ASU NEWS - As wildfires increasingly threaten arid regions, a new conceptual framework developed by a team of researchers offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between fire, water quality and ecosystem recovery. Led by Tamara Harms , ASU School of Life Sciences alumna and associate professor at the University of California, Riverside, a collaborative...
EARTH.COM - Strange as it sounds, some scientists think the earliest life forms on Earth may have painted our planet in shades of purple rather than the green we see today. This idea, known as the Purple Earth hypothesis, suggests that single-celled organisms depended on a less complex molecule than chlorophyll to harness sunlight. NASA-supported...
STUDYFINDS - In the ongoing battle against aggressive breast cancer, light might become an unexpected ally. Scientists at Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of California, Riverside have engineered a remarkable new treatment that combines two unlikely partners, a specialized salt and near-infrared light, to target and destroy cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue...
THE COOL DOWN - Scientists at the University of California-Riverside recently discovered a chemical that plants produce that could help prevent infections in medical patients. Science Daily reported on the findings, explaining that biofilm is a slimy bacterial layer that clings to surfaces. In a medical setting, this film can make it harder to treat...
THE WEEK - Spiders are some of the most diverse creatures on Earth. While they can be frightening, most of them are harmless and skittish. However, some spiders are dangerous — or deadly. Several species have venom that is toxic to humans and can have long-lasting, even fatal, consequences. Here are some of the scariest...
POPULAR SCIENCE - Following a 7,000-mile-long rescue mission for conservation, 33 tiny Southern Darwin’s frogs (Rhinoderma darwinii) were born at London Zoo. This species is particularly susceptible to the deadly chytrid fungus, currently impacting their native habitat in the forests and glades of Argentina and Chile. In October 2024, conservationists from the Zoological Society of...
FAST COMPANY - As fires burned tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles County, officials were warning residents that the air was a “toxic soup” of pollution—fueled by the fact that not only vegetation but cars, buildings, homes, and all the plastics and electronics inside them were going up in flames. But to some...
LAIST.COM - It was Jan. 11 — the first Saturday after the two huge L.A. fires broke out. The city was thick with haze and smoke; ash was twirling in the air, and somehow, despite it all, our myth-making sunset still shone through. I was heading home to El Sereno that afternoon, made a turn...
PEST CONTROL TECHNOLOGY - At PestWorld in Denver, Colo., Dong-Hwan Choe , professor, department of entomology, University of California Riverside, presented on "Wild Wild Western Drywood Termites,” reviewing geographical hotspots for drywood termites, biology of termites and research updates and findings Choe conducted in his labs at UC Riverside. Watch the Video Interview
MSN - One of the most extensively studied stellar streams within the galactic halo of the Milky Way is the GD-1 stellar stream. It is known for its long, thin structure and distinctive features. It exhibits spur and gap features that have puzzled scientists for many years. A team of researchers led by Hai-Bo Yu...
SPACE.COM - A perplexing "break" in a stream of stars around the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter — that is, if the mysterious cosmic stuff interacts with itself. The feature in question is in the GD-1 stellar stream, a thin group of stars moving together on a shared trajectory through the...
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS - The gene neuropilin2 encodes a receptor involved in cell-cell interactions in the brain and plays a key role in regulating the development of neural circuits. Neuropilin2 controls migration of inhibitory neurons as well as the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections in excitatory neurons — two crucial components of brain activity. A...
THE DEBRIEF - On New Year’s Eve 2023, amid appearances by Joss Stone and Rod Steward on Jools Holland’s holiday ‘Musical Hootenanny’, a major 2024 revelation was alluded to: soon, we might learn that we aren’t alone in the universe. The insinuations that the discovery of alien life could be imminent all followed news from...
FORBES - Mars remains a true puzzle, but not for the reasons most people would think. Sure, there's debate over whether it ever had surface water, oceans and life. But Mars’ small mass relative to earth and Venus have been a major conundrum that has plagued planetary scientists for decades. Because the red planet’s mass...
THE NAKED SCIENTISTS - Mice are genuinely fearful of cats; and when they encounter the aroma of a feline, they freeze and then scarper. This happens thanks to an accessory smell system called the vomeronasal organ, or VNO. One of its roles is to detect pheromones, and its wiring into the limbic system enables it...
KESQ - Meanwhile the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to press there is no evidence of reported drone sightings posing a national security or public safety threat from a foreign nexus. Despite that, the FBI and DHS are deploying drone detection technology and infrared cameras to probe whether the drones...
STUDY FINDS - For the millions of people living in earthquake-prone regions, from New Zealand to California, a few minutes of warning could mean the difference between life and death. Now, by studying ancient curved scratches left behind on fault surfaces from past seismic events, scientists have discovered a way to better predict how earthquakes...
CSA NEWS - Commercial markets are embracing traditionally ethnic vegetable crops, adding diversity to the food system. Long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis), which originated in Africa and have been refined through domestication in Southeast Asia, have an export value of $80 million. The edible pods are a symbol of luck and longevity, but more...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - UC Riverside and a Riverside-based sod company have teamed up to sell a new drought-resistant bermuda grass. The grass, called Coachella, is a less thirsty, greener-longer hybrid of bermuda grass. The university’s Office of Technology Partnerships and West Coast Turf hope to initially target golf courses and sports stadiums that need large...
PEOPLE - Celebrities can be found throughout the animal kingdom — if you know where to look. Occasionally, when a new species is discovered, pop culture-loving scientists decide to name the creature after their favorite star. There are bugs named after Oscar winners, lemurs sharing names with comedians and spiders with the same titles as...