Biological Sciences

L&S Alum Spotlight:
Brandon Weiss '18 (he/him) Major: Integrative Biology: Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology

"College is just as much about figuring out who you are as a person as it is learning in the classroom," shares Brandon Weiss '18. From discovering a passion for veterinary medicine in the Pre-Vet Club at Berkeley, to meeting and proposing to his fiancé on campus, and now thriving in a meaningful career in emergency and critical care medicine for animals, Brandon has built a life full of joyful community and enduring connections.

Michael Silver(link is external) wants to know what your brain looks like on psychedelics.

From Timothy Leary to Michael Pollan, countless psychologists, journalists and cultural leaders have documented the profound impact psychedelics can have on the human mind. And long before these substances became popularized in Western society, psychoactive plants were a key component in many...

This week, seven UC Berkeley faculty — representing academic fields from philosophy to molecular biology to engineering — were named members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The Academy, chartered in 1780, was established to recognize accomplished individuals and engage them in addressing the greatest challenges facing the U.S. The 252 new electees encompass leaders in academia, the arts, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy, research and science, and include the actor Jodie...

Two unrelated groups of nectar eaters, hummingbirds and sunbirds, evolved different techniques to slurp the sweet liquid from flowers. The tongue suctioning employed by sunbirds is unique among vertebrates.

While we often think of hummingbirds as sucking nectar from flowers, they’re not sucking the way we suction juice through a straw — they’re really sponging up nectar with their tongues and squeezing the juice into their mouths by compressing their tongues with their beaks.

Humans are naturally able from birth to use mouth suction to draw in liquid, but it’s not...