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College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

Latest CNAS in the Media

Some tomatoes are evolving backwards in real time, scientists find

POPULAR MECHANICS - The famous ape-to-man illustration, known as The March of Progress, depicts evolution as a one-way street toward evolutionary perfection—but nature isn’t always so simple. Many organisms have displayed what appears to be “reverse evolution,” or regression, where ancient attributes of past ancestors seem to reappear down the evolutionary line. Cave fish, for...
By Darren Orf | Popular Mechanics |

Something strange is happening to tomatoes growing on the Galápagos Islands

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Some tomatoes growing on the Galápagos Islands appear to be going back in time by producing the same toxins their ancestors did millions of years ago. Scientists describe this development—a controversial process known as “reverse evolution”—in a June 18 paper published in the journal Nature Communications. Tomatoes are nightshades, a group of...
By Sarah Kuta | Smithsonian Magazine |

These wild tomatoes are reversing millions of years of evolution

ZME SCIENCE - On the Galápagos Islands, wild tomatoes are producing molecules not seen since the Ice Age, reversing a genetic trajectory millions of years in the making. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of California, Riverside and the Weizmann Institute of Science have documented a rare and striking example...
By Tudor Tarita | ZME Science |

Retro tomatoes: a species of the plant is evolving backward

THE WEEK - Some tomatoes have evolved to possess the characteristics of their ancestors. While it is rare, there have been instances of species displaying traits from further back in evolution. But for the first time, scientists have now been able to prove it through genetic evidence. And there's potential for similar evolutionary changes in...
By Devika Rao, The Week US |

New system attracts and eliminates termites with a natural scent and no toxins

EARTH.COM - Sagging beams and hollow‑sounding walls can signal a menace that quietly drains bank accounts around the world – termites. Building owners and insurers spend close to $5 billion a year fixing damage and fighting infestations. Now, a team of researchers led by Dong‑Hwan Choe at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) say they...
By Jordan Joseph | Earth.com |

Scientists shed light on the mysterious 'cold blob' in the North Atlantic amid a search for its cause

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - Just south of Greenland, in the northern Atlantic Ocean, a strange area of water has been confounding scientists for years. While the rest of the ocean warms, that patch has been mysteriously cooling. Researchers have offered different theories behind this “cold blob,” such as changes in ocean circulation patterns or aerosol pollution...
By Sara Hashemi | Smithsonian Magazine |

The Atlantic's major circulation current is showing worrying signs, but is collapse near?

IFLSCIENCE - Something’s stirring in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – and a strange “hole” of cold water in the North Atlantic may provide new clues about what’s up. But is the system on the brink of full-blown collapse, or will it keep churning on despite mounting pressure? The AMOC is “the conveyor belt...
By Tom Hale | IFLScience |

A plague of pests is coming for California. Here’s how to stop it.

THE NEW YORK TIMES - Back in the late 1880s, California citrus farmers found themselves dealing with a crisis caused by a fat bug covered in a shieldlike, granular white wax. Known as the cottony cushion scale, this insect, which had hitchhiked aboard ships from Australia, usually spends its entire life with its mouth affixed...
By Andrew Zaleski | The New York Times |

Physicists solve a 50-year mystery about a critically important molecule

GIZMODO - After relying on an educated guess for decades, scientists have finally confirmed the dipole moment of aluminum monochloride (AlCl), an elusive but important molecule known to sneak around the interiors of ancient galaxies. An electric dipole moment is a measure of polarity—a crucial determinant for many physical properties of any system, such as...
By Gayoung Lee | Gizmodo |

A Mysterious Blob of Cold Water Defies Ocean Heat – Now We Know Why

SCIENCE ALERT - Over the last decade, Earth's oceans have been warming at unprecedented rates, yet one mysterious blob of water, just south of Greenland, has defied this trend. It has stubbornly remained colder than its surrounding waters for over a century now. "People have been asking why this cold spot exists," says University of...

