LOS ANGELES TIMES - Introduced as battery-powered sticks that emit nicotine-infused vapor, vape pens have transformed into increasingly sophisticated entertainment devices. And that, researchers say, is a potentially huge problem. Disposable vapes gained small illuminated displays last year, typically to show how much battery life remained. In about six months, though, the displays grew to...

ABC 7 - Termite activity is considered to be "very heavy" in California and other southeastern states, and the options to rid your home of the destructive insect are limited and often expensive. But new research at UC Riverside is showing that help might be on the horizon. The two basic strategies to control termites...

NASA - NASA-supported scientists have examined the long and intricately linked history of microbial life and the Earth's environment. By reviewing the current state of knowledge across fields like microbiology, molecular biology, and geology, the study looks at how microorganisms have both shaped and been shaped by chemical properties of our planet's oceans, land, and...

GRIST - Michael Diamond thought he’d have to wait until this year, at least, to have enough data to understand how a shipping regulation aimed at curbing pollution affected the clouds that deck the ocean. “They’re so variable. They’re so wispy. They’re so ever, ever changing,” he said. “So you really often need a lot...

EARTH.COM - Did you know that plants, just like humans, can fall ill, too? And much like our world, theirs is not immune to disease outbreaks and pandemics. As nature-lovers and responsible stewards of the earth, it’s vital we understand how we are unintentionally facilitating the spread of pathogens that cause “plant pandemics.” Two recent...

EARTH.COM - We exist, thrive, and ponder upon life, but when it comes to understanding its beginnings, we’ve always found ourselves at a crossroads. Where did we come from? What did the world look like when life first emerged? A recent paper from UC Riverside is now helping us piece together this complex puzzle using...

THE NEW YORK TIMES - It sounds like something out of a Hollywood film script, but it really happened: Shark-evolution researchers say that increased ocean temperatures more than 100 million years ago may have caused sharks to grow bigger, swim faster and become the powerful predators we know today. In a paper published last month...

POPULAR SCIENCE - A giant spike in ocean temperatures about 93 million years ago may have helped sharks grow from stubby bottom dwellers into bigger predators. This surge in ocean heat in the Cretaceous period came from a gush of volcanic lava that sent carbon dioxide levels skyrocketing. This created a greenhouse effect that raised...

THE DAILY MAIL - The oldest living organism in California is not a dinosaur or one of its iconic redwoods - it's a small oak shrub that survived the most recent Ice Age. Despite its resilience, the Jurupa Oak is now in danger of going the way of the Dodo, due to devastating wildfires and...

REAL SIMPLE - Flipping on a light and finding an invasion of silverfish in your bathroom or kitchen can be startling. With their silvery-metallic scales and fishlike movements scurrying along the walls and floor, silverfish can be scary—even though they don't bite. The insects are nearly one-half inch long, nocturnal, wingless, and six-legged, with three...

WIRED - THE GLASSY-WINGED SHARPSHOOTER is a half-inch-long leafhopper that feeds by sticking its straw-like mouth into the watery tissue of plants. The insect is native to northeastern Mexico, but in the late 1980s, it made its way to Southern California. Since its arrival, it has wreaked havoc on the region’s vineyards. Most of the...

KSDK ST. LOUIS - Daddy-long-legs, which look like spiders with thin legs much longer than their bodies, are generally seen as harmless. But according to many versions of a popular rumor, daddy-long-legs are actually among the most venomous of all spiders but their fangs are too small to bite humans. Questions about whether daddy-long-legs bite...

MORNING AG CLIPS - Ahmed El-Moghazy joined UC Agriculture and Natural Resources as a UC Cooperative Extension food safety specialist in February and is based at UC Riverside. Food safety, according to El-Moghazy, are measures that ensure food is free from harmful contaminants, prevent foodborne illnesses and is safe to eat. El-Moghazy is responsible for...

ASTRONOMY - In a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal, astronomers propose looking for greenhouse gases in the atmospheres of exoplanets using tools like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). But rather than searching for an advanced species suffering the consequences of climate change, such gases might be a sign of something else: terraforming...

ANCIENT ORIGINS - While we have yet to identify life on any other planet or anywhere else in space, a new study has revealed the telltale signs which could indicate a planet being inhabited. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) discovered that greenhouse gases, much like the ones emitted by our very own...

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Scientists have uncovered intricately preserved fossils of trilobites that are providing new insights into the extinct invertebrates’ anatomy. The animals had been buried in modern-day Morocco after volcanic ash blanketed them underwater more than 500 million years ago. This preservation created 3D fossils that revealed several new features of trilobites, researchers reported...

UNIVERSE TODAY - Universe Today has had some incredible discussions with a wide array of scientists regarding impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, cosmochemistry, meteorites, radio astronomy, extremophiles, organic chemistry, black holes, cryovolcanism, and planetary protection, and how these intriguing fields contribute to our understanding regarding our place...

SCIENCE NEWS - Paleontologists studying rocks from Morocco have unearthed the most exquisitely preserved trilobite fossils yet discovered. The new lifelike fossils update our understanding of the evolution and biology of these extinct ocean-dwelling arthropods. The details are so great that soft tissue parts of the trilobites, including the mouth and digestive tract, are clearly...

EXTREME TECH - Until someone invents warp drive, the only way we can inspect distant exoplanets is with a powerful telescope. However, even the most capable telescopes can only catch faint glimmers from exoplanets. In a new study, scientists from the University of California, Riverside, lay out a method of detecting potential alien activity, and...

EARTH.COM - The search for extraterrestrial life has captivated our imaginations for centuries. Now, a study from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) suggests a tantalizing possibility: we may be able to detect alien activity and civilizations by identifying artificial greenhouse gases they use to terraform planets. What is terraforming? Terraforming, a concept popular in...