School of Natural Sciences

Link Between Dementia and Air Pollution Drives Research Collaboration

April 17, 2025

Students Zeyi Moo, back left, and Yaying Wang, right, work with Professor Xuan Zhang, center, on her Alzheimer's-related research. Photo courtesy of Kate Marsh.

California’s Central Valley, famous for producing much of the food Americans eat, is also infamous for its inferior air quality and its high rates of poverty, housing insecurity and at-risk workers. Increasing epidemiological evidence has shown a correlation between long-term exposure to...

Gopinathan Named Fellow of Leading Physics Organization

Physics Professor Ajay Gopinathan has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). This prestigious recognition is for physicists who have made exceptional contributions in physics...

UC Merced Brings NSF ‘Computer Science for All’ Program to Merced Schools

The technology world is punctuated by startups, and UC Merced is “starting up” its own program to invigorate computer science education in the San Joaquin Valley. The National Science...

Physics Projects Designed to Expand Quantum Knowledge

Physics Professor Lin Tian looks to tiny quantum objects to answer very big questions. Her research group is pursuing quantum computing and technology project that are helping to expand her...

Alum Develops Device to Measure and Manipulate Invisible Force

As scientists build smaller and smaller machines, they need to understand the invisible forces that make those machines work. Thanks to research and the initiative of then-UC Merced graduate...

New Grant More than Doubles Campus Supercomputing Power

UC Merced is rapidly gaining a strong reputation for research and scientific computing across many disciplines and a major expansion of its computing infrastructure is about to cement the campus...

Some Immune Cells Appear to ‘Know’ the Coronavirus, Even Though They’ve Never Met

Having had the common cold appears to have programmed some people’s immune cells to recognize the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. That discovery — by an immunology team that includes...

Professor Emily Moran, left, and graduate student Mengjun Shu examine seedlings in the research greenhouse.

Reforesting After Wildfires: Which Trees Are Most Likely to Thrive?

Wildfire seasons are intensifying because of climate change. That means reforestation efforts will increase, making it important for scientists and resource managers to understand how to make sure...

Ecosystem Engineers Play Crucial Role in Stabilizing Their Environments, Study Shows

When people think of engineering in nature, they tend to think of species such as beavers — the tree-felling, dam-building rodents whose machinations can shape the landscape by creating lakes...

World’s Oldest Trees Shape the Diversity of Life in Their Soils, Study Shows

There’s a whole world of activity beneath your feet. Soil holds a large proportion of Earth's biodiversity, and is the place where organisms interact with each other and with plants,...