In the News
Advancing scientific understanding of calcium signaling
Berkeley Plant & Microbial Biology, April 2024
When it comes to essential minerals for people, plants, and animals, calcium is king. Recent research led by Sheng Luan, a professor in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, offers new insights into the important role calcium signaling plays in plant physiology.
New Agricultural Operations Building now open at the Gill Tract
Rausser College of Natural Resources, March 2024
Recent visitors to the Gill Tract might have noticed something different: a large multipurpose facility has replaced the shipping containers on the research field adjacent to the Gill Tract Community Farm.
Bees, How to Attract Bees and What Plants Attract Them
UCANR Blogs, December 2023
Nearly 1600 species of native bees can be found in California's rich ecosystems--compiled here is a list of resources to help attract and maintain them in your garden.
The Crop of the Future: Why Climate Scientists Are Sweet on Sorghum
IGI Perspectives, June 2023
Sorghum, a heat-loving cereal grain, isn’t just getting attention from the IGI and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, but also climate scientists at the Department of Energy and Gates Foundation. So, what’s so special about sorghum?
Revitalizing the Gill Tract’s habitat for monarch butterflies
Rausser College of Natural Resources, June 2023
For decades, the Gill Tract has been a living laboratory for student- and faculty-led plant and agricultural research at UC Berkeley. But for far longer than that, the site has provided important habitat for migrating western monarch butterflies.
Understanding the 'romantic journey' of plant reproduction
Research News, July 2022
Researchers in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology (PMB) have uncovered the intricate molecular processes that precede reproduction in flowering plants.
In 10 years, CRISPR transformed medicine. Can it now help us deal with climate change?
The Berkeleyan, June 2022
“The advent of CRISPR basically allowed us to create new molecular tools for potentially skipping the slow aspects of plant tissue culture and plant genetic engineering, which are large barriers to doing experiments in plants.”
Reasons to be hopeful, optimistic and maybe even cheerful in 2022
Berkeley News, January 2022
The year 2021 was spectacularly tough. Yet, UC Berkeley scholars, students and staff recently offered reasons not to lose hope for the future — on campus, around the globe and all the way in outer space.
Copper Based Compounds May Be Contributing to Ozone Depletion
The Berkeleyan, January 2022
Copper released into the environment from fungicides, brake pads, antifouling paints on boats and other sources may be contributing significantly to stratospheric ozone depletion, according to a new study from the University of California, Berkeley.
How Bay Area Researchers are Using Plants to Fight Climate Change
ABC7 News, July 2021
As greenhouse gasses continue to pour into our atmosphere, researchers have struggled for solutions to harness dangerous pollutants like CO2. However, in a nursery at the University of California, Dr. Jennifer Pett-Ridge, Ph.D., and her colleagues are gathering evidence for a solution that could be right under our feet.
Leafminer Babies Scribble All Over Your Salad
KQED Deep Look, April 2021
If you have a green thumb, spring in the Bay Area marks the harvesting of lemons and oranges, onions and garlic, and greens like arugula, kale and mustard. But what are those squiggly marks crisscrossing your arugula and lemon tree leaves?