Scientists have helped solve a longstanding mystery about how Earth remained habitable after oxygen first accumulated in its atmosphere more than 2 billion years ago.

A nearby star system with two suns could potentially support an Earth-sized planet in a region where liquid water could exist, according to a new paper examining the dynamics of the system.

With a global ocean of liquid water below a thick crust of ice, Saturn’s moon Enceladus is one of the most promising places to search for life beyond Earth. A new study suggests the moon itself may aid in that search by making some ocean compounds easier for future spacecraft...

If it ever had a moon, new research shows Venus would have consumed it.

UC Riverside scientists have developed a way to identify where Earth’s biggest earthquakes are most likely to occur.

A slowing Atlantic Ocean current will intensify powerful storms in California while reducing snowfall over Greenland.

New UCR research shows that the search for life beyond Earth could benefit from a statistical approach that prioritizes patterns rather than searching for individual chemical or molecular traces.

New research reveals the extent to which Mars is quietly tugging on Earth’s orbit and shaping the cycles that drive long-term climate patterns here, including ice ages.

A UCR study has unexpectedly discovered that a common parasite of modern oysters actually started infecting bivalves hundreds of millions of years before the dinosaurs went extinct.

A newly described fossil reveals that leeches are at least 200 million years older than scientists previously thought, and that their earliest ancestors may have feasted not on blood, but on smaller marine creatures. “This is the only body fossil we’ve ever found of this entire group,” said Karma Nanglu...

Scientists say the warming climate is triggering chemical reactions that leach toxic metals into once-pristine Arctic waters, degrading fish habitat, water quality, and life for local people.

More than 5,000 planets have been discovered beyond our solar system, allowing scientists to explore planetary evolution and consider the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Now, a UC Riverside study published in Physical Review D suggests that exoplanets, which are planets orbiting stars outside our solar system, could also serve as...

More trees will cool the climate and suppress fires, but mainly if planted in the tropics, according to a new UC Riverside study.

Study paves way for advances in astrophysics and quantum technology

Scientists have a new method for studying faults that could improve earthquake forecasts, shedding light on where quakes start, how they spread, and where the biggest impacts might be.

Everyone has a past. That includes the millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms that make up a major animal group called the Ecdysozoa.

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.

Several Southern California communities are being hit with smoke from the huge Line Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains. UC Riverside experts on environmental pollution describe what we’re breathing.

A UC Riverside paper has opened the door to understanding more about early life on Earth, and to framing the search for life beyond this planet.

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.