News

Soils are carbon sinks, storing more planet-warming carbon than the atmosphere and all animal and plant life combined. But they can also release massive amounts of stored carbon into the atmosphere. Given carbon’s central role in climate change, understanding the forces that govern how soils absorb...

In 1998, scientists studying rheumatoid arthritis observed a population of immune cells that weren’t behaving the way they were supposed to. Immunologists noted the strange phenomenon, but decided not to pursue the subject further, and the cells were soon forgotten. But interest in these cells has...

Though illustrations have been used to convey ideas and information since before language existed, after Benjamin Franklin published the world’s first editorial cartoon in 1754, comics emerged a distinct avenue for visual storytelling. Now, comic art has come into classrooms at UC Merced and abroad...

A new Pew Research survey shows that one-third of Americans have trust in a higher power or spiritual force, whether they call it “god” or not, and two new studies show that people who think they have that force in their corner feel empowered in battle. Two novel experiments by UC Merced Cognitive...