University of Florida News

Many think of shedding “crocodile tears” as a way to get sympathy or attention. Now a University of Florida study shows that alligators and crocodiles actually do cry while they eat.

Whether choosing a mate or someone to work closely with, trust really matters. Now, University of Florida research finds of all major character traits, people value trustworthiness the most in others.

From a world of silence to a new outlook on life. That’s the journey of a Florida boy who recently became one of the youngest ever to receive a set of artificial ears. 5-year-old Jorden Flowers of Jacksonville was born without ears or auditory nerves. Medical artists at the University of Florida College of Dentistry fashioned artificial ears for him.

You won’t have to worry about this car’s driver being distracted by a cell phone or a song on the radio. It doesn’t have a driver. The Navigator, as named by the University of Florida engineers who built it, pilots itself.

The coastline gets the attention when a hurricane’s headed for land, but University of Florida researchers are learning how to better predict where hurricanes will dump the most rain days and hundreds of miles after they come on shore.

High self-esteem really pays off, in cold hard cash. A University of Florida study finds that people with high self-esteem as teenagers and young adults draw higher salaries in middle age than those who start out less confident.

The University of Florida’s new hurricane simulator will huff and puff and blow the house in, for research purposes only.

Caring but careless boaters have apparently become the biggest threat to Florida’s manatees. University of Florida researchers tracked the speeds of boaters through manatee zones in one high-traffic Florida county. Results show more than half, fifty-five percent didn’t comply with signs ordering them to slow down. Yet when UF researcher John Jett sent them follow-up surveys, eighty-four percent claimed they did.

By the time they hit high school, an alarming number of teens have already hit the bottle. A third of U.S. ninth graders report they’ve used alcohol before age thirteen. Now, a University of Florida study suggests parents should pay close attention to ads for alcohol kids see near their schools.

Talcum powder has been used for generations to soothe babies’ diaper rash and other irritations. It could also have another, more medicinal use. University of Florida pulmonologist Veena Antony found it can help fight lung cancer.