Black mermaids have been part of mythology for a long time

Jalondra Davis, assistant professor of English at UCR, says that although mermaids are mythological creatures, their African origins are real. Part of Davis’ research situates the origin of Black mermaids during a time period when Africans were violently transported across the ocean to North America and the Caribbean. 
KRPC 2 Houston | May 26, 2023

What's with all the mosquitoes, bees and gnats? Experts point to SoCal's record winter rainfall

UCR entomology professor Alec Gerry explains why this year's mosquito season will last longer than in previous years. 
ABC7 Eyewitness News | May 24, 2023

White worms ‘rain from sky,’ pummeling Indian town in disturbing video

Claire Thomas Federici, a University of California, Riverside botanist, says the "worms" seen falling from trees in India recently are actually the catkins, or flower spikes, from a species of poplar tree that grows in the region.
New York Post | May 17, 2023

Earth-size exoplanet may be covered in volcanoes

UCR astrophysicist Stephen Kane helped find an Earth-sized planet about 90 light-years away. Half this planet is locked in permanent daytime, the other half in permanent night, and it is likely covered in active volcanoes. Although volcanoes sound like an impediment to water and potential life, it may actually help the planet maintain an atmosphere. 
CNN | May 17, 2023

The Little Mermaid: University of California's 'mermaid' expert says black star in new film matters

Jalondra Davis, an assistant professor of English at UCR and "mermaid expert," says the upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid starring Halle Bailey "matters for little black girls who can see themselves on the screen."
Washington Examiner | May 15, 2023

Study: The elderly are more easily distracted

When it comes to driving and other daily tasks that involve physical activity, older adults are more likely to get distracted than younger people, according to a new study led by UCR's Lilian Azer, a psychology graduate student.
KTLA5 | May 10, 2023

Earliest Known Social Organisms Named For Barack Obama

UCR paleontologists Phillip C. Boan and Mary Droser discovered that some of Earth's earliest creatures lived together underwater in a kind of colony.
Forbes | May 10, 2023

Ologies: dark matters

In its latest episode, Radiolab introduced Ologies, a podcast about science featuring UCR professor and dark matter expert Flip Tanedo.
Apple Podcasts | May 5, 2023

Study: Climate change is pushing the Sonoran Desert toward a weedier, barren future

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 led by UCR doctoral candidate in evolution and ecology, Tesa Madsen-Hepp.
Palm Springs Desert Sun | May 4, 2023

Undocumented students qualify for financial aid in California. Why aren’t more of them using it?

Deysi Mojica overcame her high school’s lack of resources to help undocumented students like herself apply to college, and UCR offered her a financial aid package that would make her college dream possible. But her aid package was held up because a signature was missing from one of her application forms.
Cal Matters | May 3, 2023

UCR's Mike Magpayo first Asian-American D-1 men's basketball coach

While co-owning a real estate company, UCR's Mike Magpayo had little thought he would one day break barriers and become the first Asian-American D-1 Men's Basketball Coach. Now, he's got a winning record & a new contract extension as he looks to pave the way for others.
CBS Los Angeles | May 2, 2023

Experts alarm: cases of babesiosis on the rise in the U.S.

Researchers have, for the first time, decoded the genome of the tick-borne disease babesiosis disease in high quality. This should lead to enormous developments in drug therapy, prophylaxis, but also in diagnosis.  The research was led by Karine Le Roch, a professor of molecular, cell and systems biology at UCR, and Choukri Ben Mamoun, a professor of medicine at Yale University. 
MSN | May 1, 2023

Parking-strip paradise, sidewalk superbloom

Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing Susan Straight pens a thoughtful piece about the power of flowers in public places.
The Los Angeles Times | April 30, 2023

A Rare Tick-Borne Disease Is On The Rise. Here's How To Tell If You Have It.

Deer ticks are commonly infected with both of the pathogens that cause Lyme disease and babesiosis, which means co-infection in humans is also common, according to Karine Le Roch, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease and Vector Research at UCR.
Huffington Post | April 28, 2023

At Australia’s new national park, see how life evolved on the planet

UCR geology professor Mary Droser's pioneering work in the Australian Outback has helped establish a new national park there, where visitors can see fossilized remains of Earth's oldest animals.
National Geographic | April 27, 2023

Assassin bugs cover themselves in sticky plant resin to trap prey

Christiane Weirauch, UCR entomologist, believes that although tool use is often thought of as a sign of high intelligence, this isn’t always the case. She argues that tool use could be genetically hardwired as well as have some element of learning. "We are looking at a gradient, with some animals such as assassin bugs being closer to the genetically hardwired and others, such as primates and octopuses, incorporating more learning into their tool use," she said. 
New Scientist | April 26, 2023

Tread lightly to protect California’s superblooms

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, UCR plant ecologist Loralee Larios says that in highly visited locations, so many people walk off trail that within a few weeks, only a few patches of wildflowers remain. That means fewer flowers will return during the next potential superbloom.
Scribd / Futurity | April 25, 2023

Program at UC Riverside aims to deliver more doctors to Inland Empire

The Inland Empire has a doctor shortage, but a program at UCR intends to help solve the problem. “A huge push with this initiative is to really get more doctors into primary care, which fits right into our UCR School of Medicine mission for more homegrown physicians who want to be addressing that shortage,” said Teresa Cofield, director of Pathway Programs at the UCR School of Medicine.
The Press Enterprise | April 24, 2023

You — yes, you — are going to pay for the century-old mistake that’s draining the Colorado River

Farmland is almost certainly going to shrink in the coming years, said Kurt Schwabe, an economist who studies water and agriculture at UCR. Should farmers grow less food, consumers will likely feel the pain.
Vox | April 18, 2023

The Biggest Killers of Americans: Heart Disease, Cancer—and Being Poor

David Brady, a UCR professor of public policy, led a study estimating roughly 180,000 poverty-related deaths among people over the age of 15 in 2019—a total only surpassed by deaths from heart disease, cancer, and smoking that year.
Gizmodo | April 17, 2023