CNN - Astronomers have found an Earth-size planet that isn’t like Earth at all. Instead, the exoplanet, called LP 791-18 d, is likely covered in volcanoes and may experience eruptions with the same frequency as Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active place in our solar system, according to researchers. “On Venus, volcanic carbon dioxide...
NEW YORK POST - Now-viral footage captured the retch-worthy moment that seemingly thousands of “white worms rained down from the sky” in India like some kind of bizarro biblical plague. In the alarming clip — filmed Tuesday in Bihar, an East India state bordering Nepal — the creepy-crawlies can be seen hailing down until the...
LIVE SCIENCE - Spiders are common critters. And, as almost all of Earth's 43,000 known spider species are venomous, it is likely that most people have encountered a venomous spider at one point or another. So that's the bad news. The good news, however, is that of these, only 25 species are known to have...
THE DESERT SUN - From pinyon pines to ocotillos, plants in the Sonoran Desert are shifting where they grow in response to climate change, and many of the plants aren’t thriving in their new ranges, according to a new study from researchers at the University of California, Riverside. The study, published in the journal Functional...
THE HUFFINGTON POST - You’ve probably heard of Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness that is known to infect people and dogs who spend time outside. But Lyme disease is only one of a number of tick-borne diseases that can infect humans. Cases of Lyme disease are rising in the United States, along with cases of...
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - In the mid-20th century, geologist Reg Sprigg made a stunning discovery in South Australia’s Flinders Ranges. Under the searing outback sun, he unearthed delicate impressions made by animals that lived some 550 million years ago—the missing piece in our understanding of evolution that had long eluded naturalist Charles Darwin. Called the Ediacaran...
NEW SCIENTIST - A bug improves its hunting success by slathering itself in the sticky resin of a grass, in a rare example of tool use by insects. Australian assassin bugs, from the genus Gorareduvius, are often seen resting on the blades of spinifex grass. This grass, a characteristic feature of dry regions of Australia...
SCRIBD | UC SANTA BARBARA - California’s superblooms are amazing, but also fragile. Researchers have guidance for how to preserve the native flowers and landscape for the future. In remote places, hiking off trails isn’t going to destroy the wildflowers forever since seeds can lie dormant in the soil for many years. “However, in highly...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - Heavy rain has transformed normally dry fields and numerous backyards across the Inland Empire into soggy breeding grounds for mosquitoes. As a result, bug experts are bracing for what could be one of the region’s worst mosquito seasons in recent memory. When mosquitoes do emerge in a big way, their disruption to...
EARTH.COM - Scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have discovered that wildfires are releasing a massive amount of methane gas into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide. This source of methane was previously unaccounted for. It could make it challenging for states to achieve their cleaner...
ATLAS OBSCURA - Meyer lemon trees could carry the citrus tristeza virus (CTV) and flourish for years without showing any symptoms. The urgent situation incited the first meeting of the International Organization of Citrus Virologists at the The University of California, Riverside in 1957. This group of scientists and citrus growers urged drastic measures towards...
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - For decades, humans have set traps for cockroaches and laced them with sugar to attract the insects to their doom. But in response, some populations of cockroaches developed a self-preserving distaste for glucose, which allows them to steer clear of the traps. As it turns out, though, a glucose aversion can kill...
THE DAILY MAIL - More than 1.3 million Californians may be drinking high levels of manganese, enough to cause cognitive disabilities in children and Parkinson's-like symptoms in adults. The discovery was made by researchers at the University of California - Riverside (UCR), who discovered the mineral is thriving in untreated wells throughout Central Valley. The...
THE MERCURY NEWS - The same climate changes known to be reshaping mountain ecosystems in places like the Alps and Yosemite also are driving alarming new patterns in the Sonoran Desert near Palm Springs, according to the latest findings from a long-running study by UC Riverside. If temperatures continue to rise and droughts continue to...
THE HILL - Some of the Southwest’s most iconic desert trees are running for their lives in what could be a grim harbinger for more temperate ecosystems across the West. A study in Functional Ecology offers evidence that desert ecosystems, long perceived as the most resilient to climate change, may be hitting their limits. Researchers...
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - Some of this variability in motivation or ability to do hard exercise is related to genetics. For example, Theodore Garland, Jr., an evolution biologist at the University of California Riverside, wanted to understand how complex traits—like marathon running—evolve at multiple levels of organization, ranging from behavior to DNA. He has shown in...
ENTOMOLOGY TODAY - Jacqueline Serrano, Ph.D., is a research entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) in the Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit, in Wapato, Washington. She earned her B.S. in biology (2012) and Ph.D. in entomology (2019) at the University of California, Riverside. She first joined USDA-ARS as...
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - When you think of plant breeding at UC Riverside, the university’s work with citrus to combat Huanglongbing, or citrus green disease, might be what comes to mind, but researchers there are also working to advance the way rice and even tomatoes are grown. The Center for Plant Cell Biology is...
THE ATLANTIC - In 2018, I paid a man a couple hundred dollars to repeatedly jam several needles into the skin of my right wrist. I felt as if I were being attacked by a microscopic cavalry of crabs. Into every jab went black ink, eventually forming the shape of double quotation marks. It was...
COSMOS - We all learned about the solar system in school and, apart from one notable demotion of Pluto to the rank of dwarf planet in 2006, things are pretty straight forward in terms of the planets and their orbits. But we still don’t understand everything about the solar system or how the planets formed...