University of Florida News

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A miniaturized heart pump designed by a team of University of Florida engineering students could become a life-saving alternative for patients waiting in long lines for scarce donor hearts.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Children exposed to cocaine before birth show subtle but discernible differences in their ability to plan and problem-solve once they reach school age, University of Florida researchers report.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s consumer confidence fell two points to 90 in April, its lowest level in 20 months, reflecting concerns about higher gas prices and interest rates, and a declining stock market, University of Florida economists report.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In a prime example of how Florida is becoming a haven for exotic pests, a South American moth is attacking valuable ornamental cactus plants used in landscaping and could be a threat to the nation’s $70 million cactus industry.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Male therapists are just as likely as female therapists to encourage patients to admit infidelities to their spouses, a new University of Florida study finds.

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Boaters and bathers along northeast Florida beaches this summer may notice a new and unwelcome addition — an invasive mussel that already plagues the state’s Gulf coast where it’s killing native shellfish and covering manmade objects.

HASTINGS, Fla. — Following the January debut of the first low-carb potato that’s now a popular item in supermarkets, University of Florida researchers say a larger and tastier version of the spud will be available to consumers in May of this year.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — To encourage the research, teaching and public understanding of Hindu culture, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida has established the nation’s first Center for the Study of Hindu Traditions. The only other center of its kind in the world is Oxford University’s Centre for Hindu Studies, with which UF will have collaborations.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Genes dictate the color of our hair and eyes. They factor into whether we get cancer or heart disease. And, scientists increasingly recognize, they also ensure some patients will benefit from a prescription drug, while others develop adverse reactions or simply fail to respond at all.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Health deteriorates for Mexican immigrants after they become Americanized, but it improves for Puerto Ricans — and some Cubans and Dominicans — the longer they remain in the United States, a new University of Florida study finds.