Research

A new study from the University of Kansas shows that additives common to commercially available vaping devices, vitamin E and CBD, soften a vital lung surfactant at high enough concentrations, at least in a simplified lab model.

University of Kansas researcher Tera Fazzino is investigating whether “hyperpalatable” foods marketed to Americans — foods formulated with artificially high amounts of fat, salt and carbohydrates — have traits commonly associated with addictive substances. She recently earned a $2.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to test the idea using experimental practices standard in the field of regulatory research.

In a new novel, Laura Moriarty, a professor of English at the University of Kansas, crafts a coming-of-age tale set in 1950s Florida. It has been selected as a featured book for “The Today Show.” Moriarty will give talks at several events across Kansas this month.

In a new exhibition, a University of Kansas researcher focuses on how unhoused and encamped individuals in Lawrence’s past and present have formed a diverse community. “Unsettled Lawrence” opens Aug. 7 at the Watkins Museum of History.

In a new scholarly article, Nathan Wood, associate professor of history at the University of Kansas, describes how after soldiers and poachers killed the last free European bison, Polish naturalists worked with international organizations following World War I to revive the species from the few animals scattered on estates and zoos across the continent.

Andrew Torrance, a professor of law at the University of Kansas, has published research on how kissing, one of the most basic human acts and a sign of love, has been viewed alternately as property that can be stolen, a contract, a criminal act or as agency over one’s own body. His article was published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.