FORBES - Massive planets like Jupiter—now at its brightest and best in the night sky—can prevent Earth-sized planets from becoming Earth-like by upsetting their orbits and destroying climates. In other star systems, gas giants can play a much more destructive role. As an example, the authors studied HD 141399, a star system also with four...
THE DEBRIEF - New stellar models predict that gas giant planets can act as ‘agents of chaos’ in their solar systems by wreaking havoc on the habitable zone orbits of Earthlike planets that may harbor alien lifeforms. Our solar system’s gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, help protect the inner rocky planets, including Earth, from potentially...
ENTOMOLOGY TODAY - Subterranean termites in the genus Reticulitermes are common pests in North America, responsible for significant damage to wooden structures. The scientific literature maintains that the western United States is home to two native species of termites: Reticulitermes hesperus in more coastal regions from British Columbia to Southern California, and Reticulitermes tibialis in...
EARTH.COM - In the cosmic game of planetary billiards, giant gas planets can act as colossal wrecking balls, effectively pushing their Earth-like counterparts out of the stable zones that might harbor life. Two recent papers dive into this concept further, investigating the roles of giant gas planets in two distinct star systems. What they reveal...
FARM PROGRESS - If ever there were not enough reasons for tree nut farmers to be diligent about winter sanitation, they now have one more with the discovery of a new invasive beetle that overwinters in mummy nuts. This new beetle – Carpophilus truncatus (Nitidulidae) – is a known pest of almonds in Australia, where...
KRLD NEWS RADIO - As she pulled a wiggling, 3-inch worm from her patient’s brain, Australian neurosurgeon Hari Priya Bandi could hardly believe the sight before her. “It’s like something out of a sci-fi movie,” said Dr. Adler R. Dillman – a professor of Parasitology and chair of the Department of Nematology at University of...
By Lauren Barry, Chris Blake, and Mike Rogers | KRLD News Radio 1080AM |
WIRED - Thanks to some genetic tricks, plants can now speak in color. A team of researchers at the University of California, Riverside hacked the natural stress response system in Arabidopsis thaliana, a small white-flowered plant from the mustard family that serves as a common model organism in plant biology labs. When exposed to the...
TIME MAGAZINE - The Luna UCR is one very special avocado. The result of a decades-long breeding program at the University of California, Riverside, it has a flavor similar to that of its popular relative, the Hass, but a bit more “floral,” says program horticulturist Mary Lu Arpaia. The Luna UCR is ripe as soon...
EARTH.COM - A recent study from UC Riverside has revealed that the effects of drought can linger in streams and rivers for up to 3.5 years, regardless of intervening storms. Contrary to common belief, the research highlights that a lack of rainfall is not the sole indicator of drought. The study, published in the Journal...
LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE - Mushrooms are weird. They’re not a plant nor, technically, a vegetable. They are a fungus that is as close as we get to eating the Earth itself. While the grocery aisle makes us most accustomed to cooking white buttons or brown portobellos, the colors, shapes, tastes and textures across the kingdom...
FARM PROGRESS - Grazing sheep and other livestock can help convert cover crops to fertilizer for orchard crops. To develop best management practices, the University of California and The Organic Center are collaborating on research to help organic orchard growers safely incorporate livestock grazing into their farming practices. The project is funded by a $2...
LOS ANGELES TIMES - In time for the Halloween festivities, residents in the Bay Area and Central California reported seeing clumps of web-like substances hanging from trees or drifting in the wind last week. The most likely sources of the spooky-looking webbing are baby spiders who use updraft winds to disperse themselves after hatching, according...
AXIOS - A run of alien-related news last week didn't present proof that extraterrestrial life exists. But it did reveal how distorted, misrepresented and hyped the search for life beyond Earth can become. Why it matters: Unscientific claims of alien life and far-from-confirmed findings illustrate alien illiteracy that risks undermining the possible moment when life...
AXIOS - The atmospheres of planets beyond this solar system are coming into focus and helping scientists decide what constitutes evidence of life and where to look for it. Why it matters: As increasingly sensitive telescopes and other tools study more exoplanets in search of signs of life, scientists are trying to hammer out a...
NEW ATLAS - Researchers have identified how the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 takes advantage of our cellular machinery to replicate and spread in the body, and, importantly, a way to stop it. The finding could lead to the development of a new class of antiviral therapies to treat not only SARS-CoV-2, but other viruses...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - A new kind of avocado — created by UC Riverside researchers — may be appearing in grocery stores in coming years. The Luna UCR avocado will soon be marketed to growers worldwide, though it will be a little longer before you can buy it at the supermarket. It’s not unusual for UCR...
SPECTRUM NEWS 1 - The California Desert makes up about 28% of the state’s land area and contains about 38% of the native plant species within the state. Researchers say wildfires and climate change can have an enormous impact on desert species. That’s why the Mojave Desert Land Trust has been busy collecting seeds from...
WBUR | NPR BOSTON - The seas are rising. Humans have already pumped enough greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere to raise ocean levels up to 2 feet by the end of the century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If we do not curb our use of fossil fuels, we are looking at...
CBS 8 NEWS - Heavy rains from tropical storm Hilary left plenty of flooding and standing water, and when combined with the sunny, warm weather, can make for prime mosquito-breeding conditions. “These mosquitoes breed in water sources that are oftentimes in backyards that can be relatively small water sources, so any pot or cup or...
KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - Domestic honeybees are pretty much synonymous with pollination in the public’s mind, particularly when it comes to crops, and the plight of wild bees has largely been overshadowed by concern about threats to the domestic variety. Many people don’t know the difference between wild and domestic bees, further obscuring both the troubles...