School of Natural Sciences

Researchers Rebuild Microscopic Circadian Clock That Can Control Genes

February 10, 2026

Blue-green algae in flasks are used by researchers at UC Merced and UC San Diego to further the understanding of circadian clocks. Image courtesy of UC San Diego.

Our circadian clocks play a crucial role in our health and well-being, keeping our 24-hour biological cycles in sync with light and dark exposure. Disruptions in the rhythms of these clocks, as with jet lag and daylight saving time, can throw our daily rhythms out of whack. But a group of...

Undocumented Student Makes History With Ph.D.

A doctoral degree is the culmination of years of study and hard work — a mark of determination, willpower and excellence in research and scholarship. For Quantitative and Systems Biology graduate...

Student Laura Showalter is Commited to Excellence

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in the spring 2016 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Laura Showalter will represent the schools of Natural Sciences and Engineering as student speaker at this...

New Supercomputing Cluster to Expand Campus Capabilities

A proposal to conduct high-performance computing across science and engineering disciplines has won UC Merced and Professor Christine Isborn a research computing cluster that will be used for a...

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....

Researchers Dive Into Big Data to Predict NBA Winners

Before you place any bets on the next NBA playoff games, take a look at UC Merced Professor Harish Bhat’s Twitter account. He’s tweeting daily predictions based on an innovative new algorithm, and so...

UC Merced Receives $5 Million for Interdisciplinary Research Center

Researchers at the University of California, Merced, won a $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study how biological matter like proteins or cells come together to perform...

Internship Program Enhances Students’ Academic Experiences

Last fall, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Undergraduate Education launched an internship program with the goal of providing undergraduate students an opportunity to build...

Bobcat Day Brings Admitted Students to Campus

Students from across California and their family members will converge on the UC Merced campus April 16 for Bobcat Day. The day is an opportunity for admitted students to visit campus, and talk with...

Two Alumni Create Legacies Through Scholarship Endowments

Jessica “JaeJae” Julian (2010) and Marko Zivanovic (2014) are proving that giving back shortly after graduation can be possible. During the campus’s Giving Tuesday fundraising efforts last December...