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College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences

Latest CNAS in the Media

Scientists Discover New Insect-Killing Worm, Promises Eco-Friendly Pest Control

TECH TIMES - Scientists at UC Riverside have unveiled a new weapon in the fight against crop pests: a tiny nematode species capable of infecting and eliminating insects. Named Steinernema adamsi after American biologist Byron Adams, this tiny worm holds the key to eco-friendly pest control in warm, humid regions where traditional methods falter. Nematodes...
By John Lopez | Tech Times |

RCSA Welcomes 2024 Class of Cottrell Scholars

RCSA - Research Corporation for Science Advancement, America's first foundation dedicated wholly to science, has named 19 early career scholars in chemistry, physics, and astronomy as recipients of its 2024 Cottrell Scholar Awards. Each awardee receives $120,000. “These awardees stand out not just for their excellence in teaching and research but for their potential,” said...

By Research Corporation for Science Advancement |

California Battered by Flash Floods and Hurricane-Level Winds

WALL STREET JOURNAL - Torrential rains hammered Southern California, flooding freeways, triggering mudslides that engulfed hillside homes and forcing authorities to rescue people trapped in raging waters. The deluge battered communities from Santa Barbara to San Diego, with up to 11 inches of rain falling in some places since Sunday, shattering rainfall records across the...
By Sara Randazzo, Suryatapa Bhattacharya, and Jim Carlton | The Wall Street Journal |

These dog breeds have a higher likelihood of getting cancer, according to new research

ABC NEWS - Researchers have discovered which dog breeds are more likely to get cancer, and the results disprove the notion that the largest dogs have a higher risk of the disease. It turns out that large -- but not the largest -- dog breeds generally have the highest cancer risk, according to the study...
By Julia Jacobo | ABC News |

A 'holy grail': Why 2 Californians believe they have the first footage of a white shark's birth

USA TODAY - A wildlife filmmaker and a biology student believe they may have captured the first-ever footage of a newborn great white shark. Carlos Gauna, a wildlife filmmaker, and Phillip Sternes, a UC Riverside biology doctoral student, used a drone to film a 5-foot-long white shark swimming 1,300 feet off the coast of Carpinteria...
By Doc Louallen | |

California Boasts World First Sighting of a Baby Great White Shark

NEWSWEEK - For the first time, a live baby great white shark has been spotted in the wild. The shark was around 5 feet long already and pure white, unlike its grey-colored adult counterparts, leading scientists to believe it could be a baby great white, according to a new paper discussing the finding in the...
By Jess Thomson | Newsweek |

Has great white shark newborn been caught on film for the first time?

BBC - As far as experts are aware, the birth of a great white shark has never been witnessed, but Carlos Gauna may have captured the closest thing to that. Carlos has found fame on YouTube as TheMalibuArtist and has filmed incredible shots of sharks from above with his drone. "You're basically viewing the sharks...
By James Clayton | BBC |

PICTURED: First-ever sighting of a newborn great white shark off the coast of California

THE DAILY MAIL - The first sighting of a newborn great white shark has been revealed in a new image that captured a five-foot-long, all-white predator swimming of the coast of California. The newborn great white shark was believed to be just hours old when scientists spotted it only 1,000 feet from the beach in...
By Nikki Main | DailyMail.com |

Pictures may offer a rare glimpse of a baby great white shark

THE WASHINGTON POST - A scientist and a wildlife filmmaker have captured what may be rare photos and video of a newborn great white shark, seen swimming just off the California coast near Santa Barbara. The footage, filmed by a drone last July, is stirring up excitement tinged with skepticism among experts who are eager...
By Carolyn Y. Johnson | The Washington Post |

These images may provide the world's first-ever look at a live newborn great white shark

CBS NEWS - Great white sharks are among the most notable of the ocean's apex predators, but a crucial part of their existence has never before been recorded, or even seen – until now. For the first time ever, an infant great white shark is believed to have been caught on camera, shortly after it...
By Li Cohen | CBS News |