By Tessa Koumoundouros | Science Alert |

Meet the tomatoes that are evolving backwards – with a toxic twist

NEW ATLAS - The evolutionary ladder is meant to be climbed one rung at a time with an organism shedding some traits and gaining others on the way up. However, in a very surprising twist, some tomatoes on the Galapagos islands are inching back down the ladder. When they found the backwards-reaching plants, researchers from...
By Michael Franco | New Atlas |

Reverse evolution? These wild tomatoes are turning back time

EARTH.COM - Evolution is taking an unexpected turn on the volcanic islands of the western Galápagos. Wild tomato plants are producing a toxic blend of chemicals that hasn’t existed in their species for millions of years. Somehow, these plants have started making molecules more like eggplants than the modern tomato. This bizarre twist in evolution...
By Rodielon Putol | Earth.com |

These plants might actually be de-evolving

BGR - We know that the world and its various inhabitants, from plants to animals, are still evolving. In fact, some even believe that humans are actively evolving in different parts of the world right now. But a group of plants found in the Galápagos archipelago might be doing the opposite and de-evolving. Researchers argue...
By Joshua Hawkins | BGR |

Evolution experts say wild tomatoes in Galápagos are going 'back in time'

BBC WILDLIFE MAGAZINE - Evolution is commonly thought of as a process that creates new and more complicated traits. But this is not always the case. On the youngest islands of the Galápagos archipelago, wild tomato plants have adapted to their environment by producing toxins identical to those used by their ancestors millions of years...
By Beki Hooper | BBC Wildlife Magazine |

Mystery behind cold blob in the Atlantic Ocean finally solved

LIVE SCIENCE - Researchers have finally answered a longstanding question about a giant patch of cold water in the Atlantic Ocean, blaming a change in ocean currents for the unexpected cooling. The anomaly, located just south of Greenland, is — perhaps counterintuitively — called the North Atlantic Warming Hole, and it has been stumping scientists...
By Perri Thaler | Live Science |

Evolution Running Backwards? Thats What This Unlikely Organism Appears To Be Doing

IFLSCIENCE - We typically think of evolution as progressing in one direction, with a species getting “better” and “better” as it goes. But evolution is far more complex than that, as has recently been illustrated by an unusual organism: Galápagos tomatoes. These wild-growing fruits are shedding millions of years of evolution in order to reproduce...
By Dr. Russell Moul | IFLScience |

One fruit may be evolving in reverse

NEWSWEEK - Wild tomatoes on the Galápagos Islands are rewinding millions of years of evolution, according to a new study. Scientists at the University of California, Riverside found that these tomatoes—descended from South American ancestors likely brought to the Pacific archipelago by birds—are producing a toxic molecular cocktail not seen in millions of years. Biologists...
By Daniella Gray | Newsweek |

The self-preserving reason queen bees take small breaks

A-Z ANIMALS - In chess, the queen is the most valuable piece for a player. She’s capable of making any move, which also makes her the most protected after the king. In a bee colony, the queen holds the same rank. She plays the role of a worker bee, mother, and a leader. Without her...
By Lianna Tedesco | A-Z Animals |

Cold spot discovered in the Atlantic Ocean could signal big trouble for global climate

EARTH.COM - For over 100 years, the North Atlantic has hosted an anomaly. South of Greenland lies a patch of cool ocean water. This region, called the North Atlantic Warming Hole (NAWH), defies global warming. Scientists long debated its cause. A new study now shows that the weakening of a vital ocean current – the...
By Sanjana Gajbhiye | Earth.com |

Scientists are trying to explain a mysterious ‘cold spot’ south of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean

THE DEBRIEF - University of California-Riverside (UCR) scientists studying a massive, mysterious cold spot south of Greenland in the Atlantic Ocean have determined the most likely cause is the slowing of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), which delivers warmer, saltier waters from the tropical latitudes to northern latitudes. “People have been asking why this...
By Christopher Plain | The Debrief |
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