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Kansas Designates Silvisaurus Condrayi the Official State Land Fossil

LAWRENCE — The only dinosaur known to have lived in what is now Kansas, Silvisaurus condrayi, was designated the official state land fossil of Kansas, thanks in part to a Kansas rancher and a Goddard schoolteacher and his sixth-grade students. Teacher Joel Condray, his students from Challenger…

Extinction of Steam Locomotives Derails Assumptions About Biological Evolution

LAWRENCE — When the Kinks’ Ray Davies penned the tune “Last of the Steam-Powered Trains,” the vanishing locomotives stood as nostalgic symbols of a simpler English life. But for a paleontologist at the University of Kansas, the replacement of steam-powered trains with diesel and electric engines,…

Researchers Plan Center to Track Mammal Pathogens in the Wild to Warn of Coming Pandemics

LAWRENCE — Researchers from the University of Kansas are helping build an international, multidisciplinary center to monitor pathogens in wild mammals and act as an early warning system for pandemic prediction and prevention.

A Fossil Fruit From California Shows Ancestors of Coffee and Potatoes Survived Cataclysm That Killed the Dinosaurs

LAWRENCE — The discovery of an 80-million-year-old fossil plant pushes back the known origins of lamiids to the Cretaceous, extending the record of nearly 40,000 species of flowering plants including modern-day staple crops like coffee, tomatoes, potatoes and mint.

Researcher Helps Build Center for Avian-Influenza Pandemic Preparedness with NSF Award

LAWRENCE — As humanity tries to find its footing after the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Kansas is taking steps to help ready the United States and the rest of the world for future global health crises.

52-Million-Year-Old Fossils From High Arctic Show Near Primates Were Cool with Colder Climate

LAWRENCE — Two sister species of near-primate, called “primatomorphans,” dating back about 52 million years have been identified by researchers at the University of Kansas as the oldest to have dwelled north of the Arctic Circle.

Study Will Predict Fate of Western Atlantic Mollusks By Scouring Ancient Fossil Record

LAWRENCE — Generations from now, will people still jam into beachside food stands for clam rolls and splurge on trays of oysters at swanky restaurants — or will clams, oysters and many other mollusk species soon become victims of human-driven climate change?

Bruce Lieberman Named Director of KU Paleontological Institute

LAWRENCE — Bruce Lieberman, professor in the University of Kansas Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior curator in the Division of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute

Researchers Publish Most Thorough Study Yet of 'Smart', Spitting Archerfishes

Archerfishes are the anti-aircraft gunners of the aquatic world. The fishes are famed for their amazing ability to shoot down land-based insects midflight with highly accurate streams of water they project from their mouths.

U.S. News & World Report Ranks 51 KU Graduate Programs in Top 50 Among Public Schools

The University of Kansas has 11 graduate programs in the top 10 and 51 programs in the top 50 among public universities in the 2023 rankings from U.S. News & World Report, released today.

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