News & Announcements
Working to Solve our Most Challenging Environmental Problems
DRI’s research calls on the expertise and methods of scientists from multiple scientific disciplines. More than 600 highly-skilled scientists, engineers, technicians, students, and staff work collaboratively within and across three research divisions, focused on understanding and answering critical science questions about global climate change, water quality and availability, air quality, the sustainability of desert lands, life in extreme environments, education, and more.
Study Shows Importance of Ensuring Participant and Provider Follow-up After a Genetic Screening Result
In a study published in Frontiers in Genetics, Healthy Nevada Project scientists looked at the impact that notifying a patient of a positive finding for a CDC Tier 1 condition had on the care that the patient received in the months and years that followed.
New study shows robust increases in atmospheric thirst across much of U.S. during past 40 years
A new study showed substantial increases in atmospheric thirst across much of the Western U.S. during the past 40 years, with the largest and most robust increases in an area centered around the Rio Grande and Lower Colorado rivers.
Benjamin Hatchett Receives Board of Regents 2022 Rising Researcher Award
DRI scientist Benjamin Hatchett, Ph.D., has been honored with the 2022 Rising Researcher Award from the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents.
Agencies collaborate to launch wastewater surveillance dashboard
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Southern Nevada Health District, Southern Nevada Water Authority and Desert Research Institute are partnering to detect early increases of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging variants in Southern Nevada through wastewater surveillance.
Childhood trauma and genetics linked to increased obesity risk
New research from the Healthy Nevada Project® found that participants with specific genetic traits and who experience childhood traumas are more likely to suffer from adult obesity.
NSF-funded Study Finds Eolian Dust Systems Impact Cardio-Pulmonary Health
The study, published in Geology, seeks to characterize dust emission potential from landforms in two end-member eolian systems, where wind is the primary source of sediment transport.
New USDA Grant to Support Climate Resilience Planning in Indian Country
A new USDA grant will fund the “Native Climate” project, which will build relationships and narrow the climate justice gap in Native American communities of the Intermountain West.
DRI scientist Rishi Parashar receives NSF Mid-Career Advancement Award
Meet Rishi Parashar, Ph.D., who recently received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Mid-Career Advancement Award, and learn about his research in this Q&A with “DRI’s Behind the Science” Blog.
NASA grant funds research for sunscreen on Mars
Researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno in collaboration with Henry Sun of the Desert Research Institute and Christopher McKay of the NASA Ames Research Center received a NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) seed grant to study how they can mimic biology to make some powerful sunscreen.
Within an Antarctic Sea Squirt, Scientists Discover a Bacterial Species With Promising Anti-Melanoma Properties
New research has traced the production of palmerolide A, a key compound with anti-melanoma properties, to a suite of genes coded in the genome by a member of a sea squirt’s microbiome.
“Mountain Rain or Snow” Seeks Citizen Scientists and Winter Storm Reports
Mountain Rain or Snow is launching a project where citizen scientists like you can submit observations of rain, snow, and mixed precipitation via your smartphone, laptop, desktop, tablet, or any other device with a browser.
1,000 years of glacial ice reveal ‘prosperity and peril’ in Europe
Sandra Brugger, a paleoecologist at the Desert Research Institute, found in her recent study that Europe’s past prosperity and failure, driven by climate changes, has been revealed using thousand-year-old pollen, spores and charcoal particles fossilized in glacial ice.