A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher is helping explain how mantis shrimp see colors and detect types of light that humans cannot, offering new clues about how eyes sense the world.

Megan Porter, a professor in the , co-authored a study published in October 2026 in that explores how mantis shrimp eyes detect light. The researchers found that special proteins and natural pigments work together to help the animals sense a wider range of light, including far-red light, which is beyond the range of human vision.

Mantis shrimp have some of the most unusual eyes in the animal world. They have at least 12 types of light receptors that respond to different parts of the light spectrum. Humans have three types of color-sensitive cells, which work together to let us see millions of colors.

The researchers studied 17 types of proteins called rhodopsins. These proteins absorb light and help turn it into signals that the nervous system can interpret. Three of the proteins were able to absorb light with wavelengths longer than 600 nanometers, reaching into the far-red part of the spectrum. Together with natural pigments called carotenoids that act like filters, these proteins help mantis shrimp detect a broader range of light than most other animals, humans included.

What this means for humans

The findings help scientists understand how eyes can detect different types of light and turn that information into signals. While the study does not point to a direct medical use, understanding these natural systems could inspire new ways to detect light using technology.

Scientists have already used mantis shrimp eyes as inspiration for small sensors that can detect not only color but also the direction light waves travel or vibrate. The study also revealed a trade-off. The pigments that help mantis shrimp detect far-red light can block much of the light from reaching certain receptors. This suggests that their ability to detect these wavelengths may work best in bright conditions.

“By understanding how these proteins respond to different wavelengths of light and how they work together within a mantis shrimp eye, we can better understand the biological mechanisms that make this remarkable visual system possible,” Porter said.

The research shows how evolution has shaped the mantis shrimp鈥檚 eyes to detect light in unusual ways. By uncovering how this system works, scientists may also find new ideas for designing technology that senses light.

The School of Life Sciences is housed in .

University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 Professor Reece Jones authors books about border politics, but his newest is the most anticipated. On October 20, 2026, Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs, and Refugees at America鈥檚 Northern Border, will be released by Prometheus Books.

The book has already earned recognition, named a Big Indie Book of the Fall by Publishers Weekly, and a Most Anticipated Book of 2026 by Inkstick Media. And a major TV studio has optioned the rights to produce a scripted series based on the book, co-authored by Greg Boos, an immigration lawyer.

Smuggler is the true story of American Bob Boul茅, a quirky bed-and-breakfast owner on the U.S. Canadian border in Blaine, Washington, who became a central figure of debate around violent immigration policing in the U.S. The book follows the events behind Egbert v. Bob Boul茅, a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that gave ICE and border patrol agents immunity from civil cases for constitutional violations.

“It鈥檚 exciting for this important story to be getting the attention it deserves,” said Jones, a Department of professor in the and an expert on border politics. “I first came to this story because of the landmark Supreme Court case, but Bob Boul茅鈥檚 willingness to sacrifice everything to help refugees became the heart of the book.“

Boul茅 was a conservative businessman who had voted Republican his whole life. At first, the owner of Smuggler鈥檚 Inn worked as a confidential informant for the Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations targeting drug trafficking in the area. Over time, his perspective changed and he found his life鈥檚 purpose in helping over 1,000 asylum seekers cross the border into Canada.

闯辞苍别蝉鈥檚 U.S. online book launch is on October 20, and there will be an in-person launch on campus at noon on October 29, in Saunders 443.

He has authored the award-winning books , which received the 2013 Julian Minghi Distinguished Book Award for best book in political geography from the American Association of Geographers; and , which garnered the 2017 award for best book in political geography from the Royal Geographical Society.

Jones received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2021, and was named an American Association of Geographers Fellow in 2023.

A University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo-led study found sewage pollution along Hilo鈥檚 coast, from Keaukaha to Honoliʻi. It is the first to map wastewater pollution hotspots from King鈥檚 Landing to Honoliʻi Beach Park on Hawaiʻi Island.

The findings could help prioritize cesspool replacement near existing sewer lines and guide upgrades to Hilo鈥檚 wastewater treatment system.

糖心视频 Hilo graduate Joseph “Crispin” Nakoa led the research, conducted in 2020–22, along his hometown鈥檚 coast.

“Growing up in Hilo, these aren鈥檛 just study sites, they鈥檙e places I鈥檝e spent my whole life fishing, surfing and spending time with family and friends,” Nakoa said. “Being able to answer questions that so many of us have had about the health of these waters has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project.”

Tracing the sources

Researchers sampled 16 locations monthly, measuring bacteria associated with fecal contamination, nutrients and chemical signatures of nitrogen in water and limu (seaweed). These measurements helped trace wastewater from cesspools and Hilo鈥檚 wastewater treatment plant.

Wastewater was detected at every site, though most pollution indicators were found at low concentrations. Fresh groundwater flowing into the ocean diluted those signals, making contamination harder to detect.

Researchers combined their measurements with nearby cesspool densities to identify hotspots that water testing alone could miss.

Depending on the location, wastewater accounted for 8% to 49% of nitrate, a nutrient, in the water. Groundwater remained the largest source of nitrate.

Supporting community solutions

The study also showed that rivers carry wastewater to the coast.

“We talk a lot about the importance of removing cesspools from near the shoreline, but it鈥檚 also important to remove those near our rivers and streams,” said 糖心视频 Hilo Professor Steven Colbert.

Published in Marine Pollution Bulletin, the findings supported a companion study that traced sewage from homes to shoreline springs within hours to days.

