News

When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, lava incinerated anything living for miles around. As an experiment, scientists dropped gophers onto parts of the scorched mountain for only 24 hours. The benefits from that single day were undeniable -- and still visible 40 years later.

A sinister fungus is spreading through California’s bat populations, threatening their survival just as the spooky season takes flight.

The Arctic is warming at three to four times the global average. However, new research suggests the slowing of a key ocean current could reduce projected Arctic warming by up to 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.

Southern Californians are chronically being exposed to toxic airborne chemicals called plasticizers, including one that’s been banned from children’s items and beauty products.

Scientists have learned how plants keep viruses from being passed to their offspring, a finding that could ensure healthier crops. The discovery could also help reduce the transmission of diseases from mothers to human children.

Thanks to an experiment started before the Great Depression, researchers have pinpointed the genes behind the remarkable adaptability of barley, a key ingredient in beer and whiskey. These insights could ensure the crop’s continued survival amidst rapid climate change.

Three UC Riverside faculty experts weigh in on how the extreme summer heat affects our flora.

If you upset one bee, what determines whether the entire hive decides to avenge her grievance? A $1.2 million grant will support UC Riverside scientists in answering questions like these about how honeybees communicate.

A new, air-powered computer sets off alarms when certain medical devices fail. The invention is a more reliable and lower-cost way to help prevent blood clots and strokes — all without electronic sensors.

A new UC Riverside study demonstrates that calorie restriction doesn’t deter mice from exercising, challenging the belief that dieting drains workout energy.

Climate resilient, nutritious long beans are unfortunately susceptible to aphids and nematodes. By creating four new pest-resistant varieties of the beans, scientists aim to reduce farmers’ reliance on pesticides.

New research shows that California’s Central Valley, known as America’s breadbasket, gets as much as half of its groundwater from the Sierra Nevadas. This is significant for a farming region that, in some parts, relies almost entirely on groundwater for irrigation.

Lice have been found feeding on the skin and blood of free-range chickens, which are infected at much higher rates than caged flocks.

Native plants and non-native crops do not fare well in proximity to one another, attracting pests that spread diseases in both directions, according to two new UC Riverside studies.

If aliens modified a planet in their solar system to make it warmer, we’d be able to tell. A new UC Riverside study identifies the artificial greenhouse gases that would be giveaways of a terraformed planet.

A new UC Riverside study shows soot from large wildfires in California traps sunlight, making days warmer and drier than they ought to be. Many studies look at the effect of climate change on wildfires. However, this study sought to understand the reverse — whether large fires are also changing...

A UC Riverside study shows how extreme heat in Earth’s past caused the exchange of waters from the surface to the deep ocean to decline. A similar slowdown, which would cause climate chaos, will happen at the end of this century if carbon emissions do not abate.

Advanced technologies enable the controlled release of medicine to specific cells in the body. Scientists argue these same technologies must be applied to agriculture if growers are to meet increasing global food demands.

The sharks we know today as the open ocean’s top predators evolved from stubby bottom dwellers during a dramatic episode of global warming millions of years ago. A massive outpouring of volcanic lava about 93 million years ago sent carbon dioxide levels soaring, creating a greenhouse climate that pushed ocean...

UC Riverside scientists have discovered a highly effective, nontoxic, and less expensive way to lure hungry termites to their doom.