Featured Post from University of Florida

Why shoppers are paying more for a fake Amazon discount

May 9, 2023

2 min

By Halle Burton

According to new research by Jinhong Xie, a Warrington College of Business professor at the University of Florida, more than a quarter of Amazon vacuum cleaners sold have increased their prices while pretending to offer discounts.

Xie’s pricing phenomenon research is joined with Sungsik Park at the University of South Carolina and Man Xie at Arizona State University, publishing their analysis in the Marketing Science journal.

A product’s price increase is paired with a previously unadvertised listing price, which encourages Amazon shoppers to receive a deceitful false discount.

This faux discount drove higher sales despite the price increase, and shoppers end up paying 23% more on average.

“When you see this list-price comparison, you naturally assume you are getting a discount. It’s not just that you didn’t get a discount. You actually paid a higher price than before the seller displayed the discount claim,” said Xie.

Regulations currently prohibit deceptive pricing by requiring truthful price comparisons from the sellers, but a list price can still be misleading under these circumstances.

Shoppers are misled by the timing of price comparisons where retailers advertise a price discount that actually only gives the impression of a deal.

“Current regulations are all about the value of the list price, and they don’t say anything about misleading consumers by manipulating the timing of the list price’s introduction,” Xie said.

Xie and her colleagues followed more than 1,700 vacuums on Amazon from 2016 to 2017 gathering observational data on their prices.

“We found that by increasing the price by 23% on average, the seller achieves a 15% advantage in their sales rank among all products in the home and kitchen category,” Xie said.

Xie encourages consumers to be aware, not make assumptions about discount claims and utilize multiple websites to compare prices.

“We think that consumer organizations and regulators should evaluate this new marketing practice to determine whether and how to manage it.”

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Mar 26, 2026

3 min

Study: Many pregnant women uncertain of marijuana risks even as use increases

Many pregnant women are unsure if it’s safe to use marijuana or products containing cannabidiol, an active compound in marijuana, even as they increasingly turn to them to combat morning sickness, anxiety or insomnia, a recent University of Florida Health study shows. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises against the use of marijuana and cannabidiol, or CBD, during pregnancy. Marijuana use has been associated in some studies with adverse fetal neurodevelopmental outcomes. Evidence of cannabidiol safety is sparse in human studies, but researchers remain concerned that it might nonetheless pose a danger. CBD is not intoxicating. The UF Health researchers said their study shows a need for the medical community to better educate women about the potential hazards to the fetus from using marijuana, also called cannabis. One worry is that some people believe the spreading legalization of marijuana or CBD around the nation equates to the government giving its stamp of approval that the products are safe, researchers said. Medical marijuana is legal in Florida, although its recreational use is not. “If a medication is legal, we assume that maybe it’s safe, although other things like tobacco and alcohol are also legal and we know that those can be harmful to pregnancies,” said Kay Roussos-Ross, M.D., the study’s senior author and a professor in the UF College of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “We see a good deal of data out there that shows that there is increased risk of psychiatric and behavioral issues related to marijuana use in pregnancy, but we need more,” she added. “We need more so that we can be correct in our assessments and our educational efforts to women of reproductive age who are using marijuana.” It’s difficult to quantify the rise of marijuana and CBD use during pregnancy, with most estimates showing an increase predating COVID-19. A 2021 federal survey reported 7.2% of pregnant women used marijuana. The UF Health study noted that emerging evidence from obstetrics care shows more pregnant women are trying the products, perhaps because of increased legalization. The study, published in Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids, surveyed 261 women and used focus groups to explore participants’ perceptions of the products. The women were either pregnant, breastfeeding or caring for a child 5 years old or younger, and reported use of marijuana or CBD products, such as vapes, smoking, tincture oils or ointments. “There seems to be a disconnect,” said Amie Goodin, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the UF College of Pharmacy’s Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy and the study’s lead author. “About one in six pregnant women are telling us, ‘Yes, I have used marijuana or a CBD product while I’m pregnant.’ But half are saying, ‘I don’t know what the risks are.’” About 40% of the pregnant women surveyed said they were unsure how risky it was to use marijuana once or twice a week during pregnancy, compared with 34.5% of women who were not pregnant when surveyed for the study but who had children. Asked the same question about CBD, more than 52% of pregnant women were unsure of the risk, compared with 41.8% for mothers who weren’t pregnant when surveyed. About 36% of pregnant women reported using marijuana, compared with 65% of mothers not currently pregnant, perhaps reflecting at least some increased caution among those in the former group. CBD use was 19.9% for pregnant women and 38.2% for women who were not pregnant. “Some women did mention that the legalization of marijuana has made marijuana more socially acceptable,” said study co-author Deepthi Varma, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Epidemiology. The researchers said they were especially concerned that women were even less sure of the safety of CBD use because it is widely available and often seen as harmless. “You might notice that it’s even something that you can buy at a gas station or a grocery store,” Goodin said. “CBD in a purified form has actually got an FDA approval to treat certain types of pediatric epilepsy on its own … but pharmaceutical-grade CBD is not quite the same thing as you would expect to get if you were purchasing CBD oil at a smoke shop or a gas station.”

