Lorena Anderson

Researchers Rebuild Microscopic Circadian Clock That Can Control Genes

February 10, 2026

Blue-green algae in flasks are used by researchers at UC Merced and UC San Diego to further the understanding of circadian clocks. Image courtesy of UC San Diego.

Our circadian clocks play a crucial role in our health and well-being, keeping our 24-hour biological cycles in sync with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, as with jet lag and daylight saving time, can throw our daily rhythms out of whack. But a group of...

UC Solar Graduate Student Lighting the Night in a Controlled Way

One of the most stunning sights in Yosemite National Park has nothing to do with granite. It’s the night sky, Milky Way and all. But light pollution within the park can diminish that experience for...

Campus Takes Steps to Stay Green Despite Drought

Don’t be surprised if, as the warmer weather kicks in, you continue to see green lawns at UC Merced. Maintenance crews are not using more water to keep the quad lush. In fact, they are using less....

Professor’s Mercurial Studies Involve Tree Bark, Fish and Water

From the forests of Tuscany, Italy, to the shores of a San Diego reservoir, Professor Marc Beutel is hunting mercury. Beutel, one of the newest professors in the UC Merced School of Engineering, has...

MACES Focuses on Tiny Particles, Broad Horizons

Researchers at UC Merced are making a big deal out of a piece of equipment that lets them look at really tiny things. And they should — the new Zeiss Gemini SEM 500 scanning electron microscope is...

Students Show Climate Impacts, Pitch Solutions in UC-wide Contest

Several students, faculty members and the provost represented UC Merced at the University of California’s recent Carbon Slam event, placing in the presentation competitions and increasing the campus’...

Students Present the Face of Yosemite to the First Family

For many UC Merced students, visiting Yosemite is a relaxing way to spend a weekend. But for several UC Merced students, the past weekend was extremely hectic and a little nerve-wracking — but full...

Studying the ’Saurs: New Class is a ‘Gateway to Science’

One of the campus’s newest professors is teaching one of its newest classes on one of the world’s oldest subjects: dinosaurs. But there’s much more to Professor Justin Yeakel’s Natural History of...

Bioengineering Student Wins Strauss Scholarship to Help Visually Impaired

Harkanwalpreet Sodhi, a third-year bioengineering student, won a $10,000 Donald A. Strauss Foundation scholarship to help visually impaired people in Merced. The scholarship will help Sodhi start a...

Scientists Unveiling the Complexity of Mysterious Protein Folding

Imagine trying to reverse engineer a car when all you have is a finished product or a box full of parts — no instructions. That’s what scientists have been trying to do with proteins, the mysterious...