Science and Technology

Lions may get all the good press about being "king of the jungle," but the modern animal that has no predators in the wild, except for man, is the rhinoceros and that probably was the case as long as nine million years ago, recent University at Buffalo research demonstrates.

"Self-Googling" -- searching for your own name on the popular Google search engine -- may seem like an innocuous act of vanity, but a University at Buffalo communications professor recommends it as a shrewd form of "personal brand management" in the digital age.

Donald J. Jacobs, founder and director of Center for Applied Technologies in Education at the University at Buffalo and chair of the education policy group Education Innovation Consortium, has been appointed to co-chair the University of the State of New York (USNY) Technology Policy and Practices Council.

"Brain exercises" originally developed for the rehabilitation of head-injury patients improve the cognitive functioning of individuals in substance-abuse treatment and their commitment to the treatment program, according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions (RIA).

Two members of a University at Buffalo research team that is developing the first interactive, computational tool kit designed to model the behavior of ancient beasts have had a chance to explore the entertainment value of their work for the Discovery Channel's new "Animal Face-Off" series.

Investigations into lava lakes on the surface of Io, the intensely volcanic moon that orbits Jupiter, may provide clues to what Earth looked like in its earliest phases, according to researchers at the University at Buffalo and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

With the turn of a screw, a team of University at Buffalo engineers and scientists has invented a pump to be used in a device that may help revolutionize the decontamination and purification of water, juices and other liquids.

The anti-microbial activity of promising peptides shown in laboratory studies to kill several medically important fungi, some of which are resistant to current drugs, can be enhanced further by protecting the peptides from enzymes programmed to destroy them, University at Buffalo oral biologists have found.

Searching for better treatments for oral infections that plague persons with compromised immune systems, oral biologists at the University at Buffalo have developed a novel peptide that appears to be a good candidate for treating candidiasis and other fungal conditions.

Michael Kwartler, an innovative architect, planner, urban designer and educator with extensive experience in the development and use of digital visualization tools will present the Clarkson Lecture on Urban and Regional Planning on March 24 at the University at Buffalo.