Some LGBTQ youth look to aunts for emotional support, companionship and housing stability

A recently published study by associate professor Brandon A. Robinson at the University of California, Riverside, and Trinity University underscores the importance of aunts, aunties and tías, whether related by blood or bonds, in supporting LGBTQ youth who don’t necessarily feel supported by their parents.
USA Today | January 31, 2024

That giant extinct shark, Megalodon? Maybe it wasn't so mega

Phillip Sternes, UCR doctoral student in biology, led a massive team of international researchers in a study that changes our understanding of Megalodons - what they looked like and how they likely went extinct.
NPR | January 26, 2024

Bulky or slender? Megalodon study reignites debate over extinct shark.

UCR biology graduate student Phillip Sternes led a team of 26 international scientists in a study that found the ancient Megalodon, though still a fierce predator, was likely thinner and longer than previously believed. 
Washington Post | January 21, 2024

Surprise plant cell discovery unlocks human anti-aging potential

Heeseung Choi, botany researcher and Katie Dehesh, professor of molecular biochemistry at UCR, have discovered a new contender in the quest to hack the human aging process.  It’s a little-studied protein within a cell structure that also doesn’t get a lot of airtime in research despite being one of the first organelles identified more than a century ago.
New Atlas | January 17, 2024

Aunts play a surprisingly critical role in supporting LGBTQ youth, study finds

Brandon Andrew Robinson, chair and associate professor of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, is interviewed by NBC News regarding their research on the critical role aunts play in supporting lgbtq youth relatives.
NBC News | January 12, 2024

Ofelia Valdez-Yeager, a Riverside advocate and prolific fundraiser for the arts, dies at 76

UCR alumna Ofelia Valdez-Yeager was instrumental in the creation of the Riverside Art Museum’s Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture.
The Los Angeles Times | January 11, 2024

Artificial Sweetener Could Be New Tool in Cockroach Management

UCR’s Shao-Hung Lee, Ph.D., Dong-Hwan Choe, Ph.D., Michael Rust, Ph.D., and Chow-Yang Lee found that sucralose-water solutions were effective in reducing survival of German cockroaches via effects on their gastrointestinal system. A fortunate discovery, because the same research team has also found widespread resistance to many commonly used insecticides among German cockroaches in California.
Entomology Today | January 10, 2024

Dr. Abhijit Ghosh of UC Riverside discusses earthquakes

"No matter where you live you need to be prepared for a damaging earthquake, before the earthquake. And we think the San Andreas fault and many other faults are close to producing large, damaging earthquakes," warns Abhijit Ghosh, associate professor of geophysics at UCR.

A Different Vision for Earth’s Demise

In 5 billion years, our sun will balloon into a red giant star. Recent research by Stephen Kane, a UCR astrophysicist, suggests there is a chance Earth could survive.
The Atlantic | January 6, 2024

The newest reason to follow a low-fat diet... ward off Covid!

There are more benefits to following a healthy low-fat diet than shedding pounds and dropping a few pant sizes. Now, UCR scientists Frances Sladek, Poonamjot Deol and Jose Martinez-Lomeli have discovered eating less fat could also help protect you against infectious diseases like Covid-19. 
Daily Mail | January 4, 2024

Aunts are a key source of support for LGBTQ+ youth, study says

Brandon Robinson, chair of UCR's Gender and Sexuality Studies Department, Javania Michelle Webb, a UCR postdoctoral student, and Amy L. Stone, a professor at Trinity University, co-authored a study showing aunts, whether they’re blood relatives or people who have chosen this role, provide significant support to LGBTQ+ youth
The Advocate | January 4, 2024

How to Start Gratitude Journaling for a Better You This Year

Sonja Lyubomirsky, UCR professor of psychology, recommends creating gratitude collages, drawings or a photography collection of things for which you are grateful, if writing isn't for you. "I don't want people to think like, ‘If I don't like gratitude journaling, I'm doomed,’ … because there’s other ways to express gratitude,” she said.
AARP | January 4, 2024

Failure Is a Privilege

John Jennings, professor of media and culture studies at UCR, hopes that society evolves to the point that a member of a minority group can be themselves, and not seen as representing their entire demographic group. 
Time | January 2, 2024

Looking ahead to the Inland Empire in the year 2048

Younger generations, currently known as Generation Z and Generation Alpha, are less tribal in their politics, and Kevin Esterling, a professor of public policy and political science at UCR, hopes their habits herald a future of more cooperation.
The Press Enterprise | December 29, 2023

Why Are Alaska’s Rivers Turning Orange?

Tim Lyons, a UCR geochemist, is working with colleagues in Alaska to understand why once-pristine streams in the state are looking more like industrial wastewater. 
Scientific American | December 20, 2023

Plants may fight mold with molecules and bubbles

According to a study led by UCR microbiologist Hailing Jin, plants use a stealth molecular weapon to attack the cells of gray mold. Using small lipid “bubbles” filled with small RNA and mRNA molecules, the plants can suppress infectious mold cells.
Popular Science | December 20, 2023

New Clues for What Will Happen When the Sun Eats the Earth

Stephen Kane, a UCR astrophysicist, recently modeled what might happen to four planets in a system 57 light-years away when its star becomes a red giant in a billion years. He found that most of the inner planets will be engulfed, but the outermost planet, which has an orbit similar to Venus’, might survive.
Quanta Magazine | December 20, 2023

AI’s Sustainability Ripple Effect: The Hidden Impact of AI on Water Use

Article highlights a study conducted by Shaolei Ren, an associate professor of electrical & computer engineering at UCR. It revealed astonishing figures: Training GPT-3 in a state-of-the-art US data center could directly consume 700,000 liters of clean freshwater – an amount equivalent to that used for the manufacture of 370 BMW cars or 320 Tesla electric vehicles.
Associated Press | December 19, 2023

Winning the clean energy revolution shows the Inland Empire means business

UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox argues that the Inland Empire, featuring UCR's lab facilities and top researchers, is primed to lead the clean energy revolution. 
Desert Sun | December 17, 2023

How Being More Intentional About Shopping Can Also Be A Climate Action

Ellen Reese, professor of Society, Environment and Health Equity at UCR and co-author of the book Unsustainable: Amazon, Warehousing, and the Politics of Exploitation, says the sources of the gifts we purchase deserve more consideration.
LAist | December 4, 2023