Brian Maffly

@brianmaffly

Brian Maffly is a science writer at @UUtah. Contact Brian Maffly at [email protected]. Tweets are my own. https://authory.com/brianmaffly

Salt Lake City

Joined August 2009

746Following

2KFollowers

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jun 17

Here's why federal support for science matters. It leads to unexpected discoveries that in turn lead to live-saving technologies, according to former @UUtah postdoc @drjuliejung, the discoverer of the GSL nematodes. Money well spent! @WeberStateU sltrib.com/opinion/commen…

brianmaffly's tweet card. The consequences of cuts to science funding “will slowly seep into the day-to-day lives of our children and our children’s children, long after this administration has left office,” writes Dr. Julie...

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 23

#ForeverChemicals permeate the environment. @UUtah engineers develop novel materials that fluoresce in presence of PFAS and efficiently absorb one chemical used in nonstick cookware and firefighting foams attheu.utah.edu/science-techno…

brianmaffly's tweet card. This metal-organic framework both fluoresces in the presence of certain PFAS chemicals and absorbs these environmental contaminants that are widely used in consumer products.

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 15

Apparently, it's now a crime in Utah for non-hunters and non-anglers to visit the 25 state wildlife management areas in four urban counties. @UtahDWR #HB309 outdoorlife.com/conservation/u…

brianmaffly's tweet card. A new Utah law requires all users of certain wildlife management areas to have a valid hunting or fishing license.

Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 15

Grand Canyon Lodge so epic. Another treasure lost to flames

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 11

Can air pollution trigger an aneurysm? New research by @UofUHealth neurosurgeons shows links between high PM2.5 levels and a rare type of bleeding in the brain. @UUtah @UofUResearch healthcare.utah.edu/newsroom/news/…

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 10

Reed-covered mounds are springing up on the drying playa of Utah’s #GreatSaltLake, revealing spots where groundwater reaches the surface. @UUtah scientists are discovering this freshwater is ancient and runs 1000s of feet deep attheu.utah.edu/feature/great-…

brianmaffly's tweet card. U geologists are investigating if the groundwater revealed by reed-covered mounds can be tapped to restore broken lakebed crusts.

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jul 2

The @UUtah campus is the state’s official arboretum with 11,600 trees spanning 300 species, from Walter Cottam’s legendary gambel oak hybrids to majestic Japanese zelkova in Cottam’s Gulch. Read the university magazine cover story. @redbuttegarden magazine.utah.edu/issues/summer-…

brianmaffly's tweet card. As Utah’s official state arboretum, the U campus and Red Butte Garden & Arboretum contain an impressive collection of awe-inspiring trees.

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jun 18

‘Jar of bones’ recovered from Utah public lands, held for 20 years in collections of @NHMU found to be those of a Cretaceous lizard previously unknown. Study by @UUtah and @NHMLA gives it a name: Bolg amondol, related to Gila monster. @Lisa_M_Potter attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/n…

brianmaffly's tweet card. Discovery of Bolg amondol, a name inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” universe, reveals the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila monster relatives...

Brian Maffly Retweeted

Palak Jayswal@palak_jayswal · Jun 16

As tributes for Arthur Folasa "Afa" Ah Loo pour in from across the globe, those at home in Utah are remembering the renowned fashion designer not only for his creations, but for what he meant to the community. sltrib.com/news/2025/06/1…

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Jun 11

Check out @ScienceMagazine's conversation with @UUtah's @JamesTabery about his expose of how Black inmates at Stateville Penitentiary were used as guinea pigs to explore the genetic basis of adverse drug reactions. science.org/content/articl…

brianmaffly's tweet card. Science chats with James Tabery about the overlooked role of Black prisoners in understanding the genetics of drug reactions

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 29

I spent so much of @sltrib career writing about Utah's oil train. Now the project has resulted in a major @USSupremeCourt ruling that could greatly limit scope of NEPA reviews. Still be amazed if it ever gets built @HUFH4M shorturl.at/Ys4gS

brianmaffly's tweet card. Though the case centered on the Uinta Basin Railway, the Supreme Court’s decision could limit the scope of environmental reviews that federal agencies are legally required to conduct.

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 28

Here's how wildfire smoke can sneak into buildings, while particulate pollution from dust and inversion events can't. New research from @UUtah @UtahCoE attheu.utah.edu/research/does-…

brianmaffly's tweet card. Using the U campus as a lab, researchers conclude inversion and dust pollution are kept out of buildings, but wildfire smoke can sneak inside if...

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 28

Trump Admin first defunded medical research, now it wants to keep it from being published in the most respected journals washingtonpost.com/health/2025/05…

brianmaffly's tweet card. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took aim at reputed journals such as the Lancet and said his agency will create “in-house” publications instead.

Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 23

Climate change is not just disrupting songbirds’ breeding and migration schedules. The timing of their fall molt is occurring earlier every year, according to bird banding research from @UUtah @k_kittelberger @sekercioglu @UofUResearch attheu.utah.edu/research/as-cl…

brianmaffly's tweet card. Study by U biologists taps data from 22,000 songbirds captured at Bonderman Field Station to reveal changes in how they replace their feathers

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Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 21

See this Instagram post by @universityofutah instagram.com/p/DJ4klEDSYB9/…

Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · May 5

Korea's Haenyeo divers have passed down their tradition through the centuries. @UUtah scientists have identified genetic differences that may help these women endure the challenges of extreme diving in frigid water. attheu.utah.edu/health-medicin…

brianmaffly's tweet card. “It’s like they have a superpower”: Genetic analysis of all-women extreme divers finds changes linked to blood pressure, cold tolerance.

Brian Maffly@brianmaffly · Apr 18

Faster melts, drier futures: How dust on snow is rewriting Colorado River forecasts. Dust storms are melting snow weeks sooner in the Rockies, according to research by @UUtah hydrologists attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/m… #ClimateScience #ColoradoRiver @UofUCSBS @WilkesCenter @LeiaLarsen

brianmaffly's tweet card. Using 23 years of satellite data, U hydrologists reveal how dust-darkened snow is hastening runoff and reshaping the future of water in the Southwest.

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Brian Maffly Retweeted

University of Utah@UUtah · Apr 11

Utah has made laudable strides combating PM2.5 and ozone, the two leading air quality challenges for the Wasatch Front that have long threatened residents’ health. But that progress is being overshadowed by two growing menaces, dust and wildfire smoke. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/d…

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Brian Maffly Retweeted

University of Utah@UUtah · Apr 15

Using the "Swiss Army knife" of testing instruments, #UofU mechanical engineers are accelerating the testing of advanced materials needed for nuclear energy and other next-generation applications. attheu.utah.edu/science-techno…

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Brian Maffly Retweeted

University of Utah@UUtah · Apr 16

Our Environmental Humanities program is working with the Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation to build an archive in support of the Nation’s ability to preserve and tell its own stories. attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/b…

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