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...

Report: Central Valley Makes Modest Environmental Improvements

California’s Central Valley environment is getting healthier, but not fast enough. Its air quality is still among the worst in the nation, according to a report released today. The Sierra Nevada...

First Year of Medical Education Celebrated as Campus Grows Health Research Programs

The inaugural group of students in the UC Merced San Joaquin Valley Program in Medical Education said their first year was challenging, but filled with reminders of why they want to serve their ...

Professor Studies Alcohol's Neurological Effects

Professor Fred Wolf’s research brings new meaning to the term barfly. In an effort to better understand the neurological effects of alcohol abuse, Wolf gives fruit flies alcohol and studies how their...

Study: Bone Density May Affect Immune System

Researchers at the University of California, Merced, have discovered a new way in which bone health impacts a person’s immune system. The discovery could impact how scientists try to combat bone-...

Merced Native Takes Reins as Medical Director

After two months on the job, UC Merced’s first full-time medical director has already entrenched himself in campus life and understanding student needs. Dr. Brandon Boggs, a Merced native, has...

Continued Smoking Can Spread Cancer, Research Shows

Cigarette smoke cannot only cause cancer, but it’s also responsible for the spread of it, according to research by UC Merced biochemistry Professor Henry Jay Forman. Forman discovered tobacco smoke...

Graduate Student Focuses Research on Infectious Disease

Mufadhal Al-Kuhlani came to UC Merced to help reduce the threat of harmful diseases through innovative research. Al-Kuhlani is studying immunology within the Quantitative and Systems Biology graduate...

Health Center Offers Convenient Care, Support for Students

College is an adjustment. Over the span of a summer, high school seniors go from living under the watchful eye of parents to being full-fledged adults. Students have to manage their own money, time,...

UCSF, UC Merced to Study Effectiveness of Anti-Tobacco Programs

Researchers with the University of California, San Francisco, and UC Merced will examine the effectiveness of state and local antismoking programs across the United States in an effort to make sure...