Content Authored by: Jules Bernstein

drosophila brain

Scientists short-circuit maturity in insects, opening new paths to disease prevention

New research from UC Riverside shows, contrary to previous scientific belief, a hormone required for sexual maturity in insects cannot travel across the blood-brain barrier unless aided by a transporter protein. The finding may soon allow scientists to prevent disease-spreading mosquitoes from maturing, or to boost reproduction in beneficial bumblebees.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
canisters of oil

America’s most widely consumed oil causes genetic changes in the brain

New UC Riverside research shows soybean oil not only leads to obesity and diabetes, but could also affect neurological conditions like autism, Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety, and depression.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

Research identifies possible on/off switch for plant growth

New research from UC Riverside identifies a protein that controls plant growth — good news for an era in which crops can get crushed by climate change.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

Scientists develop new method to detect oxygen on exoplanets

UC Riverside scientists have developed a new method for detecting oxygen in exoplanet atmospheres that may accelerate the search for life.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

UCR investigates some of the nation’s worst nitrogen pollution

Nitrogen pollution, largely from automobile exhaust, can reduce drinking water quality and make air difficult to breathe. Thanks to a $1.1 million grant, UC Riverside scientists will soon understand how much nitrogen dry ecosystems in Southern California can absorb before they produce negative effects. UCR soil scientists (left to right)...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Glasses on a book

UCR scientists rank among world’s most influential scholars

The world’s most influential scientific researchers in 2019 include 10 current UCR scholars. In its annual list, Clarivate Analytics names the most highly cited researchers — those whose work was most often referenced by other scientific research papers for the preceding decade in 21 fields across the sciences and social...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
UCR seismologist Abhijit Ghosh in Nepal

The thrust of the problem

A new understanding of a fault that caused a deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake can help scientists better predict where and when the next big one will hit. For decades, scientists have debated the structure of the Main Himalayan Thrust — the fault responsible for a 2015 earthquake that killed nearly...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

The most spectacular celestial vision you’ll never see

Contrary to previous thought, a gigantic planet in wild orbit does not preclude the presence of an Earth-like planet in the same solar system – or life on that planet. What’s more, the view from that Earth-like planet as its giant neighbor moves past would be unlike anything it is...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
OP treated plant

Game changer: New chemical keeps plants plump

A UC Riverside-led team has created a chemical to help plants hold onto water, which could stem the tide of massive annual crop losses from drought and help farmers grow food despite a changing climate. “Drought is the No. 1 cause, closely tied with flooding, of annual crop failures worldwide,”...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Cellular vision of a rice root - the green globes are nuclei

UC Riverside helps secure the future of food

If you’re eating fruits, nuts, grains, or vegetables in a few years, you’ll likely owe a debt of gratitude to UC Riverside. The university has created a program to transition today’s undergraduates into professional scientists solving tomorrow’s farming challenges. The program, called Plants-3D, will train students to discover, design, and...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Plate of rice seedlings

Grains in the rain

Of the major food crops, only rice is currently able to survive flooding. Thanks to new research, that could soon change -- good news for a world in which rains are increasing in both frequency and intensity. The research, published today in Science , studied how other crops compare to...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
wild male and female guppies. Credit: Harold Olsen

Guppies teach us why evolution happens

Guppies, a perennial pet store favorite, have helped a UC Riverside scientist unlock a key question about evolution: Do animals evolve in response to the risk of being eaten, or to the environment that they create in the absence of predators? Turns out, it’s the latter. Guppies swim near the...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Irrigation test site in Kansas

Climate change: a dirt-y business

Groundwater is essential for growing crops, but new research shows climate change is making it harder for soil to absorb rainfall. While the idea that soil particles rearrange themselves in response to environmental conditions is not new, scientists once thought these shifts in the ground happened slowly. Not anymore. Scientists...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

Buzzkill?

They say love is blind, but if you’re a queen honeybee it could mean true loss of sight. New research finds male honeybees inject toxins during sex that cause temporary blindness. All sexual activity occurs during a brief early period in a honeybee’s life, during which males die and queens...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
tumbleweed invasion in Clovis, New Mexico

Monster tumbleweed: Invasive new species is here to stay

A new species of gigantic tumbleweed once predicted to go extinct is not only here to stay — it’s likely to expand its territory. The species, Salsola ryanii, is significantly larger than either of its parent plants, which can grow up to 6 feet tall. A new study from UC...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Abhijit Ghosh, UCR associate professor of geophysics

Making sense of a ‘7.1’

Abhijit Ghosh, UCR associate professor of geophysics, is racing to understand everything he can about the fault that was unknown until it produced a 7.1 magnitude earthquake on July 5. Ghosh's work could help officials prepare for the next big shake.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
NASA's TESS exoplanet discovery satellite

NASA’s TESS mission finds ‘missing link’ planets

NASA’s newest planet-hunting satellite has discovered a type of planet missing from our own solar system. Launched in 2018 , the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, has found three new worlds around a neighboring star. Stephen Kane, a UC Riverside associate professor of planetary astrophysics, says the new star...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
guppies

Ladies’ choice: What drives faster, flashier formation of new animal species

Evolution is actually a Sadie Hawkins dance, as new research shows females not only determine whether male animals develop bright colors, but also how fast new species develop. Research led by David Reznick, a UC Riverside biology professor, used fish often seen in pet stores, like guppies and swordtails, to...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology

Australia enables UCR to dig into Earth’s wild past

Australian officials signed an agreement last night allowing UC Riverside to continue its pioneering research on a government-owned goldmine for unusual fossils. Nilpena Station is a city-sized plot of land in the Australian Outback. It harbors the richest collection on Earth of animal species around 550 million years old. Some...
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology
Joshua tree park and rainbow

Joshua Trees facing extinction

They outlived mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. But without dramatic action to reduce climate change, new research shows Joshua trees won’t survive much past this century.
By Jules Bernstein | | Science / Technology