News

Broccoli, along with other plants and microorganisms, emit gases to help them expel toxins. Scientists believe these gases could provide compelling evidence of life on other planets.

The Salton Sea, California’s most polluted inland lake, has lost a third of its water in the last 25 years. New research has determined a decline in Colorado River flow is the reason for that shrinking.

By documenting hundreds of new nectar plants for painted ladies, scientists have renewed hope these charismatic butterflies may prove resilient to climate change.

Scientists at UC Riverside are suggesting something is missing from the typical roster of chemicals that astrobiologists use to search for life on planets around other stars — laughing gas.

Laughing gas is no laughing matter — nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas with 300 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. Scientists are racing to learn whether microorganisms send more of it into the atmosphere after wildfires.

A pair of massive earthquakes in Mexico has some in Southern California on edge, wondering whether the Golden State is next. UC Riverside seismologist Abhijit Ghosh weighs in on the likelihood of more shakers, and how to prepare for them.

UC Riverside engineers are developing low-cost, robotic “clothing” to help children with cerebral palsy gain control over their arm movements.

Though it is disappearing, California’s official state grass has the ability to live for 100 years or more. New research demonstrates that sheep and cattle can help it achieve that longevity.

A UC Riverside-led team discovered the exact chemical combination that causes Zika, dengue and yellow fever-spreading mosquitoes to locate and land on their victims.

Researchers have identified a new reason to protect mangrove forests: they’ve been quietly keeping carbon out of Earth’s atmosphere for the past 5,000 years.

Of all known planets, Earth is as friendly to life as any planet could possibly be — or is it? If Jupiter’s orbit changes, a new study shows Earth could be more hospitable than it is today. When a planet has a perfectly circular orbit around its star, the distance...

UC Riverside scientists are on the hunt for a chemical that disrupts “evil” weevils’ mating and could prevent them from destroying California’s supply of avocados.

A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing most deep ocean creatures. “Continental drift seems so slow, like nothing drastic could come from it, but when the ocean is primed, even a...

A bacterial species closely related to deadly citrus greening disease is rapidly evolving its ability to infect insect hosts, and possibly plants as well.

Dust from all over the world is landing in the Sierra Nevada mountains carrying microbes that are toxic to both plants and humans. Research from UC Riverside shows higher concentrations of the dust are landing at lower elevations, where people are more likely to be hiking.

A single chemical is key to controlling when hair follicle cells divide, and when they die. This discovery could not only treat baldness, but ultimately speed wound healing because follicles are a source of stem cells.

Because it’s bigger, Jupiter ought to have larger, more spectacular rings than Saturn has. But new UC Riverside research shows Jupiter’s massive moons prevent that vision from lighting up the night sky.

Plants protect themselves from environmental hazards by producing salicylic acid, also known as aspirin. A new understanding of this process may help plants survive climate change.

Using light-capturing proteins in living microbes, UC Riverside scientists helped reconstruct what life was like for some of Earth’s earliest organisms. These efforts could help us one day recognize signs of life on other planets.

UC Riverside scientists have modified proteins involved in plants’ natural response to stress, making them the basis of innovative tests for banned pesticides and deadly, synthetic cannabinoids.