Yale University

Streets designed decades ago are still influencing emissions today. Researchers have long blamed suburban sprawl's carbon costs on distance from city centers. A new Yale study says street design deserves far more blame. Winding roads, cul-de-sacs, and dead ends force longer trips for everyday errands and account for nearly 40% of the environmental costs of suburban living. "The good news is that design is something we can change, even in neighborhoods that were built decades ago," said researcher Arianna Salazar-Miranda. "We don't have to repeat the design mistakes of the 20th century." Learn more: bit.ly/4bvfdnh

A new Yale study identifies three previously unknown Assyrian kings whose names were erased from the official record. One seized power during a solar eclipse in 763 B.C.E., following a plague and a rebellion. Read the full story in Yale News: bit.ly/4pKOI3n

What should you know about sunscreen and skin protection? In a Q&A, Yale dermatologist Michael Girardi explains how to protect your skin in the sun, use sunscreen effectively, and why the first new sunscreen ingredient approved in the U.S. in more than 25 years matters. Read his advice before your next day in the sun: bit.ly/4aS5jMl

Does the U.S. Constitution need a makeover? In an interview about his new book, Yale historian Mark Peterson discusses a widening disconnect between today's America and its Constitution, and the complexity of reworking it. “As a written document,” he says, “our Constitution hasn’t been adapted to accommodate the kind of government we have.” Learn more and listen to an excerpt from the book: bit.ly/4faI8Os

For patients whose weight disqualifies them from joint replacement surgery, GLP-1 medications are opening a door that was previously closed. At Yale, a multidisciplinary team combining orthopedics and weight management is using GLP-1s to help patients reach a safe weight before surgery, reduce the risk of serious complications, and recover more effectively afterward. Research from Yale School of Medicine found that even a few months on semaglutide before knee replacement significantly reduced the odds of major infections, blood clots, and cardiac events. "Ultimately, when they've had the new joint replacement and they've lost the weight, the quality of life goes through the roof," said Dr. Lee Rubin, @YaleMed's hip and knee joint reconstruction chief. Read how the program works: bit.ly/4frBIfg

For people seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder, the brain has a remarkable capacity to heal. Yale researchers studying the brains of people in treatment made a striking discovery. Rather than showing elevated acetate activity as expected, the brains of heavy drinkers had nearly stopped consuming acetate altogether. After just one month of treatment and abstinence, that activity returned to levels comparable to mild drinkers. "If you seek treatment for your AUD and you stop drinking, your brain can recover a lot," said principal investigator Graeme Mason. Read more: bit.ly/4f885y6

Connecticut is one of twelve regions selected for a National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines award — and the only one focused specifically on quantum technology. The QuantumCT Engine, led by @UConn and Yale, will receive an initial $15 million over two years, with the potential to receive $160 million from @NSF over the next decade. The award will accelerate quantum research, support technology startups, and build a workforce pipeline in fields from national defense and biotechnology to finance. “With this transformative award, NSF has recognized the scale of QuantumCT’s ambition and its potential to accelerate the quantum revolution for our state, region, and the United States as a whole,” said Yale President Maurie McInnis. Read more in Yale News: bit.ly/4w5WgQv

Tiny fossils can tell some really big stories. Using fossilized fish teeth preserved in ocean sediments, Yale researchers traced the origins of the ocean's most abundant deep-sea fish genus back at least 55 million years, offering new insight into the evolution of life in the deep sea. Read how the discovery came together: bit.ly/4fntzIG

Norovirus sickens hundreds of millions of people each year, yet there are still no vaccines or antiviral drugs to prevent it. A Yale study suggests future vaccines may be more effective if they target the gut, where the virus strikes. Read more: bit.ly/4goHkIe

New Haven is having a moment. CNN Travel recently named the Elm City one of America's best towns to visit in 2026, praising its walkable downtown, vibrant arts scene, rich history, and, of course, the pizza. The story also highlights Yale's museums and architecture as part of what makes New Haven such a distinctive destination. Read the full feature: cnn.it/4azu8N0

Seven Yalies, including six members of the Class of 2026, have been awarded fellowships for graduate study in the United Kingdom. Their work spans global governance, education, history, technology, and public policy, reflecting the breadth of questions they're eager to explore and the impact they hope to make. Meet the seven fellows: bit.ly/4w6Vl2l

It looked like a poisoning. It took 400 years and a genetic analysis to prove it wasn't. When Grand Duke Francesco de Medici and his wife died on consecutive days in 1587, rumors spread that his brother and rival, Cardinal Ferdinando, had poisoned them with arsenic. A new study co-led by Yale researchers has settled the question with genetic certainty. Malaria, not poison, killed them both. The analysis also recovered a novel strain of the deadliest malaria parasite from the remains, offering new insight into how the disease spread and evolved across Renaissance-era Europe. Read the full story: bit.ly/4p6Ejyw

More than 30 years of research have led to a new treatment for children with Type 1 diabetes. Yale researcher Kevan Herold helped lead the clinical trial behind teplizumab, an immunotherapy now approved by the FDA for children with Stage 3 Type 1 diabetes. “This is paradigm shifting for the field,” Herold said. Explore how this treatment is changing the future of diabetes care: bit.ly/3R9KUeW

Yale scientists are uncovering the secret lives of salamanders. For decades, woodland salamanders were considered a textbook example of species that split apart without really changing. A new Yale-led study of 30 species found otherwise. While their bodies look much the same, their physiology has evolved rapidly, with striking differences in cold tolerance, metabolic rate, and water loss resistance across species. Read what the findings reveal: bit.ly/4vFFpDE

At a ceremony held at the Danbury Federal Correctional Institution in Connecticut, 11 women recently became the first graduates of the only college degree program operating in any federal women's prison in the U.S. One graduate is now training to be a nurse. "I really do have a future," she said. Read their stories and learn about the Yale Prison Education Initiative: bit.ly/3Sj2Rbl

Yale researchers are proposing ‘copyleft’ rules for generative AI. Many AI models are built on free and open-source software. But the open-source community — which puts a high value on transparency — is often in the dark about how its work is used. A new study out of Yale’s Digital Ethics Center suggests a way to resolve this tension by extending a twist on copyright rules. Learn more: bit.ly/4wcc0kC

A summer night atop East Rock taking in the views of our campus and home city.

Before the United States was a nation, Yale was already part of its story. During the American Revolution, many Yale students, alumni, and leaders took up the patriots' cause as war reached New Haven and the campus itself. Explore the story: bit.ly/4oVIOf6

Celebrating America 250. 🇺🇸 When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, Yale was already 75 years old. As the United States marks its 250th birthday, Yale News has gathered the stories, exhibitions, walking tours, and historical collections that connect these two deeply intertwined histories. Explore it all: bit.ly/4eUbCQD