With the weather warming and the semester winding to a close, we’re only whetting our academic appetites as far as April Newsmakers goes.

What does the future of Alzheimer’s treatment look like? Will there be any consequences for defiling natural history at Lake Mead? What’s the legacy of the recently shuttered Tropicana Las Vegas? And what is the reason why some planes seem to float in place without moving?

If these topics have strummed the chords of your curiosity, all you need to do is take a peek below for the answers you seek.

Health 

• The latest findings and updates in Alzheimer’s research were published in this year’s drug treatment pipeline update from Jeffrey Cummings, and were featured in MedicalXpress and European Pharmaceutical Review.
• Research from psychologist Shane Kraus shows a link between sports betting and binge drinking. It was covered in publications such as 10 WJAR, SportsHandle, Gambling News, PsyPost, Casino.org, and the Las Vegas Sun.
• Kinesiologist John Mercer gave a rundown of the best walking shoes for women in U.S. News & World Report.

Culture

• Law professor Benjamin Edwards provided advice on protecting your retirement accounts from any conflicts in the New York Times. He also spoke to the Daily Beast about an investor’s potential role in the presidential election.
• The Washington Post featured the comments of geological science expert Matthew Lachniet regarding the vandalism and destruction of historic rocks around Lake Mead.
• Media expert Ben Morse helped explain teen slang — such as calling someone an “NPC” — to Today.com/NBC.
• Brett Abarbanel, executive director of the International Gaming Institute, talked to Axios about the consequences of the recent boom in sports gambling.
• As an iconic Las Vegas resort prepared to shut its doors, USA Today pinged both David Schwartz and Michael Green for their history knowledge of the Tropicana. Green also flexed his historical muscle with The Guardian and The Independent.
• Fashion historian Deirdre Clemente looked at the staying power of the varsity jacket as a symbol of ‘cool’ with The Guardian. She was also featured in a story in The Hill about White House dress codes and the controversy over a visitor’s dinner attire.
• Architecture & Design interviewed architectural psychologist Dak Kopec about the most odd buildings on the planet. The Las Vegas Sun also tapped his expertise on the benefits of repurposing existing office buildings for other uses, such as healthcare.
• Robotics expert Paul Oh spoke to the Las Vegas Review-Journal about a local business investing in lifelike animatronics.
• KNPR and KLAS-TV: 8 News Now shared advice from sustainability coordinator Tara Pike on how Nevadans can increase their recycling output.

Politics

• An opinion piece from law professor David Orentlicher was published by CNN, regarding former president Donald Trump’s ongoing legal troubles.
• The Associated Press spoke with law expert Frank Rudy Cooper about racial stereotypes that have persisted through the years as a means to justify police violence against Black people.
• Law expert Ian Bartrum’s comments about a federal standoff over grazing cattle on contested land were featured in the Associated Press.
• Economist Stephen Miller was quoted in an Associated Press article discussing decreasing international migrant interest in Nevada.
• Political scientist David Damore analyzed how Democrats and Republicans could win their 2024 campaigns in Clark County with U.S. News & World Report.

University News

• UNLV's International Gaming Institute announced the inaugural recipients of its ESPN responsible gaming research fellows: SportsHandle, Indian Gaming, SBC Americas
• Lied Library has been tapped to help preserve relics from the former Tropicana hotel. The Independent UK, BBC, Las Vegas Review-Journal, and KSNV-TV: News 3 chatted with Special Collections and Archives director Sarah Quigley.
• KVVU-TV: Fox 5 interviewed Oral History Research Center director Claytee White about the Library’s upcoming launch of a new sports-focused project.
• UNLV School of Public Health professor Jennifer Pharr partnered the Raiders on RUSH, a program that encourages sports participation among local girls: KVVU-TV: Fox 5, KSNV-TV: News 3
• As part of Children's Week, UNLV philosophy students — led by professor Amy Reed-Sandoval — taught students at the UNLV/CSUN preschool about critical thinking behaviors and self-confidence: Las Vegas Review-Journal En Español
• KLAS-TV: 8 News Now covered a forum that addressed a new campus partnership’s push to alleviate the state’s shortage of mental health workers and resources.
• UNLV Athletics received a $1 million gift to fund a women’s sports careers initiative, reported KLAS-TV: 8 News Now, KVVU-TV: Fox 5, and KSNV-TV: News 3. 

Expert Roundup

• Graduate student Annie Delgado and fashion historian Deirdre Clemente provided background on Clara Bow, a vintage actress who was mentioned in Taylor Swift’s newest album, through an essay they penned for The Conversation that was picked up by outlets including PBS News Hour and Yahoo.
• Psychologist Russell Hurlburt spoke with National Geographic about what our internal mental conversations say about us.
• Space.com and Space Daily highlighted Nevada Center for Astrophysics postdoctoral research Yihan Wang and astrophysicist Zhaohuan Zhu’s contributions to the study of Jupiter-Mass Binary Objects.
• Aviation historian Dan Bubb described why planes typically fly at 35,000 ft. with Travel + Leisure. He again joined Travel + Leisure to tell readers why most planes are painted white. Bubb also talked about how flight crews screen for drunk passengers with Newsweek, and addressed Congressional scrutiny of Boeing amid safety concerns with The National Desk.
• Travel + Leisure called upon Jason Steffen’s astronomy and physics expertise to explain the Southern Hemisphere’s ‘southern lights’. He again joined Travel + Leisure to explain the phenomenon that sometimes makes planes look like they’re frozen in place.
• Jason Steffen was also featured in a Homes & Gardens article about how the recent solar eclipse may have affected plants. Space.com asked Steffen about the next time we might see another solar eclipse.
• Educational psychologist Nancy Lough commented on celebrity endorsements in car insurance advertisements in a piece from WalletHub.
• Law professors Danielle Finn and Kathryn R.L. Rand were quoted in articles by the Sacramento Business Journal and Popular Resistance about tribal law.
• The Chronicle of Higher Education quoted Graduate College dean Alyssa Crittenden in a piece about improving the population’s educational outcomes. Meanwhile, Inside Higher Ed quoted provost Chris Heavey in a story about the launch of a UNLV employee survey to better understand how university initiatives are supporting minority groups on campus and where the institution could invest resources.
• UNLV Health senior audiologist Jennifer Joy-Cornejo spoke to Las Vegas Weekly about preventing ear damage at summer concerts. 
• UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute director Riana Durrett talked to Marijuana Moment and wrote an essay for Nevada Lawyer Magazineabout legislation.