February 2026 Newsletter

Dr. Bruce Jayne Sets the Record Straight on Giant Pythons In the wake of sensational headlines—like the 2022 report of a woman in Indonesia allegedly swallowed by a 22-foot Burmese python—People magazine turned to UC’s own Dr. Bruce Jayne, a leading expert in snake biology, to provide clarity. Dr. Jayne explained that while Burmese pythons are indeed capable of consuming large prey thanks to their massive gut and gullet, attacks on adult humans are extremely rare. He also noted that such enormous snakes are uncommon: “It takes pythons a long time to attain these enormous sizes... As a result, there are actually very few of these really, really large pythons.” Thanks to Dr. Jayne’s insight, the public gets a more balanced—and science-based—perspective on these often-misunderstood creatures. Read more of the interview with Dr. Jayne here.

UC biology student Griffin Paul completed a senior capstone project with Professor Denis Conover testing a non-chemical method for removing invasive Amur honeysuckle. At the Evergreen Holistic Learning Center, he and classmates cut the shrubs and covered stumps with black plastic to prevent regrowth, comparing covered and uncovered stumps to assess effectiveness. The project supports efforts to restore native plants such as oak, cherry and redbud, and helped students better understand the impact of invasive species. Paul presented his findings at the 2025 UC Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase.

The University of Cincinnati has relocated its 125,000-specimen Margaret H. Fulford Herbarium to a new, climate-controlled facility in Rieveschl Hall, supported by a National Science Foundation grant. Founded in the 1920s by liverwort expert Margaret Fulford, the herbarium houses a global collection of plants, fungi, lichens, algae and wood, including rare specimens from Antarctica and the Arctic. Director Eric Tepe, a botanist who has discovered several new species of wild relatives of potato and black pepper, oversees the collection, which now benefits from modern, space-saving storage and ongoing digitization that has increased research requests worldwide. Students and scientists use the herbarium for studies ranging from forest succession to invasive species. Tepe’s fieldwork in the Ecuadorian Amazon highlights the urgency of documenting biodiversity, noting that many discoveries occur not in the field but through careful comparison of specimens in the herbarium.