“The goal with this data is to empower the communities鈥o that they can seek funding for solutions to improve water quality, to make it safe for everybody in the community to be able to use these waters,” said 糖心视频 Hilo marine science Professor Tracy Wiegner.

examining how tropical cyclone activity near Hawaiʻi could change in a warmer future finds a shift toward stronger storms, even though uncertainty remains about whether the total number of storms near the islands will increase. The study was led by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (SOEST).

“This research addresses a hazard that is rare in Hawaiʻi but can have enormous consequences when it occurs,” said Nicole Murray, lead author who was a postdoctoral researcher in the SOEST at the time of this research. “The events of this hurricane season make that especially tangible: storms do not need to make a conventional landfall to disrupt communities, damage infrastructure and create dangerous flooding and wind impacts.”

Only a small number of tropical cyclones have directly affected the islands during the modern observational record. Limited data, however, makes it difficult for scientists to estimate the probabilities of rare events or determine how those probabilities might change in the future.

Simulating tropical cyclones

Murray and team addressed that problem by using the Columbia Tropical Cyclone Hazard computer model created by study co-authors Chia-Ying Lee and Suzana Camargo at Columbia University. The model generated thousands of years鈥� worth of synthetic tropical cyclones from the atmospheric and oceanic conditions simulated by seven global climate models. This provided the researchers with a much larger sample of possible storms than observations alone could provide.

They examined storms passing within 300 nautical miles of Hawaiʻi and analyzed their frequency, intensity, tracks, duration, speed and landfalls under historical, mid-century and late-century climates. The future simulations use a high-emissions scenario to examine how tropical cyclone activity could respond under substantial future warming. They also separated storms occurring during El Niño and La Niña years, allowing the team to examine whether the relationship between El Niño-Southern Oscillation and Hawaiʻi tropical cyclone hazard could change in a warmer future.

Assessing changes in El Niño and hurricane hazard

El Niño has historically provided useful context for understanding heightened tropical cyclone hazards around Hawaiʻi. This study found an important change in the relationship between El Niño and Hawaiʻi’s tropical cyclone risk. Historically, El Niño tends to favor stronger and more frequent tropical cyclones near Hawaiʻi compared with La Niña. In the team鈥檚 late-century simulations, the differences between El Niño and La Niña become less pronounced, particularly for tropical cyclone wind hazard, while the spatial pattern of storm tracks also changes. During El Niño, tropical cyclone tracks shift southwest of the Hawaiian Islands relative to La Niña conditions.

“The 2026 hurricane season has provided a powerful reminder of this,” said Christina Karamperidou, co-author and SOEST atmospheric sciences professor. “Hurricane Lala passed just south of the islands in August and produced severe flooding and damaging winds across Hawaiʻi; Hurricane Lowell approached Hawaiʻi from the south in September before passing west of the state, producing damaging winds, heavy rainfall and flooding, with particularly severe impacts on Kauaʻi.”

This research connects large-scale climate dynamics of the tropical Pacific with hazards that impact communities across Hawaiʻi. Tropical cyclone risk is not simply a question of how many hurricanes make landfall. Storms passing near the islands can produce damaging winds, extreme rainfall, flooding, landslides, high surf and other cascading hazards.

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Ten rare Korean books, including a historically significant military manual, have returned to the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补’s following a year-long restoration project in South Korea.

The books, severely damaged by water, insects and age, were restored by the Jungjae Cultural Heritage Conservation Institute in Seoul, one of Korea’s leading conservation laboratories. The collection includes military manuals, travelogues, poetry collections and Buddhist scriptures that had become nearly impossible for researchers to consult.

In September 2025, Korean Studies Librarian Ellie Kim transported the 10 volumes to Seoul for restoration. The project was supported by a $50,000 grant awarded in 2025 by the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation, an organization under South Korea’s National Heritage Service.

Rare military manual discovered

An appraisal conducted in October 2025 revealed the exceptional historical significance of Pyongakchinam, a military manual originally published in 1787. The illustrated text documents military drills, battle formations, marching orders and commands used during Korea’s Choson Kingdom.

Hamilton Library’s copy is a regional edition produced in Namwon and is the first known surviving copy from that region, making it particularly rare.

In September, Kim and Hamilton Library Paper Conservator Liane Naʻauao traveled to Seoul to inspect the restored volumes and transport them safely back to Hawaiʻi.

The books will be digitized and incorporated into educational programs, research projects and exhibitions, expanding access to Korean cultural heritage, ensuring their continued availability for future generations.

The project was made possible through collaboration among Hamilton Library, the conservation institute, the Overseas Korean Cultural Heritage Foundation and former Korea Foundation intern Minjae Kim.

A University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 nursing simulation designed by the to prepare future nurses to care for Hawaiʻi’s aging population is showing promising results.

The Aging With Grace program significantly increased nursing students’ self-reported confidence using telehealth and received high participant ratings, according to findings published in the . The simulation is now a required competency activity for undergraduate nursing and graduate nurse practitioner students.

Nearly one in five Hawaiʻi residents is 65 or older, yet only a small percentage of the state’s registered nurses and nurse practitioners hold certifications in geriatrics.

“Our novel geriatric simulation curriculum can build the knowledge, confidence and collaborative skills needed to care for older adults with increasingly complex health needs,” said Courtnee Nunokawa, assistant professor and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. “The evidence-based Aging With Grace curriculum was designed by our faculty to address a critical workforce need.”

Following a patient’s journey

Unlike traditional simulations focused on a single medical encounter, Aging With Grace follows the same patient through three stages of care: independent living, post-stroke rehabilitation and long-term care.

