News

Blood Cell Research Taking Groundbreaking Turns in Biology Lab

September 11, 2019

Developmental biologist Professor Anna Beaudin and her lab are making breakthrough discoveries in a growing field of research that could lead to exciting developments in such medical puzzles as cancer treatments, regenerative medicine and the cause of autism. She examines the mechanisms of how...

TED Audiences get the Dirt on Soil and Climate Change from Berhe

September 3, 2019

Soil is one of the foundations of life on Earth and could be an important part of the solution to climate change, if only we can stop treating it like dirt. That’s the message Professor Asmeret Asefaw Berhe shared with a global audience when she became the only current UC Merced researcher to...

Hellman Family Recognizes Young UC Merced Faculty Projects and Careers

August 30, 2019

Six faculty members have been named this year’s Hellman Fellows — two from each of UC Merced’s schools. The 2019-20 winners are: • Professor Anna E. Beaudin, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, School of Natural Sciences; • Professor Chih-Wen Ni, Department of Bioengineering, School of...

Researchers Use Monkey Flower to Study Climate Change

August 20, 2019

California’s drought was hard not to notice — the dry lawns, fallowed fields and hot temperatures were evident across the state. To better understand how the drought affected the natural ecosystem in which we live, biology Professor Jason Sexton and his graduate students conducted a study on a...

UC Merced Unveils Second Phase of Merced 2020 Project, Says Thank You to Leland

August 19, 2019

Two simple words, “Leland Legacy,” captured the significance of Wednesday’s opening event for the second phase of the Merced 2020 Project, an event that doubled as a goodbye and thank you to outgoing Chancellor Dorothy Leland. The message graced a wall of the new Sustainability Research and...

Media Creates False Balance on Climate Science, Study Shows

August 13, 2019

The American media lends too much weight to people who dismiss climate change, giving them legitimacy they haven’t earned, posing serious danger to efforts aimed at raising public awareness and motivating rapid action, a new study shows. While it is not uncommon for media outlets to interview...

Humanities Grad Students Drive Community Engagement, Public Understanding Through Research

August 8, 2019

Since his undergraduate days in Environmental Studies at Humboldt State University, Ivan Soto has aspired to produce research with a positive impact on the public — not just to benefit the academic community. As a doctoral student in the Interdisciplinary Humanities at UC Merced, Soto is doing just...

UC Merced Cultivates More Ag-Food-Tech Expertise with New CITRIS Hire

July 31, 2019

Leigh Bernacchi, Ph.D., has officially joined UC Merced’s Center for Information Technology in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and Banatao Institute as the program director. “Leigh has worked at the intersection of ag and water for several years and will provide valuable support for CITRIS in...

Founding Professor Named Associate Dean of Natural Sciences

July 26, 2019

The School of Natural Sciences has a new associate dean for Academic Programs, founding faculty member Professor Michael Colvin. “With his experience as a researcher and administrator, his dedication to student success and his deep knowledge of the School, Professor Colvin is particularly well...

Undergrad Discovers Triceratops Skull on Paleontology Dig in North Dakota

July 24, 2019

Harrison Duran has always wanted to discover ‘the land before time,’ and his desire to dig up dinosaur bones led him to the Badlands of North Dakota, where Alice the Triceratops was waiting for him. Duran is a fifth-year biology student with an emphasis in ecology and evolutionary biology. A...