Skip to content

Research

Rising Simultaneous Fire Weather Threatens International Firefighting Efforts

February 18, 2026

Depicted is a scene of burned-out trees and ash in the wake of the Caldor Fire.
High-risk conditions for fires are increasingly happening across countries at the same time, making wildfires even more challenging to tackle, new research reveals. Scientists from UC Merced and the University of East Anglia found this synchronized extreme fire weather — characterized by...
Professor Andy LiWang

LiWang’s Research into Biological Clocks Earns Protein Society Honors

Professor Andy LiWang knows what makes us tick, at least at a cellular level. His research into the mechanisms of the oldest biological clock known to humankind has led him to understand how...
Professor Sora Kim swam with a Nile crocodile for this year's Shark Week special, which focuses of sharks versus prehistoric reptiles. Photo courtesy of Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Professor Dives with Crocs, Displays Megalodon Expertise During Shark Week

Shark Week starts Sunday and Professor Sora Kim will be featured again this year in a special airing at 9 p.m. Monday, titled “Jaws vs. Mega Croc,” and the filming allowed her to swim...
Photo depicts Brittany Barreto Martinez pouring liquid into a test tube in a lab.

UC Merced Breakthrough Could Transform How California Monitors Toxic Algae

San Luis Reservoir in Merced County - one of California's largest artificial lakes - not only irrigates Central Valley farmland and supplies drinking water across Silicon Valley and the South Bay...
UC Merced Professor Christopher Ojeda and his book "The Sad Citizen"

Depression Due to Politics: the Quiet Danger to Democracy

On laptop screens, televisions and social media feeds across the nation, images and words fueled by a fractured political landscape spout anger, frustration and resentment. Clashing ideologies burst...
Professor Clarissa Nobile investigates the mechanisms of biofilm infections that affect human health.

NIH Grant Enables Outstanding Investigator to Advance Knowledge of Microbial Infections

The National Institutes of Health are backing Professor Clarissa Nobile ’s mission to understand the mechanisms by which microbes form biofilms, specifically those that can be hazardous to...
Photo depicts construction materials at a building site.

Study: Mass Deportations Would Cost California Economy $275 Billion, Decimate Critical Industries

Mass deportation of California's undocumented residents would open a $275 billion hole in the state's economy, cripple industries ranging from agriculture to hospitality, disrupt countless...
Image depicts UC Merced mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro talking to students near a small robot.

Championing the Transition to Clean Energy

Mechanical engineering Professor Ricardo Pinto de Castro has turned a penchant for systems-level thinking and a longtime love of cars into a climate-resilient research mission. From electric...
Stock image depicts an electronic flight board with multiple delays at an unnamed airport.

Disruptions in the Digital Supply Chain Can Have Major Physical Impacts

Last July, a glitch in a software upgrade by a cybersecurity company impacted 8.5 million computers, resulting in the cancellation of 2,800 flights and delays for 11,000 more. In an increasingly...
Hurricane Bud left some surprising changes in its wake, UC Merced researchers found.

Hurricanes Create Powerful Changes Deep in the Ocean, Study Reveals

With careful planning and a little luck, researchers found a surprising upside to hurricanes after a Category 4 storm disrupted their expedition off the coast of Mexico. The team was able to...

Pages