Undergraduate nursing and graduate nurse practitioner students collaborate to address the patient’s changing physical, emotional and medical needs.

Trained actors from , a partnership between 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 nursing and the , portray patients to create realistic clinical experiences. Faculty also used artificial intelligence to generate a photograph of the simulated patient’s deceased spouse, adding emotional depth.

The curriculum emphasizes five components of age-friendly care: What Matters, Medication, Mentation (mental health, memory, and cognitive function), Mobility and Multimorbidity (co-occurrence of multiple chronic conditions).

The simulation involved 125 students across six sessions in March and April 2024. Of the 112 students who completed evaluations, participants rated the experience highly and reported statistically significant improvements in telehealth confidence across all measured areas.

Faculty are exploring partnerships with other health disciplines, health care organizations and community groups to expand the program.

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Marine microplastic pollution is associated with higher rates of several cancers in U.S. coastal counties, according to University of Hawaiʻi research.

The study was senior-authored by , assistant professor and Chin Sik and Hyun Sook Chung Endowed Chair in the 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health鈥檚 .

Researchers examined 89 coastal counties, representing about 54 million people, and compared marine microplastic pollution with cancer rates from 2013 to 2021. Pollution levels were estimated using beach sand and ocean samples collected in each county and available through a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration database.

Counties with higher microplastic pollution tended to have higher rates of digestive, thyroid, prostate, lung and oral and throat cancers.

“It is important to note that these findings are preliminary evidence and require further investigation,” Li said. “However, this is one of the earliest human studies to connect microplastics and cancer at the national level and will provide guidance for future research on what to study specifically.”

Building on microplastics research

Li said future research should measure micro- and nanoplastics in biological samples such as blood to more directly quantify associations with adverse health outcomes.

The cancer study, “,” was published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. The study鈥檚 first author is Nicolas E. Gentile of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and included researchers from 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 and the .

Li is also co-leading a five-year, $3.3 million study that will follow 300 Hawaiʻi families from pregnancy through a baby鈥檚 first year, measuring exposure to microplastics and PFAS and examining potential effects on early brain development.

New research led by (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant), 糖心视频 Mānoa (SOEST), and U.S. Geological Survey analyzed a 253-year old core from a massive coral colony at Olowalu Reef off West Maui to reconstruct how Olowalu has changed over time, what has driven those changes, and what restoring healthy connections between land and sea may mean for the reef鈥檚 future.

The study, , analyzed the coral core from approximately 1760 to 2013 which provided a rare glimpse into the conditions that began before large-scale changes to the West Maui landscape following Western contact occurred, and continued through plantation agriculture and modern coastal development.

Chemical indicators associated with sediment, nutrients, and other land-derived inputs generally increased over the 253-year record, with some of the largest changes occurring during the twentieth century as sugarcane agriculture expanded across West Maui. At the same time, the coral鈥檚 growth record showed that calcification increased through much of the record before beginning to decline around the late 1960s, concurrent with sugarcane expansion.

Coral skeletons

Like the rings of a tree, corals build their skeletons incrementally over time. As they grow, elements from the surrounding seawater become incorporated into their skeletons. By measuring this chemistry along the length of the Olowalu core, the researchers were able to reconstruct how conditions affecting the reef changed over generations.

“One of the important lessons from this study is that some of the changes that occurred on land more than a century ago can still provide important context for what we see on reefs today,” said Samuel Kekuewa, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant postdoctoral affiliate researcher. “Understanding these legacy impacts can help us make better decisions about how we manage these areas moving forward.”

Researchers paired the chemical record with measurements of coral growth, historical records of land-use change, and large-scale climate patterns such as El Ni帽o. The coral recorded both natural climate variability and major changes occurring within the watershed. The research occurring at Olowalu is particularly important because it is one of 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 largest continuous reef systems, and an important source of coral larvae for reefs throughout Maui Nui.

“Across Hawaiʻi, there is already a large amount of work being done by the community to restore watersheds, retain sediment on land, and protect the downstream coral reefs,” said Kekuewa. “Records like this can help provide the long-term context needed to support and guide that work.”

–By Cindy Knapman

University of Hawaiʻi President Wendy Hensel has been named one of 12 Pacific Business News鈥� , recognizing her leadership during her first year at the helm of the state鈥檚 10-campus public higher education system.

The annual recognition highlights Hawaiʻi leaders for their leadership, entrepreneurship, commitment to their communities and the scope of the projects they are undertaking. This is the fourth year PBN has selected its Power Leaders.

In its profile, PBN highlighted Hensel鈥檚 work to more closely integrate 糖心视频鈥檚 10 campuses, introduce a systemwide artificial intelligence platform, launch the Direct2糖心视频 direct-admission initiative and expand fully online programs to make higher education more accessible to Hawaiʻi residents.

Hensel said a pivotal moment in her career came when then-Georgia State University President Mark Becker encouraged her to consider university leadership while she was dean of its College of Law.

“He saw something in me I hadn鈥檛 yet seen in myself and opened a door that changed my trajectory when he asked me to be the university鈥檚 provost (chief academic officer),” Hensel said. “It ultimately led me into roles where I could help highly diverse institutions lift students from all backgrounds into opportunity. That moment planted the seed that is now fully realized in my work at 糖心视频.”

Leadership focused on mission

Asked what she looks for in future leaders, Hensel emphasized collaboration and putting the institution鈥檚 mission first.

“Leadership isn鈥檛 about being the smartest person in the room—it鈥檚 about understanding the problem, empowering the people around you and making decisions that serve the mission, not the self,” Hensel said.

