Biological Sciences

Research into Hidden Chemistry Shaping Future Air Quality Earns Zhang an NSF Award

September 8, 2025

As nations cut emissions that once fueled urban smog, scientists are discovering unexpected chemistry taking place in the atmosphere. UC Merced Professor Xuan Zhang is leading a project to uncover how these chemical shifts could affect the air we breathe and the climate. The project is supported...

Founding Professor Named Associate Dean of Natural Sciences

The School of Natural Sciences has a new associate dean for Academic Programs, founding faculty member Professor Michael Colvin. “With his experience as a researcher and administrator,...

Harrison Duran, a fifth-year biology student, discovered a Triceratops skull during a paleontology dig in North Dakota.

Undergrad Discovers Triceratops Skull on Paleontology Dig in North Dakota

Harrison Duran has always wanted to discover ‘the land before time,’ and his desire to dig up dinosaur bones led him to the Badlands of North Dakota, where Alice the Triceratops was...

Biochemistry Researcher Named to NIH Review Board

Professor Andy LiWang has accepted an appointment to the National Institutes of Health’s Macromolecular Structure and Function B (MSFB) Study Section Center for Scientific Review. Over his...

UC Merced's Gateway Scholarship, College Track and KIPP program partnerships provide students the tools and support needed to be successful at the university.

University Promotes Social Mobility Through Local and Regional Programs

UC Merced students come from all over the state, some from very long distances. But for dozens of students just five miles away from campus, getting here took its own kind of journey. Becoming...

Sierra Seedlings Illustrate Effects of Climate Change on Next Generation of Forests

Climate change is bad news for forests, and a new study by UC Merced Professor Emily Moran demonstrates one aspect of that news. Higher summer temperatures hurt tree seedlings’ growth and...

Pre-Health Advising Program Prepares Future Health Professionals

Hundreds of students join the UC Merced campus each year intent on health-related careers. What they might not know, though, is that there are resources on campus that can be critical in helping...

Grad’s Passion for Research Leading Her to Dartmouth College

Asmaa Mohamed’s enthusiasm for research is contagious. Her passion not only radiates through her words, but it is also evident in the research career she has built in her undergraduate years at...

Ph.D. students Craig Ennis and Vicky Espinoza visited Sacramento with Vice Provost and Graduate Dean Marjorie Zatz to speak with lawmakers about the contribution of graduate research to California's development.

Graduate Students Make a Case for Research at Capitol

Two UC Merced Ph.D. students took to the State Capitol yesterday with representatives from the other UC campuses to advocate for the importance of the research being done across California. Craig...

Leafhopper Insects Enlighten Researchers About Complex Bacterial Relationships

All complex life evolves in alliance with, in defense of or in reaction to bacteria. A new paper by UC Merced Professor Gordon Bennett demonstrates one of the novel ways the relationship can...