Research News

During the late Cretaceous period, more than 65 million years ago, hundreds of different species of birds flitted around the dinosaurs and through the forests as abundantly as they flit about our woods and fields today. But after the cataclysm that wiped out most of the dinosaurs, only one group of birds remained: the ancestors of the birds we see today. Why did only one family survive the mass extinction?

Telling low-income California high school students that they “belong” in college makes them more more likely to apply for the financial aid needed to attend college.

A new flexible sensor developed by engineers at UC Berkeley can map blood-oxygen levels over large areas of skin, tissue and organs, potentially giving doctors a new way to monitor healing wounds in real time.

Extreme angst is on the rise nationally and globally, especially among teens and millennials. Among other factors, preliminary findings from UC Berkeley sleep researchers point to a chronic lack of deep restorative sleep.

Self-driving cars may one day do more than just get us from point A to point B. By adjusting their speed and position while they merge they could also help reduce the bottlenecks and random slowdowns on busy thoroughfares like the Bay Bridge, getting us where we’re going faster and more efficiently than if we all drove ourselves.

A new research hub based at UC Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research in Washington, D.C., will explore the health effects of income and workplace policies.

The University of California announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent Number 10,113,167, covering unique RNA guides that, when combined with the Cas9 protein, are effective at homing in on and editing genes.

Meal kits make cooking easier for millions of busy families and time-starved professionals. But a new study suggests that the workers filling boxes with pre-portioned ingredients and recipe cards are struggling with low wages, unaffordable benefits, unpredictable schedules, inconsistent wage increase policies, risk of injuries and recurrent problems with timely payment.

New research may soon make it more practical to use battery-powered vehicles and devices in extreme temperatures.

As multiple research groups around the world race to build a scalable quantum computer questions remain about how the achievement of quantum supremacy will be verified.

UC San Francisco doctors working closely with UC Berkeley scientists plan to edit genomes to correct rare genetic mutations and slow or halt progression of their diseases. Within a few years we may see the first patients benefiting from CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.

Lion conservation is at a tipping point. After dropping 43 percent over the past two decades – to about 20,000 – the populations of these big cats are in decline, but could still bounce back with proper protections.

Two years ago, Norman Yao made a big splash by showing physicists how to create a unique material — a time crystal — that reimagines the idea of flashy diamonds and emeralds. That breakthrough helped Yao garner a fellowship from the Packard Foundation.

An ancient group of microbes that contains some of the smallest life forms on Earth also has the smallest CRISPR gene-editing machinery discovered to date.

Retaining a bit of the wild in our working lands – including farmland, rangeland and forests – may be key to preserving biodiversity in the face of climate change.

The American Cancer Society will bestow its highest honor, the Medal of Honor, on Jennifer Doudna and four others. The medal is awarded to distinguished individuals who have made valuable contributions in the fight against cancer through basic research, clinical research and cancer control.