Deadly Fungi, Toxic Tides, and Wildfire Smoke
From deadly fungi and toxic tides to wildfire smoke, School of Public Health researchers are racing to identify and mitigate the health hazards of climate change.
On the Forefront of Genetics, Mental Illness and Trauma’s Lasting Effects
Researchers found that prenatal exposure to discrimination and violence during the apartheid regime in South Africa predicted mental health problems in individuals whose households were particularly stressful.
She built a model overnight that would guide S.F.’s pandemic response. Now, she predicts our COVID future
San Francisco was a few days into sheltering in place in March 2020 when Dr. Maya Petersen got a surprising and urgent request: Health officials wanted to know whether she could put together a model that would help them forecast what was shaping up to be a horrifying pandemic.
A/B Testing Foreign Aid
Seeking innovative ideas for revamping the United States' foreign aid programs, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) conducted an A/B test in rural areas of Rwanda to compare the public welfare results of traditional interventions with simple cash transfers. A control group received no assistance. To conduct the study, they recruited a number of external partners, including Berkeley's Center for Effective Global Action. The agency released the results Thursday, and -- essentially -- the cash transfers worked, with larger cash transfers boosting household's assets, savings, and ability to buy more varied food. The children in those houses were "taller, weighed more, and were less likely to die early," according to the reporter.
Now Fully Complete, Human Genome Reveals New Secrets
A three-year-old consortium has finally filled in remaining DNA, providing the first complete, gapless genome sequence for scientists and physicians to refer to. The newly completed genome, dubbed T2T-CHM13, represents a major upgrade from the current reference genome, called GRCh38, which is used by doctors when searching for mutations linked to disease, as well as by scientists looking at the evolution of human genetic variation.
Study Shows More Air Pollution in Areas of Historical Redlining
Historic patterns of housing discrimination dating from the 1930s still drive air pollution disparities in hundreds of American cities today, according to a major new study from a team of researchers at UC Berkeley and the University of Washington.
A Survey of 30,000 Household Reveals COVID-19's Economic Toll in the Developing World
Even in the richest countries in the world, the pandemic has devastated millions. Developing countries have faced the same challenges with far fewer resources to absorb them with. How have their people fared? A new paper aims to solve that problem in the most direct way possible by surveying tens of thousands of people in developing countries about what COVID-19 has been like for them. The paper, co-authored by UC Berkeley's Edward Miguel gives us a new window into what it has been like to live through 2020 in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Nepal, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.
The Pandemic Pushed This Farmer Into Deep Poverty. Then Something Amazing Happened.
In low-income countries, identifying people who have fallen on hard times due to the pandemic is no easy task. Governments don't have good data about who is poor. Togo turned to artificial intelligence: a computer program that dives into data to pinpoint pockets of poverty. The government partnered with researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the U.S. charity GiveDirectly to use satellite imagery and mobile phone data to find citizens most in need. The program used mobile phone technology to quickly distribute $22 million in three monthly mobile phone payments to 600,000 citizens in urban parts of Togo: $20 for men and $22 for women.
Pandemic caused ‘staggering’ economic, human impact in global south, study says
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.
Huge Study of Coronavirus Cases in India Offers Some Surprises to Scientists
A UC Berkeley study has found several surprising insights on how COVID-19 is affecting India, a country of 1.3 billion people. The median hospital stay before death from the virus was five days, compared with two weeks in the United States, possibly because of limited access to health care. The trend in increasing deaths with age seemed to drop off after age 65, perhaps because Indians who live past that age tend to be relatively wealthy and have access to good health care. The study also found that children of all ages can become infected and spread the virus to others. An overwhelming majority of coronavirus cases globally have occurred in resource-poor countries, noted Joseph Lewnard, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who led the study. But most of the data has come from high-income countries. "It still surprises me that it took until this point for a lot of data to come out of a low- or middle-income country about the epidemiology of Covid," he said.
A New Study Finds That Giving Kids Deworming Treatment Still Benefits Them 20 Years Later
Twenty years after a mass effort in Kenyan schools to treat children for common intestinal parasites, researchers including UC Berkeley's Edward Miguel returned to the original Kenyan sample where they'd first discovered the potentially life-changing impacts of mass deworming campaigns. Following up with the original participants 20 years later, they wanted to answer the question: Are the benefits they initially discovered from childhood deworming treatment - which included more time in school and higher adult incomes - still showing up? For more on this, see our press release at Berkeley News.