Hensel said her family and the mission of education keep her grounded, while student safety and well-being remain at the forefront.

糖心视频 alumni also recognized

糖心视频 alumni among the 2026 Power Leaders include Sherry Menor, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaiʻi; Aaron Sal膩, president and CEO of the Hawaiʻi 糖心视频ors and Convention Bureau; Stanford Carr, founder, president and CEO of Stanford Carr Development; and Lance Wilhelm, president of The Wilhelm Group.

A new framework designed to guide one of the hardest decisions in conservation—whether to move a species outside its historical range to save it from extinction—has been , capping a multi-year, Pacific-wide effort in which the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa played a central supporting role.

The framework helps managers to decide whether a “conservation introduction” that moves a plant or animal outside its historic range is the right call, and how to do it responsibly.

Professor Melissa Price with College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR)鈥檚 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM) and a co-author of the paper, served as a co-principal investigator alongside lead investigator Mark W. Schwartz of the University of California, Davis and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Pacific Region. Price, 糖心视频 Mānoa graduate students and others helped facilitate community engagement, gathering input from more than 250 people across the Pacific region.

Years of conservation, community discussions

“This framework is the product of years of conversations with the people who actually do this work: biologists, cultural practitioners, Tribal and Indigenous community members, land managers, and agency staff across an enormous and diverse region,” said Price. “糖心视频 Mānoa’s role was to help make sure that engagement was real, not a formality, and that the framework reflected the full range of perspectives and places it’s meant to serve.”

That place-based, relationship-first approach sets the framework apart from earlier tools. It is built around considering cultural and community values alongside ecological risk.

“For Hawaiian forest birds, we don鈥檛 have the luxury of waiting until we have perfect information to make difficult decisions,” said Hanna Mounce, coordinator of the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project. “We are often making high-stakes decisions under a lot of uncertainty, and this framework gives us a way to work through those decisions thoughtfully and transparently, while making sure the right people are part of the conversation.”

Learn more

Community members interested in learning more are invited to a panel discussion on conservation introductions and forest bird translocations in the Hawaiian Islands at the NREM Departmental Research Seminar on Wednesday, October 28, from 3 to 4 p.m., hosted by CTAHR in the St. John Plant Science Laboratory, Room 011, 3190 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822.

The panel will feature Hanna Mounce (Maui Nui Forest Bird Recovery Project), Megan Laut (USFWS), and Lucas Fortini (U.S. Geological Survey).

Genetic markers in the blood that can signal lung cancer risk up to 10 years before a person is diagnosed were discovered by University of Hawaiʻi researchers. The set of 31 tiny markers, called small non-coding RNAs, could eventually help identify people at higher risk while cancer remains clinically undetected.

The study, published in , was led by Youping Deng, PhD candidate Zhuokun Feng, and Masaki Nasu from the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences at the 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 . Deng also co-directs genomics research at the . 糖心视频 Cancer Center researcher Lo茂c Le Marchand, lead investigator for the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study, served as co-author.

“A central question in this study was whether a molecular signal (measurable biological change) of future lung cancer could already be present in blood many years before diagnosis,” Feng said.

Detecting risk years before diagnosis

Using stored blood samples collected before participants were diagnosed, researchers identified 31 specific RNA molecules associated with future lung cancer risk.

A computer model using these markers achieved 95% overall accuracy in testing.

A computer model using these markers achieved 95% overall accuracy in testing. The RNA-based risk score remained strongly associated with future lung cancer even after researchers accounted for age, sex, ethnicity and smoking history. Notably, the association was still detectable five to 10 years before clinical diagnosis.

The findings point to the potential for a future blood-based approach to long-term lung cancer risk assessment. The research team is pursuing patent protection for the biomarker panel and its potential clinical application.

The National Institutes of Health supported the research through several grants, including funding connected to the 糖心视频 Pacific Center for Genome Research. Established with a $10.9 million NIH grant in 2023, the center advances genomics research in diverse populations.

In the world of aquatic life, the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) is remarkably tolerant to salt water, surviving in habitats ranging from fresh water to hypersaline ponds three times saltier than the ocean.

Researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 (CTAHR) have unlocked one of the molecular mechanisms underlying this remarkable feat. The study, published in , was led by Andre Seale, a researcher and professor in CTAHR鈥檚 Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, alongside 糖心视频 student researchers.

The team discovered how the fish survive under extreme salt stress by gradually increasing tank water salinity with artificial sea salt. Several fish species, including tilapia, need the hormone prolactin to prevent excessive water uptake and ion loss in fresh water, and turn it down when entering salt water. However, in extreme hypersalinity, prolactin signaling continues to be suppressed, while a continuous shift in the types of prolactin genes being expressed takes place.

This allows the fish to fine-tune their ability to to regulate salt and water balance even during transitions into salty environments.

“This salinity acclimation capacity is gradual, and even this species will fail to survive a direct transfer from fresh water to seawater. Understanding the rate and limits of how these fish tolerate higher salinities, also helps improve production traits, including growth, feed efficiency and nutritional value,” said Seale.

Preserving freshwater resources

Tilapia is a staple of global aquaculture and local Hawaiian aquaponics. Understanding the mechanisms underlying salt tolerance enables farming in brackish water , preserving precious freshwater for agriculture and drinking. It also allows for the investigation of how salt water may affect the nutritional quality of the fish.

By enabling tilapia farming in salty water, this research could play a role in boosting fish production and quality in regions with limited freshwater supply.

