News

UC Riverside-led study examines climate impacts of anthropogenic aerosols and greenhouse gases using a broad set of climate models

Imagine an Earth-sized planet that’s not at all Earth-like. Half this world is locked in permanent daytime, the other half in permanent night, and it’s carpeted with active volcanoes. Astronomers have discovered that planet. The planet, named LP 791-18d, orbits a small red dwarf star about 90 light years away...

Even without body parts that allowed for movement, new UC Riverside research shows — for the first time — that some of Earth’s earliest animals managed to be picky about where they lived.

Land where a UC Riverside paleontology professor unearthed whole communities of Earth’s oldest animals is opening today to the public as a new national park in the Australian Outback.

Most climate models do not yet account for a new UC Riverside discovery: methane traps a great deal of heat in Earth’s atmosphere, but also creates cooling clouds that offset 30% of the heat.

With the first paper compiling all known information about planets like Venus beyond our solar system, scientists are the closest they’ve ever been to finding an analog of Earth’s “twin.”

A terrestrial planet hovering between Mars and Jupiter would be able to push Earth out of the solar system and wipe out life on this planet, according to a UC Riverside experiment.

When global temperatures increase by 4 degrees Celsius, harmful plant emissions and dust will also increase by as much as 14 percent, according to new UC Riverside research.

Many in California have questions about the conditions that caused the Turkish earthquake, and wonder whether the western U.S. is likely to suffer a similar fate. UC Riverside seismologist David Oglesby weighs in with answers.

New research suggests environmental changes caused the first mass extinction event in history, which occurred millions of years earlier than scientists previously realized.

The surprising discovery of seawater sealed in what is now North America for 390 million years opens up a new avenue for understanding how oceans change and adapt with changing climate.

An Earth-like planet orbiting an M dwarf — the most common type of star in the universe — appears to have no atmosphere at all. This discovery could cause a major shift in the search for life on other planets.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

Marilyn Fogel, endowed geoecology professor at UC Riverside, died on May 11 in Mariposa, Calif. She was 69. She pioneered the use of isotopes to understand the life history of organisms, both modern and ancient. In so doing, she helped develop biogeochemistry as a new field of science and earned...