News

June 3, 2026
Key Points: Valley fever is widely underdiagnosed and often mistaken for common respiratory illnesses, leading to delayed diagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic use. Cases are rising and spreading geographically, driven by climate patterns, soil disruption and population growth, making the...
June 2, 2026
UC Merced prides itself on its high social mobility ranking (No. 3 among public schools in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal). Social mobility is defined as the ability to move between socioeconomic tiers. But what does that mean, really? Well, you might look to Eduardo Savala...
June 1, 2026
Key Points: Elephants function as a keystone species, producing large amounts of nutrient-rich dung that sustain diverse dung beetle populations and support wider ecosystem health. A 15-year field experiment showed that removing elephants leads to sharp declines in dung beetle abundance,...
May 28, 2026
A doghouse built by Bobcats for a famous beagle beat out a fairytale structure hammered together by Bears. UC Merced's student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers took part in the annual Timber-Strong Design Build competition in April, going up against UC Berkeley in a day-long...
May 26, 2026
Editor's note: This story is republished from the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of UC Merced Magazine. Walk across UC Merced’s campus on any weekday, and you might hear laughter spilling from a classroom, feel the thrum of a wind tunnel or spot students crouched in a field searching for mushrooms. Not...
May 26, 2026
After a couple of years of sufficient water, much of California is showing "abnormally dry" conditions in spring 2026, according to the state drought monitor. And as climate change adds more swings between wet and dry conditions, researchers are working on ways to better identify, predict and...
May 20, 2026
The W.M. Keck Foundation has awarded UC Merced nearly $1.8 million in new grants that fuel ambitious research and give early-career scientists a crucial boost at a pivotal stage of their careers. One of the nation’s most prominent private supporters of basic science, the Los Angeles–based...
May 19, 2026
A new UC Merced major arrived just in time for Tyrese Francis. When the student starts his third year at the university this fall, he will dive into coursework for a degree in business administration, one of two degrees debuting in the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts. “I’ve always...
May 18, 2026
A recent celebration marked important anniversaries for two partners in research and innovation, but both emphasized that the most exciting events still lie ahead. The commemoration at UC Merced on Main marked 25 years of the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (...
May 17, 2026
Smiling even as she cried, Nancy Rodas De Leon stood in UC Merced's University Plaza, accepting hugs, flowers, stuffed animals and cards from extended family. "These are happy tears," said Rodas De Leon, who previously earned both her undergraduate and master's degrees at UC Merced. The eldest...

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