Does kindness equal happiness and health?

Psychology professor Sonja Lyubomirsky says acts of kindness promote social connection, which is especially important during the pandemic as people have become more isolated.
SF Gate | February 15, 2022

Antivaccine Movements

Professor of Public Policy Richard Carpiano has a long research record on anti-vaccine movements. He discusses them with Univrersity of Colorado's Jennifer Reich on this episode of The Annex Sociology Podcast.
Queens Podcast Lab | February 14, 2022

Black-eyed peas could help eliminate need for fertilizer

Evolutionary biologist Joel Sachs and plant pathologist Gabriel Ortiz find that planting blaci-eyed peas in rotation with other crops could help growers avoid the need for costly, environmentally damaging fertilizers. 
National Science Foundation | February 8, 2022

California offers graduation honor to encourage active civic engagement

Erica Hodgin, co-director of the Civic Engagement Research Group, says a State Seal of Civic Engagement can have a beneficial effect on California's public school students, encouraging democratic behavior and values.
Ed Source | February 8, 2022

Megalodon mystery blown open as new research suggests shark was even more terrifying

Phillip Sternes, a PhD candidate at UCR, was the lead author of a study showing there are currently no scientific means to support or refute the accuracy of previously published body forms of the Megalodon.
MSN | February 8, 2022

Sharks: Scientists say they don't know what the Megalodon looked like

Phillip Sternes, UCR organismal biologist, led a team of researchers who concluded that all current theories about the giant, extinct Megalodon shark's body can only be theories, since no definitive proof about its shape yet exists. 
BBC Newsround | February 8, 2022

Turns Out, We Still Don't Know What Megalodon Actually Looked Like

Earth’s deadly megalodon is a popular villain in Hollywood sci-fi, but new research led by UCR organismal biologist Phillip Sternes says that, actually, we have no idea what these animals looked like. 
IFL Science! | February 7, 2022

Study suggests Megalodon may not have looked like a huge great white

UC Riverside organismal biologist Phillip Sternes leads a study that pokes holes in previous theories about what the extinct, massive Magalodon shark may have looked like. 
New Atlas | February 7, 2022

UC Riverside professor one of few Black archeologists searching for sunken slave ships and hidden history

Ayana Omilade Flewellen, assistant professor of anthropology, belongs to a tiny group (less than 1%) within the archeology community — Black archeologists — and is one of a handful of Black female-born maritime archeologists who dive off the coast of St. Croix in the Caribbean and the Great Lakes in Michigan, scouring for wreckage of ships that carried enslaved people.
The Press Enterprise | February 4, 2022

The COVID Jerk

Philosophy Professor Eric Schwitzgebel argues that a dismissive attitude toward concerns regarding COVID-19 makes them 'COVID jerks,' and offers suggestions for how to do better for others.
The Atlantic | February 3, 2022

RISE classrooms at UC Riverside look to improve remote learning

In response to the pandemic, UCR created Rooms for Increasing Student Engagement, or RISE - 110 high-tech classrooms equipped with cameras to live stream as well as microphones that can pick up student voices in every corner of the class.
Spectrum News | February 2, 2022

Channeling your anger for change

Myisha Cherry, UCR assistant professor of philosophy, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why the fight against racism means breaking rules and making people angry.
KERA | February 1, 2022

Researchers build 1-stop-shop for historical wildfire data

Ahmed Eldawy, UCR assistant professor of computer science, along with a few researchers from other universities, has been working on a project compiling a decades' worth of data related to wildfires into one database - a massive endeavor.
Spectrum News | February 1, 2022

Poultry immune discovery could improve vaccine development

Scott Pegan, a UCR professor of biomedical sciences, helped identify a new immune pathway that helps protect chickens against viral infections.
WATT Poultry | February 1, 2022

The Beyoncé Fly, Andrew Garfield Spider, and 12 More Species Named After Celebrities

Parasitologist Adler Dillman dubbed a new tarantula-killing nematode species, "Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi," after Daniels' character Dr. Ross Jennings from the 1990 film Arachnophobia. 
People Magazine | January 27, 2022

What do you call a tiny tarantula killer? Jeff Daniels.

Parasitologist Adler Dillman named a new species of tarantula-attacking nematode Tarantobelus jeffdanielsi in appreciation of Jeff Daniels, the lead actor in the 1990 sci-fi thriller Arachnophobia. 
Popular Science | January 25, 2022

The Biggest Thing Holding Me Back From Having Kids Is Climate Change

Jade Sasser, associate professor of gender and sexuality studies, and author of On Infertile Ground: Population Control and Women’s Rights in the Era of Climate Change, says it's understandable that the climate crisis can feel overwhelming to many prospective parents. 
Good Housekeeping | January 24, 2022

Worms That Turn Tarantulas Into Tiptoeing Zombies Discovered

Parasitologist Adler Dillman led a team that discovered a new species of nematode that kill tarantulas.
Newsweek | January 20, 2022

Wealthy Residents In Calabasas, Hidden Hills Could Find Their Water At A Trickle If They Won’t Conserve

Mehdi Nemati, who studies issues relating to water resources, says wealthier Californians did not conserve as much as others during the last drought even when the state mandated it. Officials are now threatening to restrict the flow to customers who repeatedly fail to conserve.
KCAL | January 20, 2022

New classrooms at UC Riverside let students attend remotely or in person

One-third of all UCR classrooms were upgraded before the fall term with new technology, including microphones and cameras, to allow for the possibility of mixing in-person students with remote students. The campus paid for the upgrades using federal Covid relief aid.
Ed Source | January 19, 2022