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As scientists investigate whether an entire Arctic ecosystem can evolve in response to a rapidly warming climate, UConn’s Mark Urban brings leading expertise on the intersection of evolution, biodiversity, and climate change.
Climate change is transforming the Arctic faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. Earlier snowmelt, warmer temperatures, and changing waterways are altering habitats and putting new pressures on the plants and animals that depend on them.
But what if nature can evolve in response, not simply one species at a time, but as an interconnected ecosystem?
That is the ambitious question behind a six-year, $15-million National Science Foundation-funded research project recently featured in The Guardian. Scientists working on Alaska’s North Slope are studying five interconnected species — white-crowned sparrows, feltleaf willow, Arctic grayling, aquatic mayflies, and ground beetles — to understand whether ecological relationships themselves can evolve as the climate changes.
It is a question that sits squarely within the expertise of Mark C. Urban, Ph.D., Professor and Arden Chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut.
Urban is a global expert on the impact of climate change on biodiversity, eco-evolution, and extinction risk. His research integrates ecology, evolution, and genetics to better understand how species and ecological communities respond to environmental change. He has also conducted extensive field research in Alaska, including research involving Arctic grayling and their ability to respond to a rapidly changing climate.
Recently, his work was featured in an in-depth piece by The Guardian. “Across hundreds of experiments, we have seen this happening,” says Mark Urban, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Connecticut working on the project. “There is this incredible buffer ability of adaptive evolution.” How the evolution of one species can help the holistic ecosystems depends on how an adaptive trait ultimately translates into ecological properties. For example, if a fish species can quickly evolve, it means that not only is the population maintained, but so is the stream’s productivity. “Any ecological properties that depend on those populations are maintained as well,” Urban says. To get a better idea of whether the Arctic’s stream and tundra habitats will continue to prosper, scientists are mapping the genetic diversity of each of the five study species to see if there is enough to allow for adaptation – influencing the ecosystems’ resilience potential. “We can get so far with ecology, but at some point we want to get down to the basics of why organisms do the things they do, and can they change the things they do,” says Urban. “That’s something only genetics can explain.” Certain genes control the traits associated with succeeding in different environments. “The holy grail in genomics is to find that one gene that affects everything. The gene that rules them all,” he says. “I think that’s optimistic. Most of the traits are going to be determined by hundreds of thousands of genes.” The Guardian - September 2026 Studies reveal that many plants and animals have been able to persist through evolutionary rescue – the process by which a population on the brink of extinction survives and rebounds through rapid genetic adaptation. Scarlet monkeyflowers in Oregon and California, for example, rapidly evolved during the 2010s to survive a four-year drought.
The implications extend far beyond the Arctic.
Scientists have traditionally examined how individual species might migrate, acclimatize, or evolve as their environments change. But ecosystems are networks. Fish depend on insects, insects depend on vegetation and water conditions, and predators depend on prey. If those relationships change at different speeds, the consequences can ripple throughout an ecosystem.
Urban's work examines precisely these kinds of connections — how ecological and evolutionary processes interact and ultimately influence biodiversity and the resilience of natural systems. His recent research has also examined the growing risk of species extinction as global temperatures rise.
The emerging science raises some fascinating questions: How quickly can evolution occur? Can genetic diversity give ecosystems a natural buffer against climate change? What happens when one species adapts faster than another? And are there limits to how much change an ecosystem can absorb before it begins to unravel?
As scientists attempt to understand whether nature can keep pace with a rapidly changing planet, Urban can provide valuable perspective on what evolution can — and cannot — do, and what the findings could mean for biodiversity and conservation around the world.
If you're interested in speaking with Mark Urban about climate change, evolution, biodiversity, Arctic ecosystems, or extinction risk, click on his profile below.
Peptides are having a moment. People injecting them at home are chasing everything from weight loss and muscle recovery to sharper thinking and better sex drive. But according to UConn pharmacist and clinical pharmacologist C. Michael White, the bigger danger isn't just what's in the vial. It's what happens when untrained people try to draw up and inject these products themselves.
White has been researching the gray markets for peptides, where companies sidestep FDA oversight by selling products labeled "for research purposes only." Because that labeling is a legal workaround, the companies can't legally tell buyers how to actually use what they're selling.
"This means consumers must purchase any supplies they need and figure out the proper technique on their own," White writes. So he decided to test just how well people manage on their own. In a new study published in Public Health Reports, White and his colleagues recruited 20 people, 10 college students and 10 adults in their 60s, and asked each to reconstitute a semaglutide peptide product, draw it into a syringe, and inject a mannequin. They were allowed to research the process online or with AI beforehand.
The results were rough. On average, both age groups got fewer than half the steps right. Some picked expired or cloudy dissolving liquid. Many miscalculated doses, couldn't clear air bubbles from the syringe, or injected into muscle instead of fat. Roughly half didn't know how to safely engage the needle's safety mechanism or dispose of it afterward.