Treating children for worms yields long-term benefits, says new study
Children who receive sustained treatment against common parasitic infections grow up to achieve a higher standard of living, with long-lasting health and economic benefits extending to their communities, according to new findings from a research team led by a University of California, Berkeley, economist.
Satellite images, phone data help guide pandemic aid in at-risk developing countries
For some of the poorest countries on Earth, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed a life-or-death quandary: If people continue to work, the virus might spread unchecked. But if they have to stay at home to limit the contagion, hunger and malnutrition could soar.
UC Berkeley Public Health Epidemiologist Works to Increase Access to Reproductive Healthcare Products for Young Women in Tanzania
For young women in Tanzania, one of the biggest obstacles to accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare products are watchful eyes. Despite high rates of HIV and unintended pregnancy in young women, families and communities carefully monitor the actions of young girls with the intention to uphold social norms, some of which can be harmful.
To prevent antimicrobial resistance, vaccinate the world’s kids
Childhood vaccination may be a powerful tool in the fight against antimicrobial resistance in low- and middle-income countries, finds a new analysis led by researchers University of California, Berkeley.
Prior dengue infection could protect children from Zika symptoms
Prior infection with the dengue virus could protect children from the symptoms of Zika, finds a new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan.
Tales from 141,430 and one genomes
Analysis of the world’s largest set of genome data from pregnant women, totaling 141,431 expectant mothers from across China, has uncovered unsuspected associations between genes and birth outcomes, including the birth of twins and a woman’s age at first pregnancy.
Blood tests reveal broad extent of Zika infection
A new study shows that nearly half of the population of Managua, Nicaragua, has been infected with the Zika virus. Previous infection with the Zika virus imparts immunity to the disease and can help quell future outbreaks.
Odds of living to 110-plus level out — once you hit 105
Want to be a supercentenarian? The chances of reaching the ripe old age of 110 are within reach – if you survive the perilous 90s and make it to 105.
Restoring culturally relevant food systems to Native American and immigrant populations
The Karuk Tribe once lived on more than a million acres in remote Northern California, but their food system had been broken almost overnight, and has yet to recover. Jennifer Sowerwine believes it still can be.
Eating out increases exposure to harmful phthalates
A new study has found that people who ate more fast food were exposed to higher levels of potentially harmful chemicals known as phthalates than people who ate more home-cooked meals.
Amid flu epidemic, more bad news about its spread
Getting lots of sleep, drinking lots of water, sneezing into the crook of your arm and getting a vaccination no doubt will help fight back the flu. But if you don’t want to get it in the first place, don’t breathe.
Viral infections decrease muscle health, cause other collateral damage
Researchers at UC Berkeley have found unexpected effects of viral infections, a discovery that may explain why viruses can make people feel so lousy.
CZ Biohub awards nearly $14.5 million to Berkeley researchers
Thirteen UC Berkeley faculty have been chosen by the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub to receive up to $1.5 million each over the next five years to conduct cutting-edge biomedical research — with no strings attached.
The yin-yang of cancer and infectious disease
Doctors have had great success using vaccines to boost the immune system to fight infectious diseases like smallpox and measles, but only recently have immune system boosters been tried against cancer.
Aiding Cells’ Strategy to Survive
The Bakar Fellows Program supports James Hurley’s research to develop a drug that can help neurons and other cells clear out debris – a process essential for cell survival.
Snails travel far and wide, spreading disease along the way
Parasite-carrying snails can travel long distances, spreading a deadly disease along the way, according to new research led by UC Berkeley.
ACA repeal could cost California more than 200,000 jobs
Repeal of the Affordable Care Act could take away health insurance from millions of Californians, while also eliminating 209,000 jobs and costing the state economy $20.3 billion in GDP.
Driving mosquito evolution to fight malaria
One of the frustrations of fighting malaria is that mosquitoes evolve resistance to the insecticides used to kill them.
