Coccidioidomycosis—also known as Valley fever—is an infectious disease that is taking an increasing toll on the health of Californians and people living throughout the Southwest. In a study published in Lancet Planetary Health, researchers at UC Berkeley have discovered a pronounced role of California’s recent droughts in driving the transmission of the pathogen in the state. […]
UC Berkeley
Posted inSci/Tech
The ultimate fate of a star shredded by a black hole
In 2019, astronomers observed the nearest example to date of a star that was shredded, or “spaghettified,” after approaching too close to a massive black hole. That tidal disruption of a sun-like star by a black hole 1 million times more massive than itself took place 215 million light years from Earth. Luckily, this was […]
Posted inCalifornia
Study: Safe drinking water remains out of reach for many Californians
An estimated 370,000 Californians rely on drinking water that may contain high levels of the chemicals arsenic, nitrate or hexavalent chromium, and contaminated drinking water disproportionately impact communities of color in the state, finds a new analysis led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Because this […]
Posted inCalifornia
How wildfire restored a Yosemite watershed
For nearly half a century, lightning-sparked blazes in Yosemite’s Illilouette Creek Basin have rippled across the landscape — closely monitored, but largely unchecked. Their flames might explode into plumes of heat that burn whole hillsides at once, or sit smoldering in the underbrush for months. The result is approximately 60 square miles of forest that […]
Posted inSci/Tech
A machine learning breakthrough uses satellite images to improve lives
More than 700 imaging satellites are orbiting the earth, and every day they beam vast oceans of information — including data that reflects climate change, health and poverty — to databases on the ground. There’s just one problem: While the geospatial data could help researchers and policymakers address critical challenges, only those with considerable wealth […]
Posted inCalifornia
Public health expert: ‘We need to go forward to a new type of normal’
Six months after the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use in the U.S., the country’s vaccination rate is nearing 50%, case rates have plummeted in most areas, and large states like New York and California have lifted the bulk of their public health restrictions. But the pandemic isn’t over yet. The SARS-CoV-2 virus still rages in many parts […]
Posted inUS
Berkeley study: Globally, US ranks near bottom in COVID-19 response in 2020
BERKELEY, CA, March 31, 2021 – Vermont, Alaska, and Maine were the three most effective states in responding to the coronavirus pandemic last year, a new analysis by UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute has found. The institute created an index to measure the performance of all 50 states and 172 countries primarily based on three factors: […]
Posted inLife
‘Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue’ Brings Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Berkeley Law Lecture to the World
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg looms large in Berkeley Law Professor Amanda L. Tyler’s life as a boss, a mentor, a role model — and, now, a co-author. Justice, Justice Thou Shalt Pursue: A Life’s Work Fighting for a More Perfect Union, which has been released to great fanfare, bloomed from Ginsburg’s ties to Tyler […]
Posted inWorld
Pandemic caused ‘staggering’ economic, human impact in developing counties, research says
February 5, 2021 – The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last year led to a devastating loss of jobs and income across the global south, threatening hundreds of millions of people with hunger and lost savings and raising an array of risks for children, according to new research co-authored at the University of California, Berkeley. […]
Posted inCalifornia
In a desert seared by climate change, burrowers fare better than birds
February 5, 2021 – In the arid Mojave Desert, small burrowing mammals like the cactus mouse, the kangaroo rat and the white-tailed antelope squirrel are weathering the hotter, drier conditions triggered by climate change much better than their winged counterparts, finds a new study published today in Science. Over the past century, climate change has continuously nudged the […]
Posted inCalifornia
Berkeley scholars’ outrage, reflections on U.S. Capitol mob siege
Who and what is to blame for Wednesday’s storming and siege of the U.S. Capitol, an iconic sanctuary of representational democracy? Where will it lead, and how does America avoid a repeat performance in the weeks, months and years to come? Along with the rest of the world, many UC Berkeley scholars have expressed disgust […]
Posted inUS
50 years in, the Clean Air Act’s societal benefits still outweigh costs 10 to 1, research finds
December 14, 2020 – The landmark Clean Air Act (CAA) turns 50 this month, and its impact has been dramatic: Ambient measures of pollutants have fallen more than 90% in some areas, and improvements in air quality are credited with preventing hundreds of thousands of premature deaths. Despite this success, the debate rages on over […]
Posted inCalifornia
California farmworkers hit hard by COVID-19, study finds
December 3, 2020 – Many farmworkers who plant and harvest our food are forced to live and work under conditions that are ripe for transmission of COVID-19. During the summer harvest season, coronavirus outbreaks popped up across the nation among farmworkers in agricultural communities, including many in California. In a white paper published online Wednesday, Dec. 2, […]
Posted inUS
Stacking the deck: How the GOP works to suppress minority voting
October 1, 2020 – Phones were ringing in Detroit, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and on the line was a robocall with an ominous campaign message: If you want to vote by mail, it warned, your personal information will be turned over to the police and to debt collectors. The call played on crude racial stereotypes and […]
Posted inUS
US COVID-19 Cases May Be Substantially Underestimated
September 10, 2020 – The United States may have experienced more than 6.4 million cases of COVID-19 by April 18, 2020, according to a probability analysis conducted by UC Berkeley School of Public Health researchers and published in Nature Communications. That is nine time more than the number of confirmed cases in the same period, which […]
Posted inCalifornia
End of affirmative action at UC hurt Black, Latinx students, study finds
August 25, 2020 – The end of affirmative action at California universities 22 years ago had a significant negative impact on Black and Latinx students, forcing many out of the University of California system and reducing their later earnings, according to a new study from the Center for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE) at […]
Posted inCalifornia
Warming climate may trigger more West Nile outbreaks in Southern California
August 6, 2020 – As climate change heats up the weather in Southern California, coastal populations from San Diego to Santa Barbara may face an increased risk of contracting West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. West Nile virus is America’s deadliest mosquito-borne disease […]
Posted inLife
Books: “Let Them Eat Tweets” – How plutocrats, populists are driving a precarious moment in U.S. history
July 14, 2020 – For anyone who wants to understand the rise and reign of Donald Trump, one question may be paramount: Why have laid-off industrial workers, hardscrabble farmers and ranchers, and millions who lack health care embraced a conservative movement that expressly serves the economic interests of America’s wealthiest 1%? A new book by […]
Posted inSci/Tech
From lung scarring to heart damage, COVID-19 may leave lingering marks
July 9, 2020 – For some individuals with COVID-19, recovering from the acute phase of the infection is only the beginning. Worrying reports now indicate that the virus may be capable of inflicting long-lasting damage to the lungs, heart and nervous system, and researchers are closely watching to see if the kidneys, liver and gastrointestinal […]
Posted inCalifornia
California child care on brink of collapse; needs funds to survive and protect its workforce
BERKELEY, CA, May 8, 2020 – As Governor Newsom promises returning workers access to child care, early results from a new study from the University of California, Berkeley show that many California child care programs won’t be able to survive unless they receive financial relief. The data snapshot also finds a pervasive lack of access to essential cleaning […]