Mar 23, 2026

3 min

Ghost sharks grow forehead teeth to help them have sex

Male “ghost sharks” — eerie deep-sea fish known as chimaeras that are related to sharks and rays — have a strange rod jutting from their foreheads, studded with sharp, retractable teeth. New research reveals these are not merely lookalikes, but real rows of teeth that grow outside the mouth. What’s more, the toothy appendage is likely used for mating. Found only in males, the forehead rod — called a tenaculum — is the ghost sharks’ only source of distinct teeth, and it seems to be used to grasp females in much the same way sharks use their toothy mouths in mating. “If these strange chimaeras are sticking teeth on the front of their head, it makes you think about the dynamism of tooth development more generally,” said Gareth Fraser, Ph.D., a professor of biology at the University of Florida and senior author of the study. “If chimaeras can make a set of teeth outside the mouth, where else might we find teeth?” The team, including scientists from the University of Washington and the University of Chicago, studied both fossils and living specimens to solve the mystery. A 315-million-year-old fossil showed the tenaculum attached to the upper jaw, bearing teeth incredibly similar to those in the mouth. Modern chimaeras collected from Puget Sound revealed the same tooth-growing process on the head, seen in modern-day shark jaws. And genetic testing confirmed they expressed the same tooth-specific genes as oral teeth. “What we found is that the teeth on this strange appendage look very much like rows of shark teeth. The ability to make teeth transferred onto that appendage, likely from the mouth,” Fraser said. “Over time, the tenaculum shortened but retained the ability to make oral teeth on this forehead appendage.” Fraser collaborated with Washington’s Karly Cohen, Ph.D., and Michael Coates, Ph.D., from Chicago on the study, which was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. As experts in shark evolution and anatomy, the scientists were intrigued by these tooth-filled rods sprouting from the ghost shark foreheads. The central mystery: Is the tenaculum covered in true teeth related to oral teeth or more similar to the tooth-like scales plastering the skin of sharks and some ghost sharks? CT scans of the fossils and modern chimaeras gave the scientists unprecedented, detailed insights into the development of the tenaculum teeth, which looked remarkably similar to the teeth of today’s sharks. The nail in the coffin came from genetic evidence. The tenaculum teeth express genes found only in true teeth, never in shark skin denticles. "What I think is very neat about this project is that it provides a beautiful example of evolutionary tinkering or ‘bricolage,’” said Coates, a professor of biology at the University of Chicago. “We have a combination of experimental data with paleontological evidence to show how these fishes co-opted a preexisting program for manufacturing teeth to make a new device that is essential for reproduction." Cohen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs and first author of the paper, said scientists had never spotted teeth outside the mouth in this way before. “The tenaculum is a developmental relic, not a bizarre one-off, and the first clear example of a toothed structure outside the jaw,” she said. The bizarre path from a mouth full of teeth to forehead teeth used for mating demonstrates the impressive flexibility of evolution, the researchers say, always ready to repurpose structures for strange and unexpected new uses. “There are still plenty of surprises down in the ocean depths that we have yet to uncover,” Fraser said.

Mar 22, 2026

3 min

A year after liftoff: UF scientist reflects on historic space flight and the future of biology beyond Earth

One year after his pioneering flight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, University of Florida space biologist Rob Ferl, Ph.D., is still processing what it meant — not just for his career, but for science itself. “What stands out the most is just the overwhelming gratitude,” Ferl said. “It was such an amazing opportunity for a scientist to go to space and actually do science.” Ferl, a professor in UF’s Horticultural Sciences Department, Director of the Astraeus Space Institute, and Assistant Vice President of Research, became one of the first space biologists to fly alongside his own experiment — a moment that marked a new era in researcher-led missions. His suborbital journey provided a rare opportunity to study how terrestrial biology responds to the very first moments of spaceflight. “For decades, space biology has relied on professional astronauts to carry out experiments designed by scientists on Earth,” Ferl explained. “But to truly understand how biology works in space, I believe you - as the scientist - have to be there. You have to feel the environment.” This September, Ferl and longtime collaborator Anna-Lisa Paul, Ph.D., will be back at Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site, continuing their work with a new series of plant experiments. Ferl and Paul, who directs UF’s Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research and is a professor in Horticultural Sciences, are tracking fluorescently tagged genes in Arabidopsis plants to study how gene expression changes during the rapid shift from Earth’s gravity to the microgravity of spaceflight and back again. It’s a full-circle moment for Ferl, who remains deeply engaged in the same questions that sent him to space a year ago. Unpacking the Transition from Earth to Space Ferl’s experiment focused on the early metabolic responses of plants during the critical transition from Earth’s gravity to the weightlessness of space. “The scientific community has accumulated plenty of data comparing biology in orbit with that on Earth,” he said. “But we’ve known almost nothing about what happens in those first few minutes as organisms enter space and are exposed to microgravity.” Initial results from the flight reveal intense metabolic changes in the early moments of spaceflight. These changes are distinct from, but connected to, the long-term adaptations seen in orbit. Early Findings, Future Impact While the data from Ferl’s experiment are still on the way to being published, the findings are already shaping the direction of ongoing research. The work contributes to a growing understanding of how terrestrial life, from plants to humans, shares fundamental pathways in responding to the space environment. “This has real implications for the future of space missions,” Ferl noted. “As we send more people and more biology into space in support of exploration, we need a comprehensive understanding of how living systems adapt — right from the start.” Ferl and his team will return to Blue Origin’s launch site in Texas in September to continue their research, sending an uncrewed payload of plants into suborbital space. The flight carries no humans—but it does carry an automated experiment designed to advance their understanding of plant biology in space. It’s part of a broader effort to refine what Ferl calls “researcher-tended missions.” A New Course for UF Space Science The mission has not only shaped the trajectory of Ferl’s research, it has also energized Astraeus and the university’s space biology efforts. “This is about building a new kind of science culture,” Ferl said. “One where the scientists are embedded in every part of the mission, from experiment design to the moment of launch.” As the one-year anniversary of his flight approaches, Ferl remains focused on pushing the boundaries of what science in space can be. But he hasn’t forgotten the magnitude of the moment. “Even a year later,” he said, “the most powerful thing I feel is just: thank you. Thank you for the chance to go, to see it for myself, and to bring that knowledge back to Earth.”