Health

Study Indicates Human-caused Dust Events are Linked to Fallow Farmland

June 2, 2025

The Central Valley is a major contributor to a growing dust problem, in large part because of agriculture, researchers say.

An average of more than 1 million acres of idled farmland a year is a significant contributor to a growing dust problem in California that has implications for millions of residents’ health and the state’s climate. A new study published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment...

Professor Shahar Sukenik, center, with graduate students Eduardo Flores and Karina Guadalupe, investigate intrinsically disordered proteins.

Chemistry Lab Receives NSF Funding to Study How Proteins Protect from Dehydration

Like many people this summer, Professor Shahar Sukenik has dehydration on his mind. But it’s not the soaring outside temperatures prompting this focus. Dehydration has been a theme of his...

Antibiotic Resistance Found in Insecticides Commonly Used in California

The over the counter, “safe,” organic-compliant insecticides people purchase at home-improvement stores could be causing a problem that goes far beyond the vegetable garden or farm field...

'Saber Es Poder' Website Offers COVID-19 Resources, Including Vaccine Information

UC Merced and Cultiva La Salud have partnered to launch a new Spanish-language website aimed at providing the community with a wide range of information about the coronavirus. "...

Central Valley Caravan to Provide Labor Rights Information to Farmworkers

Farmworkers can learn more about their labor rights and workplace safety protections as a mobile informational caravan makes multiple stops across the Central Valley this weekend. UC Merced's...

Rotary District Scholar to Conduct Sanitation Research in Haiti

With COVID-19 protections lifting, many people are eager to travel again. Among them is graduate student Elena Bischak, who is planning multiple trips to Haiti in the coming months to study improving...

A computer-generated image depicts the coronavirus.

UC Merced Professor Studies How Best to Speed COVID-19 Recovery at Home

A UC Merced professor is collaborating with faculty from UCLA and the University of Illinois in a study that aims to find how people might best deal with COVID-19 at home. Jennifer Hahn-Holbrook, a...

A lit cigarette is seen in an undated image.

Smokers Light Up More Cigarettes Following California COVID-19 Lockdown Order, Study Finds

The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic has been felt around the world. COVID-19's grip has affected people's mental health and sense of what was once normal, prompting them to turn to new...

Improved Molecular Tool Deepens Study of Gene-Cell Interaction

A group of researchers harnessing the power of light to control gene expression has dramatically improved its method, optimizing speed and precision, and opening new research avenues for scientists...

Report Examines Methods to Monitor PFAS in Environment to Protect Public Health

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are human-made chemicals that for decades have been used in a variety of products, including food packaging materials, nonstick cookware,...