Science

Children who live near major roads are at higher risk for developmental delays because of traffic-related pollutants.

That’s the major finding of a new study authored by UC Merced environmental epidemiology Professor Sandie Ha and colleagues. The study appears in the journal Environmental Research and is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the UC Merced Senate Grant.

The majority of people who die by suicide do so with firearms, and there were more firearm suicides in America in 2017 than there were homicides committed by any method. Combined.

Those shocking numbers from the FBI and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are the impetus for two UC Merced professors from very different disciplines to join forces to try and predict who is most likely to commit suicide using a gun.

This year’s Research Week, March 4-8, promises more community connections than ever before.

Research Week , sponsored by the Office of Research and Economic Development, focuses on the research conducted at UC Merced that fosters the development of students and faculty and extends growth from within the campus to the global academic community.

Climate change and wildfire make a combustible mix with deadly and costly consequences.

Scientists have been trying to understand that link for many years, studying the effects of climate and wildfire interactions in the Sierra Nevada.

UC Merced Professor LeRoy Westerling and University of New Mexico Professor Matthew Hurteau and colleagues have analyzed data via simulations of Sierra wildfires, and what they found was surprising.

Jeffrey Aceves is an excellent student. Always has been. He graduated high school with a 4.3 GPA and an Eagle Scout ranking. He graduated from UC Merced in 3 ½ years, having come to the campus with 20 college credits already completed.

The Bakersfield native is driven, dedicated and not afraid to push his personal envelope. He was named Outstanding Bioengineering Student of 2018, was a finalist for the UC Distinguished Leader Award, has already co-authored one published academic paper and graduated with honors.

UC Merced researchers have evidence that California’s forests are especially vulnerable to multi-year droughts because their health depends on water stored several feet below ground.

The Earth is changing, and humans face major challenges if they hope to adapt, survive and preserve any semblance of the world as it is now.

Humans will need to create sustainable food, water and energy supplies; curb climate change; eliminate pollution and waste; and design efficient, healthy and resilient cities. To support these efforts, they will also need to enhance society’s ability and will to make informed decisions and act; and develop leaders who are prepared to address a sustainable future.

Clinicians searching for a new way to identify Valley fever patients who will develop the disease’s worst symptoms will find hope in a new paper by UC Merced Professor Katrina Hoyer .

The genomes of ancient Andean settlers reveal a complex picture of human adaptation, including when they became able to digest starches and how evolutionary modifications allowed them to live at such high altitudes.

A new paper co-authored by UC Merced Professor Mark Aldenderfer illuminates the changes that took place between initial settlement and the 16th-century colonial period.

Writing poetry can lead to increased innovation in science, according to a new article in BioScience that came about because of a Twitter connection between UC Merced and Swansea University in Wales.