Martha L. Orozco-Cárdenas (Co-Principal Investigator), Director of the Plant Transformation Research Center (PTRC-BPS), and Professor Feng Jiao of Washington University in St. Louis, won $250,000 as runners-up in NASA’s prestigious Deep Space Food Challenge. The team developed a novel food production system utilizing artificial photosynthesis described in Nature Food.
Thanks to an experiment started before the Great Depression, researchers have pinpointed the genes behind the remarkable adaptability of barley, a key ingredient in beer and whiskey. These insights could ensure the crop’s continued survival amidst rapid climate change.
Plants’ ability to sense light and temperature, and their ability to adapt to climate change, hinges on free-forming structures in their cells whose function was, until now, a mystery.
Work from 2019 by Norman Ellstrand and Shana Welles on the Salsola ryannii tumbleweed appeared in an NPR article about a recent sighting of a giant tumbleweed.
Katayoon Dehesh, Ernst and Helen Leibacher Endowed Chair in Botany and Plant Sciences and Director of the Institute for Integrative Genome Biology participated in an interview with the Association of American Universities. The article here spotlighted both her work as a researcher and her personal growth.
Louis Santiago is featured in the UCR campus news for his work defining the critical limits plants can survive in response to stresses such as water loss and heat. Santiago's work has implications in identifying rare plant species that are at risk from stressors caused by changing climates.
Mary Lu Arpaia and Eric Focht are recognized in TIME magazine's 2023 Best Inventions for the release of their new Luna UCR avocado variety. Botany and Plant Science's Gray Martin, late David Stottlemyer and B.O. "Bob" Bergh were also credited for the decades of work they contributed towards developing the breed.
Sean Cutler and Ian Wheeldon have developed a technique to make the Arabidopsis thaliana plant change color in response to the pesticide azinphos-ethyl. In an article with Wired, they explained the process of harnessing genes in the plant's stress response system to achieve this color change and its possible applications in indicating the presence of...
Mary Lu Arpaia and Eric Focht have bred avocado trees in association with the University of California, Riverside, for decades. In the video below, they describe their quest for a better avocado that resulted in the release this year of the Luna UCR™, a new variety that is the great-grandchild of the Hass. Speaking from...
The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2023 awards, which honor distinction in service, outreach, education, and research. ASPB Innovation Prize for Agricultural Technology Renata Bolognesi, Stanislaw Flasinski, Sergey Ivashuta, Daniel Kendrick, Curtis Scherder, Gerrit Segers Bayer, Chesterfield, Missouri Charles Albert Shull Award José Dinneny Stanford University...
Katayoon “Katie” Dehesh once had to make an impossible choice: leave her Persian homeland forever to pursue a life of science or stay near family and give up her passion for independence. She knew leaving Iran would not be easy, and she’d have to build her life again from scratch. Nevertheless, she persisted — and...
Despite recent, torrential rains, most of Southern California remains in a drought. Accordingly, many residents plant trees prized for drought tolerance, but a new UC Riverside-led study shows these trees lose this tolerance once they’re watered. One goal of the study was to understand how artificial irrigation affects the trees’ carbon and water use. To...
UCR Published the Following Article by Jules Bernstein on December 8, 2022. Two UCR faculty have been elected fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, or NAI. They are Sean Cutler, distinguished professor of plant cell biology, and Charles Wyman, distinguished professor of chemical and environmental engineering. NAI fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded...
A global cross-disciplinary team of scientists has developed the first comprehensive classification of the world’s ecosystems across land, rivers, wetlands, and seas. The ecosystem typology will enable more coordinated and effective biodiversity conservation, critical for human well-being. Distinguished Professor Emerita Janet Franklin became involved in this international effort through her scientific advisory role as a...
Though it is disappearing, California’s official state grass has the ability to live for 100 years or more. New research demonstrates that sheep and cattle can help it achieve that longevity. Purple needlegrass once dominated the state’s grasslands, serving as food for Native Americans and for more than 330 terrestrial creatures. Today, California has lost...
The cheerleader for Public Enemy No. 1 greeted me at the gates to UC Riverside’s Agricultural Experiment Station with a smile and some choice words. “Every time there’s a serious drought, I’m in the L.A. Times,” Jim Baird said, only half-jokingly. “Why is it always a knee-jerk reaction? When it’s not a drought, I don’t...
Approximately 70 high school students who are considering careers in STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and math, industries spent three days at the UC Riverside campus engaging with industry experts and other teens from surrounding Riverside and San Bernardino County high schools, many of them from Riverside Unified School District. STEM Solutions, a free, hands-on...
Scientists have modified proteins involved in plants’ natural response to stress, making them the basis of innovative tests for multiple chemicals, including banned pesticides and deadly, synthetic cannabinoids. During drought, plants produce ABA, a hormone that helps them hold on to water. Additional proteins, called receptors, help the plant recognize and respond to ABA. UC...