The research was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The health consequences of catastrophic wildfires that burn through towns and cities may extend far beyond the period when flames are extinguished and smoke disappears, according to new research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa鈥檚 (MauiWES).

A study of 1,400 Maui adults 6–18 months after the August 2023 wildfires found substantially elevated concentrations of several metals in participants鈥� urine, and also discovered that greater amounts of metals accumulated in the body was associated with abnormal lung function. Researchers measured 24 metals while assessing pulmonary function through standardized breathing tests at the same visit. The findings were .

Compared with U.S. biomonitoring data, Maui participants had markedly higher concentrations of several metals, including antimony at nearly 40 times, manganese at 3.8 times, barium at 2.3 times and arsenic at 2.2 times U.S. reference values. Across three complementary statistical approaches, higher combined metal exposure was associated with several measures of abnormal lung function. Arsenic, cadmium, copper and antimony were among the metals that contributed most strongly to those patterns.

The researchers emphasize, however, that the elevated metal burden likely reflects a complex mixture of exposures rather than a single source. Some exposures may have existed before the wildfire because of Hawaiʻi鈥檚 geology, historic agricultural and industrial land use, diet and other environmental factors. The disaster may then have introduced new contaminants while also disturbing and remobilizing pollutants already present in soil, dust and the built environment.

Because pre-fire biomonitoring data are not available, the current study cannot determine precisely how much of the measured burden came directly from the wildfire versus chronic, persistent or other ongoing exposures. Longitudinal biomonitoring and environmental sampling will be critical to disentangling those pathways.

“The biggest message is that exposure may not end when the smoke clears,” said Ruben Juarez, MauiWES co-director and –HMSA Distinguished Endowed Professor of Health Economics at 糖心视频 Mānoa. “What we are likely seeing is a complex combination of exposures—some that may have been present for years and others that may have been generated or remobilized by the wildfire. When a disaster burns through a community, it can fundamentally change how contaminants move through the environment. The next scientific challenge is to disentangle those sources and understand which exposures persist, where they come from and what they mean for long-term health.”

A different kind of wildfire

Much of what is known about wildfire health effects comes from studying smoke generated by burning vegetation. But fires such as those that devastated Lahaina represent a fundamentally different type of disaster.

Wildland-urban interface fires can burn homes, vehicles, electronics, treated lumber, electrical systems and other infrastructure, generating complex mixtures of contaminants while simultaneously disturbing pollutants accumulated in soil from earlier agricultural, industrial or other land uses. Those materials may remain in ash, settled dust, soil and debris or be redistributed across the landscape during cleanup and recovery. Potential pathways of continued exposure include resuspended fine particles, contact with contaminated dust and debris and indirect environmental exposure even after visible smoke has dissipated.

“We have traditionally thought about wildfire exposure primarily through the lens of smoke,” said Alika Maunakea, MauiWES co-director and professor at the 糖心视频 Mānoa . “But when an entire community burns, we are dealing with a much more complicated exposure environment. The biology is telling us that we need to understand not only what was in the air during the fire, but what was already present in the landscape, what the disaster may have mobilized, and what is actually getting into people鈥檚 bodies during the months and years that follow.”

Exposure was not confined to Lahaina

The study also identified substantial geographic differences in both metal exposure and pulmonary health across Maui.

Lahaina residents showed a distinct metal profile, including relatively elevated concentrations of arsenic and cadmium, while Wailuku/Kahului residents had the highest median concentrations of copper, iron and molybdenum. Kula and Kihei showed different metal profiles as well, underscoring that there was no single uniform exposure pattern across the island.

Pulmonary impairment also varied across Maui. Among interpretable breathing test results, Wailuku/Kahului exhibited some of the highest prevalence of abnormal lung-function measures, while Lahaina also showed substantial pulmonary impairment and Kula generally showed the lowest burden.

Those patterns suggest that the exposure landscape after a major disaster may be more complicated than simply comparing people inside and outside a burn zone. Researchers believe the measured metal mixtures may reflect overlapping contributions from wildfire-generated material, contaminants remobilized by the disaster, historically contaminated soils, local land use, geology and other ongoing environmental sources. Determining the relative contribution of each pathway is now a major focus of the research.

Implications far beyond Maui

The findings from Maui have implications beyond Hawaiʻi. As destructive fires increasingly reach developed communities, researchers say disaster-response systems may need to look beyond short-term measurements of smoke and particulate matter. Future responses could include longer-term environmental monitoring, human biomonitoring, respiratory surveillance and targeted assessment of soil, ash and settled dust, particularly in places with histories of agricultural or industrial contamination.

New NIH study will disentangle legacy and disaster-related exposures

The next phase of research will investigate the sources of the metal contaminants. In September 2026, 糖心视频 announced a five-year, $3.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to investigate pollutants left behind by decades of agricultural and industrial activity in Hawaiʻi and examine whether wildfires and other disasters can remobilize those contaminants, creating new pathways of human exposure.

The project is led by Maunakea, Juarez and Alison Lee of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It will follow approximately 1,000 Hawaiʻi residents over five years and combine environmental measurements, biological samples and cardiopulmonary assessments. The research will help distinguish persistent background exposures, legacy contamination and disaster-related exposures, while examining how those different sources contribute to heart and lung health over time.

Together, the studies shift the scientific question from simply “What did the wildfire release?” to a broader one: “How does a disaster transform an existing environmental contamination landscape and change what people are exposed to?”