"These errors were serious and could increase the risk of infection, bleeding, over- or under-dosing, and needle sticks," White notes. What stood out most: Confidence didn't track with competence. After doing their homework, most participants in both groups felt "somewhat confident" they could do the injection correctly. Younger participants stayed confident even after fumbling through the process. Older adults, by contrast, adjusted their confidence downward once they saw how it actually went, which tracks with prior research showing older adults tend to be more accurate judges of their own ability on complex tasks.
White's piece also digs into a potential fix on the table: In late July 2026, an FDA advisory panel recommended adding six widely used peptides, including BPC-157, TB-500, and Semax, to the list of substances compounding pharmacies can legally prepare. The panel's argument is that compounded versions would be safer than gray-market ones, since compounding pharmacies follow rules on sourcing and sterile production that the gray market doesn't.
White isn't fully sold. Even if the FDA adopts the recommendation, he points out it would only apply to a handful of products, and it wouldn't change the fact that none of them have actually been tested for safety or effectiveness as finished drugs. The bulk of the gray-market risk stays exactly where it is.
For more on the peptide boom and what the FDA is weighing, NBC News broke down the basics here: What are peptides and why is the FDA considering easing limits? Read the full article:
Dr. White is Head and Distinguished Professor of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut, and co-director of the university's Health Outcomes, Policy, and Evidence Synthesis (HOPES) research group. His research focuses on drug, dietary supplement, and illicit drug safety, quality, and cost, with a specific throughline into adverse events tied to drugs, devices, herbal products, and substances of abuse.
View complete profile He's a recurring voice on drug and supplement safety specifically, most recently quoted in Health magazine's "4 Major Risks of Unregulated Peptides" (Aug. 18, 2026) and on KCBS Los Angeles radio discussing GLP-1 drugs and youth mental health (Aug. 10, 2026).
Dr. White is available for interviews on peptide safety, the gray-market supplement industry, GLP-1 and weight-loss drug trends, and drug/dietary supplement safety more broadly. Media can reach out by clicking this profile icon below.
For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, every match at the 2026 tournament includes mandatory three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half.
Introduced as a player welfare measure amid concerns about extreme summer temperatures across North America, the breaks have quickly become a much discussed development in the tournament. Coaches, players, broadcasters, sports scientists, and fans are all weighing in on the impact the stoppages have on player safety, game flow, strategy, and even commercial opportunities.
The conversation has intensified as several matches have been played in challenging heat conditions and prominent coaches have publicly questioned whether the mandatory breaks alter the rhythm of the sport. At the same time, medical experts continue to emphasize the risks posed by heat stress and dehydration during elite athletic competition, particularly in tournaments spanning multiple climates and venues.
Experts like UConn's Douglas Casa have been front and center when the media call for insight and perspective.
The three-minute mandatory hydration breaks are meant to protect players, and referees, from extreme heat illness and help them maintain their physical performance. In that time, players can cool off and replenish lost water and salt from sweating, but how effective it is depends on how aggressive the cooling methods are. That could mean putting wet, cold towels on the exposed parts of a player's body, such as the neck, head, back and arms. If done well, that could reduce their body temperature by about 0.22 F (0.12 C) per minute, said Douglas Casa, CEO of the University of Connecticut's Korey Stringer Institute who also co-signed the letter to FIFA. "Some people can tolerate a little more fluids comfortably and then do intense exercise. Some people can't because it sloshes around in their stomach and they don't feel super comfortable, so they might not drink as much in such a short period of time," he added. The time, he said, dictates the volume of impact, whether from fluid or cooling, and "that's why we're suggesting doing something like five or six minutes, because it just makes such a big impact when you're dealing with a change of that magnitude." June 18 - NPR Douglas Casa is a professor of kinesiology and chief executive officer of UConn’s Korey Stringer Institute. He is a leading authority on research, advocacy, and education about exertional heat stroke View his profile While the standardized breaks represent a major step forward for player welfare, some leading heat illness experts argue the new policy does not go far enough. Dr. Douglas Casa, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and chief executive officer of the Korey Stringer Institute, expressed skepticism regarding the efficacy of such brief intervals. Dr. Casa warned that prolonged, high-intensity physical exertion causes a rapid spike in core body temperature, which dramatically degrades athletic performance and increases the risk of exertional heat illness. He noted that a mere three minutes from whistle to whistle provides insufficient time for optimal physiological cooling and active rehydration, recommending instead that tournament officials expand the mandatory breaks to five or six minutes. Faced with these demanding environmental conditions, several competing national teams are taking proactive measures to gain a competitive edge. Multiple countries have expanded their technical staffs to include specialized sports scientists tasked exclusively with designing aggressive heat-acclimatization and thermal-management strategies. According to Dr. Casa, these data-driven preparation strategies will likely play a monumental role in determining player durability and ultimately crowning the world champion. June 09 - NBC News Covering? We can help. Douglas Casa, who leads UConn's renowned Korey Stringer Institute, is available to discuss:
The science behind hydration and cooling breaks in elite sport Heat illness risks facing World Cup athletes Whether mandatory breaks are sufficient to protect players How extreme weather is changing sports medicine and event management The balance between player safety, competition, and fan expectations Check out the video below featuring Doug Casa explaining what happens when the human body gets too hot.
Media interested in speaking with Doug Casa can contact the UConn media relations team to arrange an interview.