This could be the first newborn great white shark ever captured on camera

POPULAR SCIENCE - A wildlife filmmaker and biology doctoral student have taken what could be the first picture of a newborn great white shark. The images and findings are described in a study published January 29 in the journal Environmental Biology of Fishes. On July 9, 2023, filmmaker Carlos Gauna and University of California, Riverside...
By Laura Baisas | Popular Science |

This might be the first newborn great white shark ever recorded

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC - For as much time and money as people have spent studying and filming great white sharks, no one has ever witnessed one being born. But new footage out of California might be the next best thing. On July 9, 2023, filmmaker Carlos Gauna and organismal biologist Phillip Sternes were following sharks with...
By Jason Bittel | National Geographic |

That giant extinct shark, Megalodon? Maybe it wasn't so mega

NPR / KCRW - The megalodon went extinct 3.6 million years ago, and is thought to be the largest shark that ever swam the Earth. But there's debate over what it looked like. Most scientists have described it as a bigger version of today's great white shark, a depiction that has informed its appearance on...
By Ari Daniel | NPR |

A Surprisingly Contentious Study Says the Megalodon Was Actually Skinny

POPULAR MECHANICS - We’re not quite sure if a new description of the extinct megalodon shark makes it more or less frightening. The fresh theory—described in a theory that was recently published in Palaeontologia Electronica—claims that the ancient creature was longer and slenderer than previously thought, with new estimates putting the size of the potentially...
By Tim Newcomb | Popular Mechanics |

Megalo-wrong? Megalodon looked vastly different than we imagined

ZME SCIENCE - The Megalodon, an ancient shark that dominated the oceans millions of years ago, has often been portrayed as a monstrous, oversized great white shark. This image, perpetuated by popular movies like “The Meg,” has been ingrained in the public consciousness. However, a new study is turning this perception on its head. Formally...
By Tibi Puiu | ZME Science |

Dark matter might keep itself company, and that helps solve 2 cosmic puzzles

ASTRONOMY - Maybe dark matter talks to itself, according to a new proposal, and that might just explain two cosmological mysteries at once. Dark matter is the name astronomers give to the mysterious substance that makes up the bulk of all matter in the universe. Upwards of 80 percent of the mass of a galaxy...
By Paul Sutter | Astronomy |

Scientists are discovering the truth about the Megalodon

UNILAD - For those of you who aren't aware of the legend of the megalodon - no it's not some made-up word a group of lads came up with in one of their group chats - it's the name of the largest shark ever known. The shark - known as Megalodon or simply The Meg...
By Poppy Bilderbeck | UNILAD |

Bulky or slender? Megalodon study reignites debate over extinct shark.

THE WASHINGTON POST - The extinct shark megalodon is often imagined as a beefy, supersize great white, with a gaping maw of pointy teeth capping off a powerful body that spanned 50 feet from nose to tail. Now, a team of more than two dozen scientists argues that the megalodon has been misunderstood, and may...
By Carolyn Y. Johnson | The Washington Post |

Megalodon didn't look like a 50-foot great white shark, controversial study claims

LIVE SCIENCE - Scientists say they have discovered a discrepancy in previous research and suggest megalodons may have been longer and more slender than previously believed — but not everyone is convinced. The team of 26 shark experts revealed their findings in a new study, published Jan. 21 in the journal Palaeontologia Electronica. Instead, megalodon...
By Melissa Hobson | Live Science |

Megalodon sharks were much less mighty than once thought, controversial new study claims

BBC SCIENCE FOCUS - A bold new study claims we’ve got the megalodon’s shape all wrong. According to the research, the monstrous prehistoric fish known as the megalodon (Otodus megalodon) may have been more of a long and slender shark than the chunky beast depicted by Hollywood. Nose to tail, the megalodon is generally thought...
By Noa Leach | BBC Science Focus |
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