Lorena Anderson

Astronomers Reveal Hidden Activity in the Early Universe’s Most Massive Galaxies

January 5, 2026

Spectroscopy at the UC's W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the researchers interpret complex data about ultramassive galaxies. Photo courtesy of the W.M. Keck Observatory.

An international team of astronomers has studied ultramassive galaxies - galaxies containing more than 100 billion stars - as they existed when the universe was less than 2 billion years old. The results show that while some of these ultramassive galaxies, or UMGs, had already shut down star...

Paleorecord Critical to Future Conservation Efforts, Scientists Say

The rapid pace of global change has large impacts on nature, and on the work conservation biologists will have before them, too. From here on out, experts say, the fossil record is going to be...

Renewable Power Project Could Help Cut Food Processing Costs, Feed People and Animals

Researchers at UC Solar have developed and tested an innovative solar thermal-powered process for turning the pomace, or byproduct, of vegetable and fruit processing into reusable products,...

Startups Poised to Make Strides for Local Economy

Two startup companies run by UC Merced alumni have taken big steps toward the kind of success many entrepreneurs can only hope for. St. Vincent’s Solutions, which makes a humidifying respirator for...

Ancient Biological Clockwork Revealed Using ‘Secret Sauce’

In finding a way to see assemblies of the proteins that direct cyanobacterial circadian rhythms, or biological clocks, UC Merced biochemistry Professor Andy LiWang and his colleagues have done what...

New Initiative Advances Agriculture Technology Education

As agriculture and food production achieve greater high-tech heights and resources such as water become more scarce, the country will increasingly depend on innovative solutions from its brightest ...

New UC Solar Project Produces Both Heat and Power

One of California’s greatest energy challenges is finding innovative ways to lower natural gas consumption to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. To help meet that...

New Math Center Aims to Enhance Student Support, Success

Student success has always been a priority at UC Merced, and now students looking for support in math have an additional resource with the launch of The Math Center. “We’re very excited to...

Annual Research Week Celebrates UC Merced’s Innovation and Advances

It’s time for the annual celebration of one of the main missions of UC Merced, along with education and public service — research. From March 6-10, people on and off campus can...

Precision Targeting Provides New Insights Into Therapy-Resistant Cancers

The National Cancer Institute’s “cancer moonshot” tasks researchers with, among advancing other new biotechnologies, delving into immunotherapy and epigenomic analysis. UC Merced Professor Fabian V....