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 Rebecca Ryals, left, talks to students in her lab.

Research is Clarifying Benefits of Transforming Human Waste into Useable Resources

Human waste isn’t a topic most people want to talk about. But environmental systems Professor Rebecca Ryals embraces the subject, especially when it comes to mitigating climate change,...

HIV Preventative Developed in LiWang Lab Takes One Big Step Forward

An HIV-inhibiting silk film designed to advance prevention and help end the AIDS epidemic in countries in Africa, developed by UC Merced Professor Patti LiWang, has met recent success at the...

Get Up and Move: HSRI Maps Routes for Walking Meetings

As the daytime temperatures cool and the pandemic persists, colleagues at UC Merced’s Health Sciences Research Institute offer a suggestion: Why not take your meetings for a stroll? The...

Biosafety Officer Helps Steer UC Merced Through Pandemic

Aparupa Sengupta, Ph.D., was talking to her staff when her phone rang. It was the police chief. Could she join him today for a working lunch? On that warm, cloudless February day in 2020, the...

NCPC Hosting Free Webinar on Policy and the Media

UC Merced's Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center (NCPC) and the American Heart Association are hosting a free webinar to provide insight on generating media coverage and helping change...

Dr. Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education.

UC Merced Names First Endowed Chair in Medical Education

Distinguished UC Merced Director of Medical Education and public health Professor Dr. Thelma Hurd has been appointed the inaugural Thondapu Family Endowed Chair in Medical Education. “I am...

An image depicts a plush toy on top of a mattress.

Research Shows Sleep and Social Support Are Vital to Latina Teen Mothers' Mental Health

It's no surprise that a good night's rest is one of the most important factors for a person's well-being, but not everyone can say they have the luxury of being able to sleep for eight...

HSRI Receives $1.2 Million to Research Health Impacts From Vehicle-Related Air Pollution

UC Merced's Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to study the effects of vehicle emissions on public health and the environment. This award is part...

Incoming freshman Kyle Chun (mechanical engineering), third-year Daniel Baerwaldt (chemistry) and first-year Alejandro Lopez-Vaca (engineering) in front of their presentation.

USDA-funded Internship Program Introduced New Bobcats to Agriculture Research

Shortly before the fall semester kicked off in person, 11 students were wrapping up their first summer on campus as part of the FACTS summer bridge program. FACTS stands for San Joaquin Valley...