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...

New UC Grant Enables Deeper, Broader Valley Fever Research

Researchers at UC Merced are playing key roles in the new UC Valley Fever Research Initiative, studying how the Valley fever fungus, Coccidioides immitis, causes disease in its mammalian hosts, and...

Blum Center Relaunching With Focus on Food

UC Merced is relaunching its branch of the Blum Center for Developing Economies with a focus on food security for the first two years of the faculty-led effort. Economics Professor Kurt Schnier, with...

Researcher’s Work Could Help Stop Aggressive Breast Cancers

Adjunct Professor Gabriela Loots is studying why certain cancers prefer to metastasize to bone, using novel technology developed by fellow UC Merced Professor Michael Cleary. Her work, which takes...

Student Health and Counseling Services Receive National Accreditation

UC Merced’s H. Rajender Reddy Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and Health Promotion received accreditation from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (...

Mind and Body Join Robotics in New Research Project

Three UC Merced researchers are connecting eye-tracking hardware with a robotic exoskeletal arm to further understand the mind-body connection and, someday, to help people with disabilities have...

Medical Students Reach Out to Create a Healthier Valley

Six medical students, all with ties to the San Joaquin Valley, are spending part of their summer reaching out and giving back to the community they call home. The students are taking part in a four-...

Study Links Cancer Cell Growth to Nervous System

Cancer cells divide with more frequency and are more resilient when they are closer to the brain, indicating a potential link between cell growth and the nervous system, according to new research...

NIH Funds Research Into Stem Cells, Bone Disease

A new study from UC Merced Professor Jennifer O. Manilay promises to shed new light on how bone diseases can affect the maintenance of healthy blood and immune cell development throughout life....

Researcher Works to End HIV Stigma in Ethiopia, India

UC Merced lecturer Carol Sipan became concerned with the social stigma of HIV in some developing countries after a 2009 trip to Burundi, where she and a colleague from Tanzania were training pastors...