Peru’s Manu National Park sets new biodiversity record
Peru’s treasured Manu National Park is the world’s top biodiversity hotspot for reptiles and amphibians, according to a new survey published last week by biologist.
Report: Offshoring and outsourcing a mixed bag for American jobs, wages
A new study by UC Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers finds that the practices of outsourcing and offshoring jobs appear to have both positive and negative effects on American jobs and wages.
Time is now for a new revolution in urban water systems
As California grapples with what state water officials have called a drought of “epic proportions,” UC Berkeley urban-water expert David Sedlak has been watching for signs that people are ready for a water revolution.
Geographic variation of human gut microbes tied to obesity
People living in cold, northern latitudes have bacteria in their guts that may predispose them to obesity, according to a new study by UC Berkeley, and the University of Arizona, Tucson.
Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, Caltech boost number of minorities
The California Alliance, led by UC Berkeley, is setting a new course for diversifying the postdoctoral and faculty ranks at top-tier research universities nationwide.
“Ballistic transport ” – it sounds like a blast into the future
Felix Fischer and fellow researchers are fabricating strips of carbon only one-atom thick and less than 15 atoms wide, the aim is to create molecular-scale “wires” capable of carrying information thousands of times faster than is possible today.
Forever Valentine: Study shows marriage gets better in old age
UC Berkeley psychologist Robert Levenson looks back on his longitudinal study of 156 middle-aged and older couples in the San Francisco Bay Area who survived the slings and arrows of early wedlock.
New evidence that chronic stress predisposes brain to mental illness
University of California, Berkeley, researchers have shown that chronic stress generates long-term changes in the brain that may explain why people suffering chronic stress are prone to mental problems such as anxiety and mood disorders later in life.
Key process in photosynthesis likely evolved before oxygen
Key protein in photosynthesis likely evolved before oxygen Virginia Tech and UC Berkeley researchers discover that thioredoxin, a critical protein in photosynthesis, likely developed on Earth long before oxygen became available. Thioredoxin, the researchers found, plays an important role in methanogens, an ancient type of microbe found in deep-sea hydrothermal vents.
New insight into an emerging genome-editing tool
Biochemist Jennifer Doudna and biophysicist Eva Nogales led an international collaboration with results that point the way to the rational design of new and improved versions of Cas9 enzymes for basic research and genetic engineering.