News
A fight against the invisible – How the Alaska State Virology Laboratory is hunting down measles
Each morning a vehicle containing hundreds of samples approaches an unassuming building located in UAF’s upper campus. As the packages are carefully handled and test tubes are collected, a meticulously coordinated system of scientists starts its daily routine: extracting viral genetic material, testing its contents, and reporting the results.
A Nanook among penguins – The Antarctic journey of UAF’s R/V Sikuliaq
In the freezing waters of Earth’s loneliest continent, secrets are being unveiled: from a marine invertebrate producing a compound effective in treating skin cancer, to the only animal surviving without the oxygen transporter molecule hemoglobin, all while more is discovered about one of Earth’s mass extinctions. In this breathtaking environment, the R/V Sikuliaq is serving as a floating home to researchers who aim to understand more of the Southern Ocean’s secrets.
Alaska Native Language Center exists in name only as languages face extinction
After more than 50 years of preserving Alaska Native languages, the Alaska Native Language Center now faces budget cuts, staffing shortages, and a gap in leadership. These challenges threaten decades of progress in the efforts to preserve languages on the brink of extinction.
Hardscrabble Holmes takes back-to-back Iditarod wins
When Jessie Holmes won his second Iditarod tonight, the year after he won his first championship, he achieved a feat only matched by race legends Susan Butcher and Lance Mackey.
Denali Commission meets to reassess disaster threats across rural Alaska
The Denali Commission met this Thursday to gather community input to factor into their risk profiles for climate-accelerated natural disaster threats in rural Alaskan communities as part of a periodic 5 year threat analysis. The commission hosted an open forum in Zach’s Restaurant at the Sophie Station Motel to gain community feedback and incorporate more datasets into their risk assessment.
Brutal cold, snow dominates trail during Yukon Quest
Mushers across Alaska convened this February to compete in a particularly demanding iteration of the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race. Following a new approximately 750 mile course, contestants battled a variety of weather, trail, and dog related challenges.
Campus walkout protests ICE actions
A campus walkout on Friday Jan. 30 drew about 110 participants during its peak protesting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, citing concerns about deportations, deaths tied to ICE operations and immigration enforcement.
Peltola kicks-off campaign to unseat Sen. Sullivan
Former Rep. Mary Peltola kicked off her campaign to unseat current Sen. Dan Sullivan in Fairbanks last Tuesday in a spacious and stunning log cabin at Trail Breakers Kennel with an interesting twist on her politically moderate messaging.
The Fight for Women’s Rights in Alaska
The University of Alaska Fairbanks is home to many important researchers, from forensic anthropologists to criminologists and victimologists. Ingrid Johnson, a criminologist and victimologist on campus, teaches classes and conducts research involving domestic violence in the state of Alaska.
AK Native nonprofit CEO discusses leadership
On the evening of October 23, Melanie Bahnke, President and CEO of Kawerak, Inc., an Alaska Native tribal nonprofit, delivered a talk as part of the ongoing Arctic Leadership Series about Alaska Native perspectives and history, challenges incited by Western contact, Typhoon Halong’s major impacts on her community, how to become a great leader, and her own personal story.
AK interior medical education summit meets at UAF
The Alaska Interior Medical Education Summit, better known as AIMES, is an event hosted each year by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where students and community members alike can gather to learn more about opportunities in the world of medicine.
Refugees from ex-typhoon Halong find shelter in Fairbanks
Ex-typhoon Halong tore through the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta’s villages last week, leaving widespread destruction in its wake.
Jaimee Mesak evacuated from Kipnuk to North Pole with her children and extended family, 5 adults and 6 children in total, described the terrifying speed of the flooding.
Alaskans React to Trump’s Approval of The Ambler Road Project
On October 6, President Trump approved an appeal made by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority which authorized the Ambler Road Project. In the following days, the senate overturned The Central Yukon Resource Management Plan, a Biden- era land management plan that blocked the development of the road.
Begich makes unsubstantiated claim about Alaska public radio, meets with Geophysical Institute leaders, avoids protestors
Last week Alaska’s U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III visited UAF’s Geophysical Institute, or GI, for a presentation from the institute's leaders.
Pogo Gold Mine Symposium
On September 25 and 26, the University of Alaska Fairbanks hosted the Pogo Geology Symposium in a collaboration with Northern Star Resources and UAF’s Geophysical Institute to explore the geology of the Pogo gold mine.