For Human Settlements on Mars, Solar Power May Beat Nuclear Energy
Photovoltaics may be more practical for long stays on Mars thanks to today’s light, flexible solar panels. According to new research by scientists at the…
UC Berkeley News
Major Breakthrough in Engineered Crystals Could Help Computers Run on Less Power
A new material created by University of California, Berkeley, researchers could reduce the energy required to control advanced silicon transistors. Computers may be growing smaller…
Research Supports “Drunken Monkey” Hypothesis: Humans Inherited Love of Alcohol From Primate Ancestors
Monkeys routinely consume fruit containing alcohol, shedding light on our own taste for booze. For 25 years, UC Berkeley biologist Robert Dudley has been intrigued…
Paleontologist’s New Theory for Why T. rex Had Such Ridiculously Short Arms
T. rex’s short arms may have lowered risk of bites during feeding frenzies. Over the two decades paleontologist Kevin Padian taught a freshman seminar called…
Scientists Have Finally Sequenced the Complete Human Genome – And Revealed New Genetic Secrets
Repetitive DNA sequences around centromere show history of human genetic variation. Scientists lied a little when they revealed the entire sequencing of the human genome…
FDA-Approved Drug May Help Revive Vision in People With Progressive Blinding Disorders
Test of drug could prove role of hyperactive retinal cells in blindness, potentially leading to better therapies. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, have…
Evolution Is Conservative: Reconstructing the Chromosomes of the Earliest Animals on Earth
Many of today’s marine invertebrates, including sponges and jellyfish, have chromosomes with the same ancient structure they inherited from their primitive ancestors more than 600…
Radioactive Kilonova Glow Suggests Rapid Spin Delayed Collapse of Neutron Stars Into Black Hole
Excess X-ray emissions from remnant four years after merger hint at bounce from delayed collapse. When two neutron stars spiral into one another and merge…
Refocusing Dark Matter Search: New Supercomputer Simulations Refine Axion Mass
Using adaptive mesh refinement, supercomputer simulation narrows axion mass range. Physicists searching — unsuccessfully — for today’s most favored candidate for dark matter, the axion,…
Avoiding Climate Catastrophe: Global Elimination of Meat Production Could Save the Planet
Eliminating all animal agriculture within the next 15 years would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also pull carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A new…
Increased Myelin in Brain’s Gray Matter Linked to Anxiety and PTSD
Resilience to stress and differential symptoms correlate with regional changes in the brain. A recent study links anxiety behavior in rats, as well as post…
“Community Genetic Editing” – Using CRISPR To Modify Genes in Multiple Cell Types Simultaneously
Two new methods allow CRISPR editing of genes in multiple cell types simultaneously. To date, CRISPR enzymes have been used to edit the genomes of…
Legendary Flying Reptile: Fleshing Out the Bones of Quetzalcoatlus, Earth’s Largest Flier Ever
70 million-year-old fossils reveal unique walking behavior of this huge, heron-like pterosaur. Look around any wetland today and you’re likely to see 3-foot-tall egrets or…
Creating Time Crystals Using New Quantum Computing Architectures
UC Berkeley physicist Norman Yao first described five years ago how to make a time crystal — a new form of matter whose patterns repeat…
So-Called Junk DNA – Genetic “Dark Matter” – Is Actually Critical to Survival in Mammals
Knocking out transposon promoter leads to pup death in mice; similar promoters found in many mammals. Nearly half of our DNA has been written off…
These Incredible Geckos Crash-Land on Rainforest Trees but Don’t Fall, Thanks to Their Tails
Scientists find another use for lizards’ versatile tails: stabilization after headfirst crashes. A gecko’s tail is a wondrous and versatile thing. In more than 15…
Let Them Burn? How Wildfire Restored a Lost Forest Ecosystem in Yosemite
Half a century of allowing lightning fires to burn in Yosemite’s Illilouette Creek Basin has created a lost forest ecosystem that is far more resilient…
Machine Learning Breakthrough: Using Satellite Images To Improve Human Lives at a Global Scale
Berkeley-based project could support action worldwide on climate, health, and poverty. More than 700 imaging satellites are orbiting the earth, and every day they beam…
