carry a greater risk of crashes," said Dominique Lord, professor, College of Engineering.
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Strike Force
It's now official, according to the World Meteorological Organization: A massive lightning strike that streaked over the Brazos Valley in 2020 covered 477 miles. That’s a world record for the longest horizontal distance in a single flash. Timothy Logan, assistant professor, College of Arts & Sciences, worked with a team of atmospheric scientists to track the strike to its origin.
Image: Buntoon Rodseng / Shutterstock.com
Food for Thought
You really are what you eat. A Texas A&M study connects specific microorganisms living in the human gut with four traits of personality: mental energy, mental fatigue, physical energy and physical fatigue. The results contribute “to our understanding of what gut health can do and how it makes people feel,” says Matthew Lee Smith, associate professor, School of Public Health.
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Up a Creek
Is a water shortage on the way? Tiny fish—minnows and shiner—can provide policymakers with early warning signs of groundwater depletion as well as contamination, says Joshuah Perkin, assistant professor, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Just as canaries once warned miners about oxygen levels, “these small fish species raise red flags regarding water shortages and contaminants,” Perkin says.
Image: mihailomilovanovic / iStock.com
Warning: Icons Ahead
Alert icons may reduce employee safety in high-risk work environments, a Texas A&M study reveals. Researchers tried using graphic elements to make icons more noticeable, but nothing made the workplace safer. “It’s not just that the icon didn’t help,” says S. Camille Peres, associate professor, School of Public Health. “It made performance worse.”
Image: Adobe Stock
Warning: Icons Ahead
Alert icons may reduce employee safety in high-risk work environments, a Texas A&M study reveals. Researchers tried using graphic elements to make icons more noticeable, but nothing made the workplace safer. “It’s not just that the icon didn’t help,” says S. Camille Peres, associate professor, School of Public Health. “It made performance worse.”
Image: Adobe Stock
