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College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

Latest CNAS in the Media

From worlds that look like cotton candy to others covered in volcanoes, these are the strangest and most captivating exoplanets

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Are we alone in the universe? While no one can say for sure, space scientists know where to start looking—exoplanets. An exoplanet is a planet beyond the cradle of Earth’s eight-membered solar system. Hundreds of billions of these extraterrestrial kingdoms swarm our galaxy, and hundreds of sextillions of others exist beyond that...
By Shi En Kim | Smithsonian Magazine |

22 Miles on Foot, 10 Minutes on a Tram: An ‘Extraordinary’ Day Hike

THE NEW YORK TIMES - The steep trail near the top of the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway was covered in inches of spongy fallen needles and peppered with ankle-twisting pine cones. It was also shady, which felt remarkable after the first seven miles of the grueling Cactus to Clouds hike offered little more than a...
By Dina Mishev | The New York Times |

Can parasitic weeds be tricked into dying? Scientists think so.

EARTH.COM - For centuries, farmers have struggled to keep their crops safe. Droughts, pests, and poor soil are common challenges. But among the most silent and destructive enemies are parasitic weeds. These plants do not grow on their own. Instead, they cling to healthy crops and steal vital nutrients. In regions already battling food insecurity...
By Sanjana Gajbhiye | Earth.com |

James Webb Space Telescope could find signs of life on alien 'hycean' ocean worlds

SPACE.COM - Hycean worlds, which are a possible kind of exoplanet with deep oceans surrounded by a thick envelope of hydrogen, could provide the best chance for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect biosignatures, according to a new study. Those potential signs of life are a group of chemicals called methyl halides, which...
By Paul Sutter | Space.com |

Strong infrared signals could reveal alien life on "waterworld" planets

NEWS ATLAS - Finding alien life won’t be as dramatic as a flying saucer landing on the White House lawn – it’ll be NASA scientists holding a press conference to excitedly show off a chart that’s incomprehensible to most people. Now, we’re a step closer to that boring but groundbreaking day. Astronomers from the University...
By Michael Irving | News Atlas |

Alien life could be hiding in gases on faraway planets - breakthrough revelation

GB NEWS - Scientists have discovered that alien existence could be hiding in gases on distant planets. New research suggests extraterrestrial beings might exist in gases called methyl halides on faraway worlds. Researchers believe this approach could provide a relatively quick and easy way to examine potential signs of life beyond Earth. On Earth, methyl...

By Georgina Cutler | GB News |

If the Webb telescope detects these molecules, they may point to life

MASHABLE - Considering humans don't have a spacecraft capable of traveling to planets beyond the solar system, scientists have to get creative if they want to find clues of life existing light-years away. Now a group of scientists is proposing a new way for astronomers to look for signs of aliens using the James Webb...
By Elisha Sauers | Mashable |

Weird planets may be the best place to look for strange alien life, according to new research

EARTH.COM - Scientists have searched for alien life for years, but space is huge, and technology has limits, making it hard to find answers. Traditionally, researchers have focused on finding planets similar to Earth, believing that conditions mirroring our own would be the best place to look for life. However, a new study suggests that...
By Eric Ralls | Earth.com |

Of Chupacabras and Coyotes

THE RAINCROSS GAZETTE - Scotland has the Loch Ness monster, Tibet has the yeti, and the Pacific Northwest has Bigfoot. Cryptozoology is the study of such creatures—legendary animals which may or may not be real. Riverside has its own cryptozoological species: the chupacabra. The Chupacabra The origin of the chupacabra is younger than I am...
By Norm Ellstrand | The Raincross Gazette |

UCR CECI: Developing Instruments to See the Dark Universe in a New Light

WEBSEDGE SCIENCE - Our ability to observe the universe has gone hand in hand with the advances in technology we’ve made to do so. To understand the mysteries of the universe, we’ve gone from visible light, to ultraviolet and infrared, x-ray and gamma-ray. Today, as cosmologists begin to detect even more opaque phenomena like gravitational...
By WebsEdge Science |

