Venus Exploration Remains Key To Understanding Exo-Earths, Says Paper

UCR astrophysicist Stephen Kane was the lead author of a new paper that argues Venus is crucial to understanding earth-mass and earth-like planets circling other stars.
Forbes | April 22, 2024

UC Riverside event welcomes nearly 3,000 future students

Photos and stories from Highlander Day.
The Press Enterprise | April 22, 2024

Tall flowers, dead shrubs, ephemeral lake: Death Valley has become a picture of climate whiplash

Lynn Sweet, a UCR research ecologist, talks about the resilience of desert plant and animal species, and how they might survive increasingly severe bouts of drought and storms. 
NBC News | April 20, 2024

A one-shot vaccine for COVID, flu and future viruses? Researchers say it's coming

UCR microbiology professor Shou-wei Ding and virologist Rong Hai have pioneered a live, attenuated vaccine strategy that can target the part of a genome that all virus variants share.
Salon | April 18, 2024

Dangerous bacterial disease reported in multiple dogs in Southern California

UCR parasitologist Adler Dillman is featured in this video report about the risk of salmon poisoning disease, which can be deadly for dogs.
KTLA5 | April 17, 2024

Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders in the US more likely to believe in climate change: AP-NORC poll

Karthick Ramakrishnan, a public policy professor at UCR, and founder of AAPI Data, said the richness and detail of the data shows environmental groups need to consider reaching out to AAPI populations. 
Associated Press | April 16, 2024

Genetics-based universal vaccine could be effective against any viral strain

Genetics-based "one-and-done" vaccines for the flu and COVID-19 could prove more effective and easier to craft than current jabs, researchers from UC Riverside report. Professor Shou-wei Ding and researcher Rong Hai have innovated a new vaccine method that targets viruses using a different response to infection than what is prompted by current vaccines. Instead of teaching the immune system to create antibodies to fight off a specific virus, the new vaccine would instead teach the body to create small signaling RNA proteins that will shut down harmful viral spread.

'One and Done': Scientists Develop Vaccine That May Fight Any Viral Strain

UCR virologist Rong Hai and microbiology professor Shou-wei Ding created a new vaccine strategy. Instead of teaching the immune system to create antibodies to fight a virus, their vaccine would teach the body to create small RNA proteins to shut down viral spread. 
U.S. News & World Report | April 16, 2024

New ‘One-And-Done’ Vaccine Method Could Protect Infants—From Covid, Flu—With Just A Single Shot, Study Suggests

UCR scientists Rong Hai and Shou-Wei Ding have developed a new method of creating vaccines that they believe are effective against all strains of a virus, and safe even for babies because the method does not rely on traditional immunity. 
Forbes | April 15, 2024

‘Solar-powered vacuum cleaners’: the native plants that could clean toxic soil

Danielle Stevenson, a researcher with the environmental toxicology department at the University of California, Riverside, is investigating how native California plants and fungi could be used to clean up contaminated brownfields: land abandoned or underutilized due to industrial pollution. She's leading a team of volunteers to help with the research.
The Guardian | April 14, 2024

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes rebrand as Chaquetas, which means ‘jackets’ — and something else

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes introduced their new Copa de La Diversión team name, the Chaquetas, The name Chaquetas — which means “jackets” in Spanish — is a tribute to Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly, who has donned a mariachi jacket from time to time, including during a 2021 trip to the White House. Some fans were not too supportive because chaqueta can be associated with a sexual act. UCR English Professor Richard T. Rodríguez said the word’s second meaning is “definitely a colloquialism.”
The Press Enterprise | April 12, 2024

Episode 7: Professor Eddie Comeaux

UCR professor Eddie Comeaux talks about being both a college and professional athlete, the goals of higher education, and changing the current NCAA model.

Insecticide Spraying Of Trees Shuts Down Crystal Lake Recreation Area

UCR entomologist Tim Paine studies pest management in forests. He said treating trees with insecticides in campgrounds and areas used by people is part of the Forest Service’s policy. "The western pine beetle is a natural part of the forest," he said. "They're a vital part of that ecosystem — a problem from our perspective when they get to really high populations because they can kill large numbers of trees."
LAist / KPCC 89.3 FM | April 9, 2024

A Virus May Help Save The World’s Amphibians From Extinction

Bd is a deadly fungus causing a global pandemic that has either contributed to or caused the probable extinction of 90 amphibian species. UCR microbiologists Mark Yacoub and Jason Stajich have discovered a virus that infects Bd, and they think it can be genetically engineered to control or destroy the fungal disease.
Forbes | April 4, 2024

‘Noteworthy’ salutes Southern California authors whose books made an impact in 2023

Southern California News Group salutes local authors whose books made an impact in 2023. They include Tod Goldberg's book, "Gangsters Don't Die."  
Orange County Register | April 3, 2024

A government proposal to kill a half-million owls sparks controversy

A proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to kill roughly half a million barred owls to protect the spotted owl has animal welfare advocates debating the moral issue of killing one species to protect another. Cameron Barrows, a retired emeritus researcher at UCR's Center for Conservation Biology, says that without a barred owl management strategy, spotted owls will disappear.
Wisconsin Public Radio | April 2, 2024

Why Extrasolar Earths Will Also Have Trees

According to UCR's Eddie Schwieterman, there were no trees on Earth for most of the history of life on Earth and for most of the history of photosynthesis.
Forbes | March 28, 2024

How video games can help people worry less

UCR Psychology Professor Kate Sweeny on how planning video games can alleviate the worry associated with waiting.
NPR | March 27, 2024

Inland Empire high school students explore health careers

Hundreds of Inland Empire high school students got a chance to learn about health careers during a recent conference at UC Riverside.
The Press Enterprise | March 26, 2024

Functional ultrasound imaging provides real-time feedback during spinal surgery

UCR's Vasileios Christopoulos and his colleagues are using functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) to visualize the spinal cord and map its response to electrical stimulation in real time, an approach that could improve treatments of chronic back pain.
Physics World | March 25, 2024