Biology@Berkeley
UC Berkeley Science News
Were galaxies much different in the early universe?
Though not yet complete, the HERA telescope in South Africa's Karoo is already telling astronomers about conditions in the early universe before stars ignited
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Climate change likely to uproot more Amazon trees
A Berkeley Lab/UC Berkeley study warns that global warming is likely to increase the number of violent windstorms in the Amazon, knocking down trees that would otherwise suck up greenhouse gases
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New ‘chain mail’ material of interlocking molecules is tough, flexible and easy to make
Molecular bonds break when bent, but structures made from interlocking molecules can be flexible and tough, just like the chain mail made of interlocking metal rings worn by medieval knights.
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A big step toward ‘green’ ammonia and a ‘greener’ fertilizer
UC Berkeley chemists demonstrated a new process that uses less energy to separate ammonia from the chemical reactants used industrially to produce the chemical for fertilizer
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Speciesism, like racism, imperils humanity and the planet
The attitude that humans are superior to other species has helped justify environmental destruction and animal extinctions, scientists warn
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How a viral toxin may exacerbate severe COVID-19
A new study finds that the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein can contribute to vascular leak, a dangerous release of fluids from the blood vessels that can lead to respiratory failure
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Clean Air Act dramatically cut vehicle pollution, but inequities remain
The first comprehensive study of air pollution exhaust standards finds that the 1972 Clean Air Act has driven spectacular decreases in pollution from U.S. passenger vehicles but poses a challenge for pollution policy in poor communities
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James Analytis is drawn to superconducting magnets
Analytis, a 2021 Heising-Simons Faculty Fellow, studies the fundamental underpinnings of exotic superconductors, which could lead to new kinds of MRI machines or supercomputers.
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Webb Space Telescope, Keck team up to study Saturn’s moon Titan
After the James Webb Space Telescope noticed clouds on Titan, a UC Berkeley astronomer stepped in to confirm and track their movement with the Keck telescope in Hawai'i
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Berkeley leads a ‘new era of innovation’ in quantum science, technology research
UC Berkeley professors highlight the research, education, and entrepreneurship currently being conducted that makes Berkeley a leader in quantum science and technology.
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For female astronomers, pandemic widened publishing’s gender gap
The pandemic had differing effects on the productivity of male vs female astronomers. Both wrote more papers, but women less so, widening a long-standing gender gap in the rate of publication.
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Ph.D. student’s goal: Access to psychedelics for Indigenous peoples
Psychedelic mushrooms changed Marlena Robbins' life
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Building an extraterrestrial ‘starter kit’ for a future on Mars
At Berkeley’s Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES), scientists are creating plants and microbes that could one day provide sustenance to humans exploring the final frontier
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Psychedelic guides trained in first-ever UC Berkeley program
Twenty-four advanced professionals — including doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists and chaplains — are learning to be skilled psychedelic facilitators in research and therapeutic settings
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Earth-sun distance dramatically alters seasons in equatorial Pacific in a 22,000-year cycle
An unrecognized contribution to wind and ocean conditions in the eastern Pacific likely impacts our weather in California
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Widespread forest loss holds grave consequences for wildlife
Between 2011 and 2020, the southern Sierra Nevada lost 30% of its conifer forests to wildfire, drought or other forest disturbances, threatening species like the California spotted owl and the Pacific fisher
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Endangered Devils Hole pupfish is one of the most inbred animals known
UC Berkeley scientists sequenced and analyzed the genome of this iconic fish, which is found in a lone thermal pool in Nevada
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Meet our new faculty: Molly Ohainle, molecular and cell biology
Molly Ohainle is a new member of the UC Berkeley faculty
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Berkeley Talks: Indigenous access, political ecology in settler states
Clint Carroll, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, gave a talk called "Reuniting with Our Lands and Waters" in September
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