Connecting participants with information, care

Researchers emphasized that the study is designed not only to document health effects, but also to connect participants with information and care. MauiWES participants receive access to their individual health results, opportunities to discuss those findings and referrals when screening identifies potential health concerns. The study will continue following families over time to understand how health changes during Maui鈥檚 recovery.

“We know these findings may be difficult for families who have already been through so much,” Juarez said. “Our responsibility is not simply to publish the science. It is to help people understand what we are finding, return information to the community, connect people with care when they need it, and continue learning alongside Maui as the community recovers.”

Resources for Maui residents

Research about the wildfires may raise health questions or bring back difficult memories. Maui residents can access the following resources:

• Current environmental conditions and advisories: The maintains a Maui Wildfire Environmental Monitoring Data Portal with current information on air, soil, ash and debris, coastal waters and other environmental monitoring.
• Medical and behavioral health resources: The provides medical, mental health and recovery resources, including materials in multiple languages.
• Emotional or crisis support: Hawaiʻi CARES 988 provides free, confidential support 24 hours a day. Call or text 988. Local counselors can assist with mental health, crisis and substance-use concerns.
• Help finding community services: Aloha United Way 211 connects Hawaiʻi residents with health care, housing, food, financial assistance, mental health services and other local resources. Dial 211 or visit the statewide resource directory.
• MauiWES participants: Participants can access individual health results through the MauiWES participant portal. Send questions about the study to mauiwes@hawaii.edu.

Hawaiʻi鈥檚 economy has slowed this year under the weight of war-driven oil prices and an unusually active storm season, including two hurricanes within three weeks, according to the 鈥檚 (糖心视频ERO) quarter 3 forecast for 2026.

Real GDP growth will fall to about half a percent in 2026, from more than 3% last year, and payroll employment will edge lower. 糖心视频ERO expects gradual relief as energy prices ease and storm recovery proceeds, with growth and hiring firming in 2027 and 2028. An aging, shrinking population will keep job gains modest, and continued AI investment offers upside potential for incomes, although the extent remains uncertain.

“Overall, we expect 2027 to bring gradual economic improvement to the state as energy prices and storm effects recede, although the persistent Middle East conflict remains a primary risk, together with election-related policy uncertainty,” 糖心视频ERO wrote. “Slowly declining population will mean a tepid trend employment path, while AI adoption could provide a potential upside income surprise in the years ahead.”

Takeaways from the September 25 report:

• The U.S. economy continues to grow about 1.5–2%, supported by higher-income households benefiting from AI-related wealth gains and to some extent by the AI buildout. High fuel and other prices strain lower-income families. With core inflation above its 2% target, the Federal Reserve began to raise the federal funds interest rate at its September meeting. Long-term rates have already surged, pushing mortgage rates higher. Growth abroad remains soft, with Canada facing new U.S. tariffs, China growing at its slowest pace since the pandemic, and high oil prices weighing on many trading partners.
• Hawaiʻi tourism faced dual headwinds this year from surging fuel costs and a parade of storms. Hurricane Lowell鈥檚 September brush with Kauaʻi will cut that county鈥檚 arrivals by more than 6% for the year. Statewide visitor arrivals will decline just over half a percent for the year as a whole, while a sharp drop in reported length of stay will pull the average daily visitor census down more than 6%. Maui tourism continues to recover, and 糖心视频ERO expects modest statewide arrivals growth to resume in 2027 and 2028 as energy prices ease and storm effects fade.
• Hawaiʻi鈥檚 job growth has stalled. Maui is the only county that 糖心视频ERO expects to see net gains this year. Weak labor demand, rather than a shortage of workers, is the main story: job postings are down and the unemployment rate has edged up to a still-low 2.7%. Real wage gains have been modest and uneven across industries. Statewide payroll employment will contract slightly this year before a small 2027 rebound, and income growth will slow before recovering.
• Honolulu inflation reached 5.6% over the 12 months ending in July, driven by the energy price surge and continued shelter cost increases. 糖心视频ERO expects inflation to average 4.8% in 2026, easing to 3.3% in 2027 as these pressures fade.
• Construction remains a significant contributor to the state economy, supported by ongoing large federal military projects, the Honolulu Skyline rail project, the Kapālama port upgrade and private condominium development. Construction employment has flattened but should remain above 40,000 workers for some years to come, even as the public infrastructure cycle gradually passes its peak. Changes to federal law and a potential new local financing tool will support more housing development.
• Housing affordability remains strained even though prices have stayed largely flat this year. High mortgage rates—now about 7%—have pushed up monthly payments, and Hawaiʻi鈥檚 already-high condo fees could rise further under new federal funding rules. Rebuilding from this year鈥檚 storms adds near-term costs for the state and counties, particularly because of long lags in the release of federal recovery funds.

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糖心视频ERO is housed in 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 .

The first study to measure wild ungulate (axis deer, mouflon sheep, goats, pigs, etc.) grazing on Hawaiʻi rangelands finds forage losses at two-thirds of sites surveyed, with axis deer the clearest driver of decline across ranches on Hawaiʻi Island and Maui.

Led by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at 惭ā苍辞补鈥檚 College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR), the research provides the first evidence that grazing by wild ungulates, particularly invasive axis deer, is reducing the forage at Hawaiʻi’s working cattle ranches. Published in Rangeland Ecology & Management, .

“This is the first study to actually measure how much forage wild ungulates are removing from working ranchlands in Hawaiʻi, and the losses are significant,” said Professor Melissa Price, corresponding author and researcher at CTAHR鈥檚 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management (NREM).

