You may not realize it, but that backyard hummingbird feeder filled with sugar water is a natural experiment in fermentation — yeast settle in and turn some of the sugar into alcohol. The same is true of nectar-filled flowers, which are an ideal gathering place for yeast — a type of fungus — and for […]
Robert Sanders, UC Berkeley
Posted inSci/Tech
Chrysalis, the lost moon that gave Saturn its rings
Rings appear to be common around planets in the solar system, but the dramatic rings of Saturn have long puzzled astronomers, as has the steep tilt of the rings and the planet’s rotation axis relative to its orbit around the sun. Scientists now show that the rings and the tilt are intimately linked, and that […]
Posted inSci/Tech
Reawakened geyser does not foretell Yellowstone volcanic eruptions
When Yellowstone National Park’s Steamboat Geyser — which shoots water higher than any active geyser in the world — reawakened in 2018 after three and a half years of dormancy, some speculated that it was a harbinger of possible explosive volcanic eruptions within the surrounding geyser basin. These so-called hydrothermal explosions can hurl mud, sand […]
Posted inCalifornia
UC Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
October 7, 2020 – University of California, Berkeley, biochemist Jennifer Doudna today won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, sharing it with colleague Emmanuelle Charpentier for the co-development of CRISPR-Cas9, a genome editing breakthrough that has revolutionized biomedicine. CRISPR-Cas9 allows scientists to rewrite DNA — the code of life — in any organism, including human […]
Posted inSci/Tech
UC Berkeley scientists spin up a robotic COVID-19 testing lab
March 30, 2020 – As doctors around the country scramble to diagnose cases of COVID-19, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI) are creating from scratch a diagnostic lab with the capability to process more than 1,000 patient samples per day. This pop-up laboratory, the effort of a unique volunteer team […]
Posted inCalifornia
Early warning for wildland fires? There could be an app for that
April 16, 2019 – While state and federal officials are looking ahead and worrying about the coming fire season and how to more quickly get in front of fast-moving blazes, a University of California, Berkeley, professor argues that the tools for rapid detection are already here. A weather satellite, GOES 17 (GOES West), sits above […]
Posted inWorld
Radar reveals details of mountain collapse after North Korea’s most recent nuclear test
May 10, 2018 – As North Korea’s president pledges to “denuclearize” the Korean peninsula, an international team of scientists is publishing the most detailed view yet of the site of the country’s latest and largest underground nuclear test on Sept. 3, 2017. Google Earth image of Mt. Mantap in North Korea showing the locations of […]
Posted inRegional
40-year experiment in Yosemite: Managing fire, rather than suppressing it, benefits forest and watershed
Oct. 24, 2016 – An unprecedented 40-year experiment in a 40,000-acre valley of Yosemite National Park strongly supports the idea that managing fire, rather than suppressing it, makes wilderness areas more resilient to fire, with the added benefit of increased water availability and resistance to drought. After a three-year, on-the-ground assessment of the park’s Illilouette […]
Posted inLife
Warming world may put most cities off-limits for summer Olympics
Berkeley, Calif. August 12, 2016 – The health and safety of Olympians has been an ongoing story at Summer Olympic games. In 2008, air quality raised concerns in Beijing, while 2016 has been dogged with questions about polluted water and the Zika virus. Now, a new commentary co-written by UC Berkeley professor Kirk Smith says […]