Science

There are many labs at UC Merced where visitors can see students huddled over microscopes and petri dishe

Scientists have been synthesizing lipid membranes from a variety of materials, making them as lifelike as possible to learn more about how cells work and how they can be manipulated.

Join UC Merced Professor Mark Aldenderfer as he and his colleagues explore the world’s highest cave tombs, revealing new details about the lives of the people who settled the Himalaya, in the season premiere of “NOVA” on PBS.

In “Secrets of the Sky Tombs,” archaeologist Aldenderfer and fellow researchers from around the globe step back in time to learn more about the people who buried their dead in these hard-to-reach rock-cut caves.

Shakespeare might have been right when he wrote “what’s past is prologue,” but not when it comes to modeling climate change.

Professor Clarissa J.

Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of UC Merced Magazine.

Before it infects humans who breathe it in, the fungus that causes valley fever changes shapes in the environment. Once infected, some people fight it off while others die.

Biochemistry Professor Patricia LiWang calls it a stroke of luck that she has become enmeshed in HIV research, but her developments are no accident.

Note: This story originally appeared in the Fall 2014 issue of UC Merced Magazine and has been updated in the wake of the Nov. 4 elections. Read the whole issue online.

The long-awaited Science and Engineering Building 2 officially opens today, providing more space for instruction, research and offices.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony begins at 1 p.m.

Thirty months in the making, the building is designed to foster interdisciplinary work for researchers across UC Merced.

“We’re continuing a concept that has been important since the campus itself was being planned – collaboration between the schools,” Academic Facilities Planning Director Steve Rabedeaux said.