AXIOS - A run of alien-related news last week didn't present proof that extraterrestrial life exists. But it did reveal how distorted, misrepresented and hyped the search for life beyond Earth can become. Why it matters: Unscientific claims of alien life and far-from-confirmed findings illustrate alien illiteracy that risks undermining the possible moment when life...
AXIOS - The atmospheres of planets beyond this solar system are coming into focus and helping scientists decide what constitutes evidence of life and where to look for it. Why it matters: As increasingly sensitive telescopes and other tools study more exoplanets in search of signs of life, scientists are trying to hammer out a...
NEW ATLAS - Researchers have identified how the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 takes advantage of our cellular machinery to replicate and spread in the body, and, importantly, a way to stop it. The finding could lead to the development of a new class of antiviral therapies to treat not only SARS-CoV-2, but other viruses...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - A new kind of avocado — created by UC Riverside researchers — may be appearing in grocery stores in coming years. The Luna UCR avocado will soon be marketed to growers worldwide, though it will be a little longer before you can buy it at the supermarket. It’s not unusual for UCR...
SPECTRUM NEWS 1 - The California Desert makes up about 28% of the state’s land area and contains about 38% of the native plant species within the state. Researchers say wildfires and climate change can have an enormous impact on desert species. That’s why the Mojave Desert Land Trust has been busy collecting seeds from...
WBUR | NPR BOSTON - The seas are rising. Humans have already pumped enough greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere to raise ocean levels up to 2 feet by the end of the century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. If we do not curb our use of fossil fuels, we are looking at...
CBS 8 NEWS - Heavy rains from tropical storm Hilary left plenty of flooding and standing water, and when combined with the sunny, warm weather, can make for prime mosquito-breeding conditions. “These mosquitoes breed in water sources that are oftentimes in backyards that can be relatively small water sources, so any pot or cup or...
KNOWABLE MAGAZINE - Domestic honeybees are pretty much synonymous with pollination in the public’s mind, particularly when it comes to crops, and the plight of wild bees has largely been overshadowed by concern about threats to the domestic variety. Many people don’t know the difference between wild and domestic bees, further obscuring both the troubles...
SLATE - The Hass avocado is the fruit that likely comes to mind when you’re picturing the “perfect” Instagrammable avocado: dark and lightly textured skin, an almost ombre green interior with a precise “give”-to-firmness ratio, and a relatively small, dark pit. It’s “meal-size,” which, entranced by convenience and plagued by mushy brown avocados, we love...
EARTH.COM - In a recent study, scientists have discovered a connection between the controversial practice of fracking and a previously unidentified type of seismic activity. While fracking is widely known for its potential to induce earthquakes, this new research suggests it can also cause small, slow tremors, that have often gone unnoticed. “Because this study...
ECOWATCH - Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” is a process where shale and other types of impermeable rock are blasted open with water, “fracking fluid” and sand in order to access and extract oil and natural gas. New research from scientists at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) confirms that fracking leads to...
ALLRECIPES.COM - Avocado fans know the struggle of timing the exact window of ripeness for enjoying the fruit. But that could all change with a new avocado breed that’s set to hit the market soon. The “Luna” avocado is a new variety of the fruit that's grown on trees that are smaller in size and...
FOOD & WINE - The University of California Riverside (UCR) has been nicknamed “the Highlanders,” but should they ever decide to switch mascots, the Avocados might be a good choice. The university’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences has an acclaimed avocado breeding program that started in the 1950s, and has patented and released eight...
WEBMD - A popular ingredient in the American diet has been linked to ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease marked by a chronically inflamed large intestine. The ingredient is soybean oil, which is very common in processed foods. In fact, U.S. per capita consumption of soybean oil increased more than 1,000-fold during the...
ABC 7 - Soy lecithin, which comes from soybean oil, makes foods creamier. It's also an inexpensive ingredient in cooking oils, where UC Riverside researchers say that's where we get most of it. "It's been a huge increase and that increase happened primarily over the 1960s and the 1970s," said toxicologist Frances Sladek. Sladek says...
LAIST.COM - On a recent triple digit summer day, I made my way out to a dusty field at UC Riverside, the research center of California’s citrus universe. Row after row of tangerines, oranges and pomelos —11,000 in total — baked under a heat dome. Off in the distance, wildfire smoke passed in front of...
AXIOS - Meet the "Luna," a new variety of avocado grown on a smaller tree and easier to harvest than the dominant Hass breed. Why it matters: The Hass, with its creamy texture and wonderful taste, has fueled our love affair with guacamole and avocado toast. A competitive alternative could make supplies of the fruit...
CBS 8 NEWS - Seventeen people have died so far this year in Baja California from a disease carried by ticks, according to the state’s health secretary Adrian Medina Amarillas. Eight of the deaths were reported in Tijuana. Ticks can transmit Rickettsia, which can lead to serious illness if it goes untreated. “In a worst-case...
CIVIL EATS - As drought dries up the shallow sea, near a half-million farmable acres in the Imperial Valley, farmworkers living nearby are exposed to toxic dust and airborne pollution from algae blooms. Asthma, allergies, and other health impacts are rising at alarming rates. There are no EPA regulatory air quality monitors in the region...
FORBES - 3.5 billion people. That’s how many of us are alive today thanks to an innovation many people have probably never heard of: the Haber-Bosch process. Invented back in the early twentieth century, the chemists Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch figured out how to cheaply turn atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia, a nitrogen-rich compound that...