Science + Health

Why Don’t We Do It in the Tree? New research sheds light on frog lovin’

Generally speaking, frogs are a lusty and uninhibited bunch. When it comes to lovin’, most ranids prefer an orgiastic approach. They congregate in tepid ponds in huge numbers, the females laying masses of gelatinous eggs, which the males then inseminate. Typically, the males grasp the females with the forelimbs to stimulate egg extrusion. So many frogs can get into the act that they sometimes form huge “mating balls” of quivering amphibian flesh. Read more about Why Don’t We Do It in the Tree? New research sheds light on frog lovin' »

Posted on August 8, 2016 - 1:22pm

Your Brain on Carbon Dioxide: Research Finds Even Low Levels of Indoor CO2 Impair Thinking

In the mid-2000s, William Fisk, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, stumbled upon two obscure Hungarian studies that challenged common assumptions about the air indoors. The studies suggested that, even at relatively low levels, carbon dioxide could impair how well people thought and worked. Read more about Your Brain on Carbon Dioxide: Research Finds Even Low Levels of Indoor CO2 Impair Thinking »

From the Summer 2016 Welcome to There issue of California.

Whooshing into the Future: Aiming to Make Speed-of-Sound Commutes a Reality

Remember pneumatic tubes, those compressed-air pipelines that whisked plastic canisters from basement mailrooms to penthouse boardrooms? Imagine being in one, traveling at more than 700 mph. You could make the round-trip from San Francisco to LA in a little over an hour. That may sound like science fiction, but it could one day be a reality thanks to the efforts of engineering students at UC Berkeley and elsewhere. Read more about Whooshing into the Future: Aiming to Make Speed-of-Sound Commutes a Reality »

From the Summer 2016 Welcome to There issue of California.

That’s So Metal: You Won’t Believe How These Bacteria Get Around

When we say “internal compass,” we’re usually referring to something metaphorical, a person’s innate sense of right and wrong. But for UC Berkeley microbiologists Arash Komeili and David Hershey, the term is literal: The two study magnetotactic bacteria, which navigate using tiny magnetic iron crystals called magnetosomes. Read more about That’s So Metal: You Won't Believe How These Bacteria Get Around »

From the Summer 2016 Welcome to There issue of California.

Flowing Consequences: Was Lifting Our Water Restrictions Really a Wise Move?

The decision by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration to lift mandatory water restrictions is good news for any Californian who likes to raise petunias and zucchini and take showers lasting longer than three minutes. But is it really a good idea? After all, last winter’s greatly hyped and much-anticipated El Niño turned out to be something of a bust. Read more about Flowing Consequences: Was Lifting Our Water Restrictions Really a Wise Move? »

Posted on May 27, 2016 - 2:52pm

I Just Don’t Get It: Why Do So Many People Treat Pets as Human Equals?

This rumination begins with a phone call from my brother, but it’s really about domestic animals, dogs and cats mostly, and our changing mores about them: How they are now viewed as peers and family members rather than pets, how we’ve come to define ourselves as their guardians rather than their owners, whether our growing obsession with them is somehow a simulacrum for the complicated and messy human relationships that formerly dominated our lives, and whether apotheosizing them somehow minimizes our sensitivity to human suffering. Read more about I Just Don't Get It: Why Do So Many People Treat Pets as Human Equals? »

Posted on May 19, 2016 - 12:14pm

Hunger at UC Berkeley: A Sizeable Share of Students are Financially Forced to Skip Meals

UC Berkeley sophomore Anthony Carrasco loves his Monday afternoon class lecture on the History of Punishment, but sometimes the torture feels a little too literal.

“Instead of thinking about the Panopticon, I start thinking about heating up the stove and frying eggs. I start to imagine all the things I could put on the eggs: cheese, hot sauce, salt, pepper,” he says. “It’s very difficult to process everything that’s going on and deal with just being really hungry.” Read more about Hunger at UC Berkeley: A Sizeable Share of Students are Financially Forced to Skip Meals »

Posted on May 10, 2016 - 12:02pm

An Unusual Life Unfolding: Noted Bear Biologist Gains Acclaim in Origami World

Bernie Peyton is profoundly dyslexic, and that made his early years growing up in New York City difficult. School was hellish: He struggled to read, he was bullied, and it was hard to make friends. Then when he was 9, his stepfather gave him a book that changed his life.

Peyton still has the book—a beautifully illustrated instruction manual on origami by Isao Honda that contains examples of various works pasted to the pages. He recently opened the volume in his Berkeley home, and thumbed through it reverently. Read more about An Unusual Life Unfolding: Noted Bear Biologist Gains Acclaim in Origami World »

Posted on May 3, 2016 - 12:35pm

Strength in Numbers: Inside the Berkeley Institute Where Math Geeks Rule

Ever see the TV game show Let’s Make a Deal? Contestants are given a choice of three doors and told that behind one of them is a shiny new sports car. If they pick door No. 1, the host may open door No. 2 to reveal that there’s nothing behind it. Then he asks if they want to stick with door No. 1 or switch to door No. 3. What’s the best move? Read more about Strength in Numbers: Inside the Berkeley Institute Where Math Geeks Rule »

Posted on April 26, 2016 - 7:13am

The Blind Leading the Blind: Designing an Inclusive World

Joshua Miele has been blind ever since a violent acid attack took away his vision before his 5th birthday. But he says he no longer spends time wishing he could see. Instead, from his office at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, he dreams up new technologies for the blind, and helps turn those visions into reality: maps that can talk, YouTube videos that can speak, electronic gloves that can text. Read more about The Blind Leading the Blind: Designing an Inclusive World »

Posted on April 20, 2016 - 5:41pm

Stretch Your Appeal: In Fast-Paced Dating World, Take Up Space to Stand Out

In online dating, a picture is worth much more than a thousand words. When Christian Rudder, a founder of OKCupid, analyzed the dating website’s data, he found that profile photos drove 90% of users’ choices. With so much riding on a split-second impression, what’s the best way to impress potential mates? Read more about Stretch Your Appeal: In Fast-Paced Dating World, Take Up Space to Stand Out »

Posted on March 31, 2016 - 7:21am

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