Measuring forage loss

Non-native ungulates were largely introduced between the 1700s and 1960s. On Maui, axis deer were detected at 95% of surveyed sites, with roughly 47,000 deer ranging across a third of the island at elevations up to 2,150 meters.

“Axis deer came out as the biggest driver of declining rangeland condition, which matches what ranchers have been telling us for years,” said CTAHR Extension agent Mark Thorne, a study co-author and rangeland specialist.

The team compared vegetation growth with and without ungulates using motion-triggered trail cameras alongside fenced exclusion plots. Sites dominated by axis deer produced about 24% less forage on average than ungulate-free sites. Feral goats showed similar impacts. However, wild pigs and mouflon sheep frequented higher-elevation areas with generally faster forage production, illustrating how species-specific habits complicate land management.

Slow recovery

Several Maui sites sat within areas burned by the August 2023 wildfires. Researchers warned that overgrazed rangelands recover more slowly after fire and stay vulnerable to fire-prone weeds such as fireweed, found at nearly 70% of sites.

“We’ve had to shrink our herds some years because there just isn’t enough grass left once the deer get to it,” said Greg Friel, a Maui island cattle rancher and co-author on the study. “It’s good to finally see numbers behind something ranching families here have been living with for a long time.”

The study was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program and led by Lauren Katayama, who recently earned a master鈥檚 degree from NREM.

John J. Stephan, a pioneering University of Hawaiʻi at 惭腻苍辞补 emeritus professor of history whose scholarship advanced understanding of Russia鈥檚 role in Asia, died August 12, 2026.

Stephan came to Hawaiʻi in 1964 after studying Russian and Japanese at Harvard. At 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补, his interest in the Russian Far East grew through a course taught by Russian history professor John A. White and an intellectual community that included Patricia Polansky, now Hamilton Library鈥檚 Russian Bibliographer.

Stephan taught history at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 from 1970 until his retirement in 2001, producing influential scholarship focused on Russia in Asia. His books included Sakhalin: A History (1971), The Kuril Islands: Russo-Japanese Frontier in the Pacific (1974) and The Russian Far East: A History (1994).

He also served as founding director of the Center for the Soviet Union in the Asia-Pacific Region, established at 糖心视频 惭腻苍辞补 in 1986 and later renamed the Center for Russia in Asia.

Landmark work published in Russian

Months before his death, Stephan received copies of a new Russian-language edition of Sakhalin: A History. The books arrived at Hamilton Library in December 2025 after being printed in Beijing, a route necessitated by disrupted U.S.-Russia postal connections amid the war in Ukraine.

During the Soviet era, Sakhalin: A History was denounced and restricted from general use. After the Soviet Union collapsed, portions were serialized in an independent Sakhalin newspaper.

“It is especially meaningful that John lived to see Sakhalin: A History translated into Russian,” Polansky said. “That a work once suppressed in the Soviet Union has now been published in Russian is a remarkable testament to the lasting importance of his research.”

Hamilton Library legacy

For more than two decades, Stephan supported Hamilton Library collections reflecting his scholarly interests and Hawaiʻi鈥檚 connections to Asia and the Pacific.

“John understood the importance of libraries because he knew firsthand how much they could shape a scholar鈥檚 work,” Polansky said.

If you are trying to detect or bait little fire ants in your backyard, scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa suggest swapping canned tuna packed in water for cooked beef and sunflower seeds, honey or peanut butter with oil.

The study, published in the , by researchers at the 糖心视频 Mānoa (CTAHR) revealed that the little fire ant鈥檚 (Allomerus auropunctatus, formerly known as Wasmannia auropunctata) preferred diet is not what scientists and homeowners previously thought. In laboratory food-choice tests, the tiny, stinging pests overwhelmingly chose cooked beef and sunflower seeds over water-packed tuna.

One of the world鈥檚 most damaging invasive species

The findings can help researchers and agencies managing invasive ants refine the food lures used for surveillance and bait development for little fire ants, one of the world鈥檚 top 100 most damaging invasive species. Little fire ants are established on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui and Kauaʻi, where they sting adults, keiki and kūpuna, damage food crops, and cause painful eye injuries in pets.

Community members often use food lures to test for infestations. However, if the lure is less appealing than other competing food sources, fewer ants would be attracted to it, leading people to underestimate the infestation鈥檚 size.

Expanding menu of food lures

The research team from CTAHR鈥檚 Department of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences (PEPS) evaluated worker ant behavior across 24 foods rich in protein-lipid, carbohydrates or fatty lipids in laboratory choice experiments to identify top attractants:

• Cooked beef was by far the favorite.
• Sunflower seeds, honey, and peanut butter followed as preferred by little fire ants.
• Water-packed tuna and peanut butter with the oil removed performed the worst.

The study shows that oil-depleted versions lack the critical lipids (fats) that little fire ants prefer.

“These findings build on and expand the food-lure approaches currently used in Hawaiʻi,” said Jia-Wei Tay, associate professor of urban entomology in PEPS.

The research was led by Aradhana Shrestha, a master’s student in PEPS, and Tay, and funded in part by the Hawaiʻi Invasive Species Council and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

When a star reaches its final stages of life, it ends in a bright and powerful explosion called a supernova and scatters material across the universe. A new study led by a University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researcher discovered that the Moon鈥檚 mixed-up soil can be read as a cosmic time capsule for exploding stars.

Emily Costello, research scientist at the in the 糖心视频 Mānoa (SOEST), and co-authors developed a mathematical model to decode the history recorded in the lunar surface.