Megalodon Might Have Been Longer and Skinnier Than Previously Thought, Growing Up to 80 Feet

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Megalodons might have been longer and thinner than previously thought, according to a new study. The enormous, extinct sharks, scientists now say, grew to between 54 and 80 feet long and weighed about 94 tons. Earlier estimates had them at a maximum of 50 feet. Based on the massive size of the...
By Sara Hashemi | Smithsonian Magazine |

Giant Megalodon super shark was actually more like a whale

METRO UK - Experts have said the prehistoric predator the Megaladon was a ‘sleeker’ creature than the one portrayed in the 2018 movie, where a beast akin to a great white shark wrought havoc in the ocean. Using an innovative study approach, a team of scientists sought to better understand the biology of the animal...
By Ben Lynch | METRO UK |

Megalodon Wasn’t a Fat Great White—It Was a Sleek Lean Killing Machine

ZME SCIENCE - If Meg 3 ever happens, the filmmakers might need to ditch the oversized great white shark trope. A new study published in Palaeontologia Electronica found that the famous megalodon wasn’t just an outsized version of today’s great white shark. Researchers now say this ancient super-predator was a longer, more streamlined animal built...
By Jordan Strickler | ZME Science |

Megalodon: Scientists Reveal a Crucial Surprise About The Mega-Shark

SCIENCE ALERT - It remains a sad fact of this world that we will never know for certain what the long-lost megalodon truly looked like – but a new study gives us what may be the most accurate reconstruction yet. An international team led by paleontologist Kenshu Shimada of DePaul University in the US has...
By Michelle Starr | ScienceAlert |

Megalodon may have been ‘even longer’ than we thought

POPULAR SCIENCE - If you picture a megalodon, chances are you envision what amounts to a gigantic great white shark. The image is understandable, given almost every depiction of the ancient apex predators across research and pop culture. But last year, an international team put forth a new anatomical design based on their analysis of...
By Andrew Paul | Popular Science |

Bringing the Beautiful Data of the Electron-Ion Collider to Life

BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY - Pixels and particles collide, thanks to a pioneering student’s idea to mesh the world of video game technology with real-world physics. Sean Preins, a doctoral student in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside), has developed a customizable virtual reality program called VIRTUE, or...
By Amber Aponte | Brookhaven National Laboratory |

Here’s an easy way you can help California native wildflowers thrive

LAIST.COM - California wildflower blooms aren’t expected to be as big this year, but there’s an easy action you could take to help other native plants grow around you. A new study from researchers at UC Riverside found that raking away thatch — a tan layer of dead plant debris produced by invasive plants like...
By Cato Hernández | LAist.com |

Smart sensors help beekeepers monitor hive health

EARTH.COM - Honeybees have been indispensable to agriculture for centuries. Their role in pollination supports food production, contributing to the growth of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and coffee. Without bees and proper hive health, many crops would struggle, leading to food shortages. But bee populations are shrinking due to bad weather, chemicals, and pests. This harms...
By Sanjana Gajbhiye | Earth.com |

California researchers find new manzanita with gray shaggy bark growing near Santa Barbara

VENTURA COUNTY STAR - California scientists discovered a new species of manzanita, believed to grow only in places along the state’s south-central coast. And unlike its sister shrubs, its bark is gray instead of red, its discoverers said. As far as researchers know, the new species of native California shrub grows only near the Santa...
By Jessica Skropanic | Ventura County Star |

Waggle wars: Honeybees’ dance moves boost food hunts for the hive - Study

INTERESTING ENGINEERING - In light of the diminishing number of honeybees, a computer science team from UC Riverside has developed the technology to improve beehive health in commercial settings. “Over the last year, the U.S. lost over 55% of its honeybee colonies,” Boris Baer , UCR professor of entomology, told UC Riverside News. “We are...
By Maria Mocerino | Interesting Engineering |
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