NATURE - The monstrous fires that are now charring vast areas of western North America aren’t just colossal and fast-moving, they have also created their own thunderstorms — an example of exotic fire behavior that scientists say is becoming more common as the climate changes. Both the Park Fire, which has burnt more than 160,000...
DISCOVER MAGAZINE - Beyond Earth's blue skies stretches a universe full of possibilities, including countless stars with planets that might support life. While Earth is the only known host of life, astronomers have identified several exoplanets that could potentially support it. "An exoplanet is a planet that orbits a star other than our Sun,” explains...
THE DESERT SUN - Humidity, hot winds and the decaying Salton Sea have long been been a recipe for nostril and stomach misery during the summer across large swaths of the eastern Coachella Valley. But now, an analysis of 20 years worth of records by a UC Riverside laboratory shows a disturbing new trend: The...
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 - 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...
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...
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...