Brian Maffly

Brian Maffly is a science writer at @UUtah. Contact Brian Maffly at [email protected]. Tweets are my own.

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

By reanalyzing archived seismic data, @UUtah seismologists have confirmed 10 quakes beneath northeast Utah and southwest Wyoming since 1979 at depths below Earth’s crust in the mantle. @uofuscience @UUSSquake https://t.co/kJdat6a9Kz

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@UUtah-led research documents how #carbonmarkets, a pillar of climate policy, fail to account for risks U.S. forests face from #climatechange. Maps show where ' carbon losses' from fire, insects and drought are likely. @WilkesCenter https://t.co/yov8UipxnH

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

#GreatSaltLake is dying. And that makes it a great place to study existence of life elsewhere in space…for now. And Utahns are paying the price. https://t.co/EQbp4UfxTE

[Jake Bolster @JakeBolster2]

When more of an area's annual precipitation falls at one time, it dries out the landscape. That is the main finding in a new paper published today in @Nature. I covered the research for what it may mean for the American West and its upcoming El Niño cycle. https://t.co/NBVpJxe4b5

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@UUtah study finds users over 60 are looking to reduce pain, improve sleep and enjoy life. ‘These folks aren’t really interested in getting high. They just want to feel better’ @UofUhealth https://t.co/eEiad9SiCN

[University of Utah @UUtah]

At first glance, they don’t look like much. But add a powerful new microscope—and an ambitious botanical vision—and seeds may transform how scientists study ecosystems, restore landscapes & combat plant poaching.

https://t.co/OSytNezrt7

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

To better understand long-term suicide trends, @UUtah researchers analyzed federal mortality data going back to 1900. Their study shows suicide follow decades-long cycles shaped by social forces, not just individual psychology. @UofUCSBS @uofu_hmhi https://t.co/I3Hm7Njx3A

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@UUtah student Will Ruzanski wrote this trippy story for @SLTrib about @NHMU research into hallucinogenic mushroom. You will see little people. @UofUBiology @BDentinger59167 @AmplifyUtah @Lisa_M_Potter
https://t.co/DJuWD56MEk

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

Utah fossils drive new discoveries about early life. Study by Harvard paleontologists uses Cambrian arthropod recovered in the House Range by renowned collector Lloyd Gunther. This clawed predator has revised the origins of spiders. @MCZHarvard @PlLife2 https://t.co/vWJIdLENhK

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

How far can automation and AI support psychotherapy? Interdisciplinary team of @UUtah researchers creates framework for assessing varying levels of automation in a field reliant on human interaction
https://t.co/IBQ7A2uQnB

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@UUtah researchers examined relationship between Utah’s suicides and air pollution. They found suicide risk goes way up on summer days that have both elevated temperatures and degraded air quality.
https://t.co/PHoY2Dydro

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

Research from @UUtah social scientists documents significant and worsening disparities in birth outcomes for low-income U.S. families. New study of 380,000 births directly links income to babies' health. @lisa_m_potter https://t.co/IEsxMnSc2r

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@UUtah researchers examined relationship between Utah’s suicides and air pollution. They found suicide risk goes way up on summer days that have both elevated temperatures and degraded air quality.
https://t.co/PHoY2Dydro

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

What could happen if Iran launches retaliatory strikes on Persian Gulf’s vital desalination plants? @UUtah historian @MChrisLow offers this great analysis. @UofUMEC https://t.co/KsehmqjCPT

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

Research by @NHMU anthropologists build a case for potato domestication in American Southwest. @UUtah scientists analyzed residues from stone grinding tools, interviewed Indigenous elders to document culture of potato use going back millennia. https://t.co/PWd9jlDnbP

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

The epicenter of today's earthquake was near Mirror Lake Highway, 6 miles inside Utah, recorded at a depth of 8 miles. @UUtah seismologists will study aftershocks to learn more about this usually quiet fault east of SLC.

[UUSS @UUSSquake]

A M4.7 earthquake occurred in the Uinta Mountains this morning and was widely felt in northern Utah! Read our press release here: https://t.co/T4b21DmzPE

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

A magnitude 4.7 quake hit this morning in southwest Wyoming, near Utah border about 60 miles east of SLC.
@UUtah
follow @UUSSquake for updates

[UUSS @UUSSquake]

UPDATED [v2]: 22 January 2026 14:49:20 UTC (22 January 2026 07:49:20 AM, MST) Mag=4.7 40.910 N -110.874 E Dep=9.1 mi. Event was 32.1 km (19.9 mi) SSW of Altamont, WY.

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

Pablo Torre finds out about @Utah's C. Thi Nguyen, philosopher of games. You should too. https://t.co/NZNUTQhhox @TannerHumCenter

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

@SLTrib's lead of the week, this one by the incomparable @PaightenHarkins about the equally incomparable Steve Urquhart
https://t.co/UJARDJjAHA Utah, not as lame as you think

[Brian Maffly @brianmaffly]

https://t.co/8GBNH7VgWc