“Deep-sea deposits on Earth preserve interstellar debris, but only back about 10 million years,” Costello said. “The lunar regolith [soil], however, acts as a long-term cosmic archive that can preserve history spanning 80 to 100 million years or more. Understanding the physics of regolith mixing ensures that when future astronauts return deeper cores, we can properly read the scrambled layers to reconstruct the history of our Solar System’s journey through the galaxy.”

Finding order in chaos

Costello and co-authors developed a specialized mathematical model that unscrambles “impact gardening,” the continuous process where crater-forming impacts flip, mix and redistribute the Moon’s surface soil over time. This is a highly random process driven by meteorites ranging in size from microscopic grains of dust to giant asteroids.

“Our mathematical model treats lunar impact gardening as a competition between forces burying the soil and impacts digging it back up,” Costello said. “It also accounts for radioactive decay of the star remnants while mapping exactly when and where new stardust was delivered by episodic supernovas.”

Validating the model

Based on radioactive isotopes in deep-sea sediments on Earth and in lunar soil samples returned by Apollo, it is known that supernova explosions hundreds of light-years away scattered radioisotopes across the Earth and Moon. But once the radioisotopes arrived, they started getting mixed into the lunar surface by impact gardening.

The team discovered that the model can accurately predict the depth-concentration profiles of iron found in Apollo regolith samples. They then extended the model to predict how other heavy elements, such as plutonium, iodine, hafnium and curium, are buried over time.

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A team of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has uncovered a faster way that large carbon-based molecules may form in space, helping solve a long-standing mystery about how some of the building blocks of the universe grow.

The study, and first-authored by chemistry graduate student Shane Goettl identifies a new chemical process that could explain the rapid formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)—large molecules made of carbon and hydrogen that are found throughout the universe, from dying stars to clouds of gas between stars.

Scientists have known these molecules are abundant in space, but existing theories could not explain how they formed quickly enough to match what telescopes observe or the material space missions returned from carbonaceous asteroids such as Ryugu.

Faster chemical process

The research shows that a newly identified chemical reaction can build these complex molecules much faster than previously thought. Rather than adding carbon atoms one at a time, the process allows several new chemical bonds to form in a single step, speeding up the growth of larger molecules.

The team demonstrated the process in laboratory experiments that recreated the extremely high temperatures found around aging stars and other energetic environments in space. The reactions produced several large PAHs that had been predicted, but were difficult to explain using older models.

The discovery could improve scientists鈥� understanding of how carbon evolves in the universe and how increasingly complex molecules are created. Those molecules are believed to play an important role in the chemistry of stars, planets and the material that eventually forms solar systems.

“This discovery changes how we think these large carbon molecules are built,” said Professor Ralf I. Kaiser. “For years, we knew they existed in enormous numbers throughout space, but we couldn鈥檛 explain how nature produced them so efficiently. We鈥檝e now identified a much faster pathway that helps connect the smallest carbon molecules to the complex structures found across the universe.”

The research was led by 糖心视频 Mānoa in collaboration with researchers in Taiwan (Agnes Chang) and the synchrotron facility SOLEIL in France (Laurent Nahon).

The Department of Chemistry is housed in 糖心视频 Mānoa鈥檚 .

While long-term data shows that Hawaiʻi is getting drier overall, short, intense downpours that cause sudden, dangerous flash floods are getting stronger in the islands, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Published in the , the research from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) is the first comprehensive study to analyze extreme hourly rainfall patterns across the state over 50 years (1966鈥�2020). The team examined decades of hourly data from 117 rain gauges across Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui and Hawaiʻi Island, uncovering climate trends that traditional 24-hour daily averages often miss.

Bursts of intense rain

In steep, mountain-filled tropical watersheds like 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚, bursts of intense rain lasting one to six hours can overwhelm stream channels and storm drains before emergency alerts are even issued.

“If we want to understand extreme weather, like storms and floods, we really need to look at short-duration, high-temporal-resolution data rather than daily or monthly averages,” said Professor Yinphan Tsang of CTAHR鈥檚 Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management and the principal investigator.

The study鈥檚 major findings include:

• Common heavy rains, happening once every two years, are generally becoming less intense across the state.
• Short, sudden bursts of rain lasting one to three hours—the severe storms that usually occur only once every 20 to 100 years—are getting significantly stronger.
• Storms lasting 6 hours or longer are weakening more noticeably than shorter one- to three-hour storms.

Researchers noted that rainfall trends vary widely even between neighboring areas. Because of 贬补飞补颈ʻ颈鈥檚 unique mountains and island terrain, rainfall intensity can increase in one neighborhood while decreasing just a few miles away.

Researchers also identified two distinct peaks when Hawaiʻi is most vulnerable to extreme hourly rain events: October through December and February through March. These heavy rains are overall driven by cold fronts, Kona storms and other winter weather systems moving through the islands. The extreme events occurring from February through March, near the end of the wet season, were unexpected and could take people by surprise. Other systems, such as tropical storms, could also bring extreme rainfall during the summer season.

Vital data for climate adaptation

The findings offer updates for emergency responders, county planners and infrastructure design.

The study was a collaborative effort at 糖心视频 Mānoa bringing together experts from CTAHR, the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, the College of Social Sciences and the Water Resources Research Center. The research was primarily compiled by Maxime Gayte with co-authors including faculty members Professor Yinphan Tsang, Professor Pao-Shin Chu (Hawaiʻi State Climatologist), Professor Thomas W. Giambelluca, Jr., Researcher Yu-Fen Huang, and Researcher Hanpei Zhang.