In The News: School of Life Sciences

A pair of UNLV graduates, Sarah Galera and Sophia Lorenzana, are helping preserve the Wetlands through a tree monitoring project with Clark County.
I’ve picked up a few tips in the restaurants and food service jobs I’ve worked at over the years. One habit that I’ve picked up from restaurant life is that any time I use a dishcloth, it’s getting tossed in the laundry.

When Sophia Lorenzana took an ornithology class at UNLV as an undergraduate student, she never imagined it would spark a love for one of the area’s most underrated natural resources: Wetlands Park.
Maybe you have ordered an at-home microbiome test and waited on a report full of unfamiliar bacteria names. Maybe you are just watching friends compare their results. Either way, the gut has become something people study rather than ignore. That attention raises a fair question about which foods and compounds genuinely help. The latest contender is one that nutritionists spent years telling you to limit.
Dr. Kelly Tseng a professor in the School Of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, discusses how discovering the method in which frogs are able to regenerate eye tissue could lead to finding out how to replicate the process in humans.
Research suggests that phytic acid, a natural compound present in plant-based foods such as beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, plays a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the intestinal barrier.

Regeneration has long been the stuff of science fiction. At UNLV, researchers are now studying frogs that can regrow their eyes in days — work that could bring that idea closer to reality for human patients.

Regeneration has long been the stuff of science fiction. At UNLV, researchers are now studying frogs that can regrow their eyes in days — work that could bring that idea closer to reality for human patients.

According to Donald K. Price, Ph.D., an ornithologist and professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, water features are key when it comes to bringing in the birds.
If you’re newly into birdwatching, you might be wondering how to attract more flying friends to your backyard. Aside from the obvious (supplying food), it helps to add a bird bath.
You dry pots with it, wipe your hands on it, and use it to swab the counter, but when you’re done—if you’re like me—you probably hang your trusty kitchen towel right back on the oven or dishwasher door handle. And this cycle repeats for days, weeks, maybe even months with a single dish rag. And yet, we all know that the kitchen is the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of potentially harmful germs. The dish towel, unfortunately, is not immune to this.
Feeding pigeons birdseed in the park can be fun, but having these birds settle into your yard may be less appealing. For starters, their droppings contain uric acid, which can damage cars, roofs, and other surfaces over time. And because pigeons are non-migratory and tend to stay in one area year-round, they may repeatedly feed on garden seeds and seedlings. For bird lovers, the cooing and pretty color may be a boon. But if you prefer to keep these birds out of your garden and yard, we have expert-backed strategies to help.