Genome engineering paves way for sickle cell cure
A team of physicians and laboratory scientists has taken a key step toward a cure for sickle cell disease, using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to fix the mutated gene responsible for the disease in stem cells from the blood of affected patients.
Research gives hope to those with head and facial deformities
Francis Smith, who was born with the craniofacial disorder Treacher Collins Syndrome, meets with UC Berkeley researcher Michael Rape, who has discovered signaling molecules that may help repair the disorder after birth.
UC Berkeley, CDC team up to investigate link between UTI, food poisoning
New research collaboration between UC Berkeley and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will study whether food is a significant source of the antibiotic-resistant bacteria that cause UTIs.
CRISPR toolbox expanded by protein that cuts RNA in two distinct ways
A team of researchers have expanded the role of the newly discovered CRISPR protein C2c2 that targets RNA instead of DNA.
UC Berkeley to partner in $600M Chan Zuckerberg science ‘Biohub’
An unprecedented collaboration between the Bay Area’s three premier research universities.
When targeting cancer genes, zero in on the 1 percent
Most cancer drugs are designed to halt cell growth, the hallmark of cancer, and one popular target is the pathway that controls the production of a cell’s thousands of proteins.
Rush of wild nature lowers PTSD in veterans, at-risk teens
Preliminary results of the study suggest that nature-inspired curiosity can trigger positive feelings and ease symptoms of PTSD in the most wary and withdrawn personalities.
Faster, more efficient CRISPR editing in mice
UC Berkeley scientists have developed a quicker and more efficient method to alter the genes of mice with CRISPR-Cas9, simplifying a procedure growing in popularity because of the ease of using the new gene-editing tool.
Translating Genes’ Instructions
Sackler Sabbatical Exchange recipient Hiten Madhani studies how genome cutting machines in cells, called spliceosomes, are able to pluck genes away from other sequences of “letters” in strands of RNA.
Copper: A new player in health and disease
Chris Chang, who is part of the Sackler Sabbatical Exchange Program, carries out experiments to find proteins that bind to copper and may influence the storage and burning of fat.
Breastfeeding is good for yet another reason, researchers discover
A mother’s breast milk supports immune responses in her newborn that help the infant’s gut become a healthy home to a mix of bacterial species, thanks in part to newly identified antibodies from the mother, according to a study by UC Berkeley researchers.
Doudna named foreign member of UK’s Royal Society
Biochemist Jennifer Doudna has been named a foreign member of the prestigious Royal Society, a rare honor for a UC Berkeley faculty member.
California’s approach to healthcare marketplace held down premiums
A new study suggests Covered California’s authority to select health insurers successfully held down premium costs.
Do gut microbes shape our evolution?
Scientists increasingly realize the importance of gut and other microbes to our health and well-being, but one UC Berkeley biologist is asking whether these microbes — our microbiota — might also have played a role in shaping who we are by steering evolution.
The secret language of microbes
Fungi communicate by chemical signals only, but they, like humans, appear to use different dialects.
Teen girls see big drop in chemical exposure with switch in cosmetics
A new study led by researchers at UC Berkeley and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas demonstrates how even a short break from certain kinds of makeup, shampoos and lotions can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body.
Doudna joins Biden in Davos rollout of ‘cancer moonshot’
UC Berkeley biochemist Jennifer Doudna joined Joseph Biden this morning at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as the vice president promoted a major new U.S. initiative to speed the discovery of cures for cancer.
CRISPR-Cas9 helps uncover genetics of exotic organisms
The simplicity of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing will soon make studying the genes of any organism, from the simplest slime mold to the octopus, as easy as it now is to study the genes controlling development in standard lab animals such as nematodes, fruit flies, frogs and mice.
Reduced breathing capacity in kids linked to early pesticide exposure
Taking a deep breath might be a bit harder for children exposed early in life to a widely used class of pesticides in agriculture, according to a new paper by UC Berkeley researchers.
Bittman heads into the fields with children’s health researcher
Children in families that bring much of California’s fruit and vegetables out of fields and orchards pay a high price: Their bodies are damaged by the pesticides and other chemicals in their environment.
Virus in cattle linked to human breast cancer
A new study by UC Berkeley researchers establishes for the first time a link between infection with the bovine leukemia virus and human breast cancer.