Research & Innovation

Ken Ribet awarded math prize for influential proof

December 16, 2024

Portrait of Ken Ribet wearing a green shirt with a dark backgroundMathematician Ken Ribet is well known for a 1990 paper that paved the way, five years later, for a historic proof of Fermat’s Last Theorem, one of the most famous unsolved mathematical problems of modern times.

But an oft-cited paper he wrote earlier in his career, in 1976, is dearer to his heart and has now earned him a coveted...

A new timeline for Neanderthal interbreeding with modern humans

December 16, 2024

A new analysis of DNA from ancient modern humans (Homo sapiens) in Europe and Asia has determined, more precisely than ever, the time period during which Neanderthals interbred with modern humans, starting about 50,500 years ago and lasting about 7,000 years — until Neanderthals began to disappear.

That interbreeding left Eurasians with many genes inherited from our Neanderthal ancestors, which in total make up between 1% and 2% of our genomes today.

A more precise timeline for modern human interactions with Neanderthals can help scientists understand when humans...

Watch a biologist explain how animals move in 101 seconds

December 13, 2024

Watch this video to learn how biologists like Victor Ortega Jiménez use high-speed cameras to record fascinating slow motion footage of animals in the wild.

 Biologist explains animal dynamics in 101 secondsFor millennia, humans have observed and have...

Do animals get jealous like people? Researchers say it’s complicated.

December 12, 2024

It’s a question that has puzzled thinkers for centuries: Are we humans alone in our pursuit of fairness and the frustration we feel when others get what we want?

In recent years, evolutionary psychologists have suggested that we’re not all that special. Animals, from corvids to capuchin monkeys, express what humans might recognize as jealousy when, for example, they are passed over for a sought-after snack. Many argue this is evidence we are not alone in our aversion toward unfairness.

But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, makes the case that humans...

OURS Student Spotlight: Meet Lark from SURF L&S

December 9, 2024
SURF L&S: Student Spotlight Person wearing glasses, green jacket and a beige tieLark (they/them)
Spring '25
Sociology & Art Practice

Lark (they/them) is one of our SURF L&S participants and is currently double majoring in sociology and art practice. During their time in the program, they researched how Asian-American Pacific Islander (AAPI) ballroom communities negotiate their racial...

Forecasting Volcanic Flows: Professor Penny Wieser

December 6, 2024

Person wearing shorts and a blue zip up jacket over a purple puffy vest, standing outdoors with a mountain peak behind them

Since mountains move at a geological pace, are geologists ever in much of a rush? Maybe that depends on the scientist. Out of the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, modern volcanology was born. Governments provided funding to develop forecasts for eruptions. Igneous petrology, the specialization focused on rock...

A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

November 21, 2024

Artist rendering of a black galaxy with stars and one large star, glowing red and black with blue lights shooting off of itThe search for the universe’s dark matter could end tomorrow — given a nearby supernova and a little luck.

The nature of dark matter has eluded astronomers for 90 years, since the realization that 85% of the matter in the universe is not visible through our telescopes. The most likely dark matter...

The Berkeley Frontier Fund demonstrates the power of UC Berkeley’s ideas

November 12, 2024

Richard Chan was hosting a Hong Kong dinner with other UC Berkeley alums when he heard a startling fact: the state of California covers just 14 percent of the public university’s budget. Chan, a serial entrepreneur and investor, decided to investigate how his skills could be of service to his alma mater.