News

Wildfire and Water Challenge Solutions Featured in Documentary to Air on KVIE

January 14, 2020

UC Merced researchers outline solutions to the severe wildfire problems in California’s mountain forests and closely linked water resource challenges in a documentary premiering on KVIE, the Sacramento affiliate of PBS, later this month. The new film “Beyond the Brink: California’s Watershed”...

Bioengineering Faculty Member Studies Inflammation with NIH Grant

January 13, 2020

Everyone has inflammation in their body at some point as it is a vital part of the immune system. It’s what happens when white blood cells flow to a wound, whether that is a bruise or a broken bone. Inflammation helps us heal properly and fight infections, but sometimes something in this process...

Ph.D. Student Gets to the Root of Health Disparities Facing Hmong Farmers

January 8, 2020

Chia Thao was a teenager when she arrived in Fresno with her family to begin a new life. She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, where her Laotian parents had fled after the Vietnam War. “Our parents brought a skillset to the U.S., found a home in the Central Valley and began farming,” Thao...

Potential of Electric Vehicles Tied to Solar Research

January 6, 2020

Not spending money on gas, oil changes, and tune-ups and not producing harmful greenhouse gas emissions is enough to sell many people on plug-in electric cars. But many consumers won’t bite until they’re assured that electric cars can go the distance before needing a charge. Some California cities...

New Study Shows Patchy Resources Drove Evolutionary Changes to Body Size

December 19, 2019

Resource allocation isn’t just a problem for humans preparing a holiday dinner, or squirrels storing up nuts for the winter. It can actually affect the size of an animal or whether it procreates, according to quantitative systems biology Professor Justin Yeakel’s new paper published in the journal...

Engineered Protein Assemblies that Respond to Cues Open Path for Smart, Protein-Based Medicines

December 17, 2019

Proteins are miniscule machines inside the body, about 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of human hair. They control all the processes of life — like how cells communicate to each other, how the immune system combats infection, how muscles contract, and how oxygen is picked up in the lungs...

Research Partnership Uses Compost to Tackle Climate Change

December 17, 2019

A thin layer of compost applied to grasslands could help fight climate change by capturing carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil, recent research shows. UC Merced Professor Rebecca Ryals and a team of researchers, ranchers and public agencies will demonstrate this practice for the...

2010 Alum Jessica Anderson to Speak at UC Merced Fall Commencement

December 10, 2019

When Jessica Anderson first visited UC Merced as a high school senior, there wasn’t a campus to see. “They couldn’t bring us to campus because it was under construction,” she recalled. “They were showing us the fields and plans for things that didn’t exist yet.” Anderson, who grew up in San Diego,...

Team to Demonstrate Healthy New App at Fall Innovate to Grow Event

December 9, 2019

It’s a situation familiar to many UC Merced students: Having to translate for parents and other, older relatives who speak little or no English. It can be especially challenging when what you have to translate is almost a language in itself — medical jargon. Senior Ezer Angeles said it’s why he’s...

Students Push ‘Give Tue UC Merced’ to Record Number of Donors

December 6, 2019

Goal achieved! UC Merced supporters turned out in force on Giving Tuesday with a record number of donors contributing to campus scholarships and fellowships. More than 1,300 individuals donated during the 24-hour Give Tue UC Merced campaign on Dec. 3, surpassing the event’s goal of 1,000 donors. “...

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