UC Berkeley

Berkeley Talks: Ramzi Fawaz on the psychedelic power of the humanities - Berkeley News The professor of English at the University of Wisconsin–Madison argues that deep engagement in the arts and literature, much like psychedelics, can help open one's mind to the world.

🎧Berkeley Talks: What if the humanities—not pills—held the key to healing? @UWMadison professor finds art and literature can open minds, similar to psychedelics. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/24/b...

This Berkeley professor is exposing the hidden physical toll of our digital world  - Berkeley News Alex Saum-Pascual proposes that new artistic representations could help bridge the gap between knowing a technology is harmful and actually changing our behavior.

It's not just "the cloud." UC Berkeley professor unpacks the physical cost of digital lives—from real energy use, ecological strain, and labor hidden from view. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/21/t...

Deep in the Dolomites, a UC Berkeley professor and his service dog carry the Olympic flame Matteo M. Garbelotto-Benzon and his service dog, S’Abba, are poised to show the life-altering abilities of assistance dogs as they prepare to carry the Olympic torch on its journey to Milan to open th...

On Wednesday, UC Berkeley researcher Matteo M. Garbelotto-Benzon will go for a walk deep in the Dolomites. In one hand, he’ll hold the Olympic torch — and in the other the lead of S’Abba, the service dog who helped him walk, and ski, again. www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/deep-do...

Born at UC Berkeley: a breakthrough in the treatment of sickle cell disease - Berkeley News Discover how CRISPR, a technology co-created by a UC Berkeley professor, is being used to transform medicine.

A UC Berkeley-born CRISPR breakthrough is being used to directly edit the genetic mutation behind sickle cell diseases—offering new hope for patients. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/22/b...

The Power of a Collective Pause Explore how students are using simple mindfulness practices to navigate stress, stay grounded, and support their classmates.

From heavy topics to high stress, one UC Berkeley class discovered that taking a shared moment to breathe can change the whole room. greatergood.berkeley.edu/podcasts/ite...

Google’s Former C.E.O. Wants to Build a Cosmic Search Engine

Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt want to build a "Google for the cosmos." Lazuli, one of the cutting-edge telescopes, builds on an initial mission concept from UC Berkeley astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner Saul Perlmutter. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/09/s...

From quantum theory to the modern laser: Why ‘basic science’ is the foundation of innovation - Berkeley News Watch UC Berkeley Dean Steve Kahn explain how curiosity-driven research fuels the breakthroughs of tomorrow in just 101 seconds.

How does curiosity-driven research fuel the breakthroughs of tomorrow? UC Berkeley Dean Steve Kahn breaks it down in just 101 seconds. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/15/f...

AI has a bias problem. Can we build something smarter? - Berkeley News UC Berkeley computer scientist Emma Pierson believes we can use AI to improve our healthcare and criminal justice systems — but only if we design these algorithms with an eye toward equality.

AI doesn’t just learn data—it learns our biases. A UC Berkeley researcher is working to ensure machine learning helps improve fairness in criminal justice and health care. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/20/a...

Venezuela strike signals U.S. is ‘serious about reasserting dominance in Latin America,’ UC Berkeley scholar says   - Berkeley News UC Berkeley expert Dorothy Kronick on what the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro means for the country — and the hemisphere.

The U.S. operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro could reshape Latin America’s balance of power. Berkeley expert says it signals Washington’s intent to reassert dominance in the hemisphere. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/13/v...

For 21 years, enthusiasts used their home computers to search for ET. UC Berkeley scientists are homing in on 100 signals they found. - Berkeley News UC Berkeley’s SETI@home, one of the most popular crowd-sourced research projects ever, turned up some 12 billion signals of interest. A lengthy analysis found 100 worth another look.

For 21 years, between 1999 and 2020, millions of people worldwide loaned researchers their computers to search for signs of advanced civilizations in our galaxy. Now, scientists are re-observing 100 of those signals. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/12/f...

What do the new U.S. vaccine recommendations mean for parents and children? Infectious disease expert Dr. Charles Whittaker on why accountability matters in public health.

The @CDCgov recently cut the number of recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11. What does that mean for parents and kids? An infectious disease expert breaks it down. publichealth.berkeley.edu/articles/new...

Berkeley Talks: Why kind leaders finish first (according to science) - Berkeley News Leaders from academia and the private sector discuss how kindness is a strategic asset rather than a professional weakness, and why the traditional “jerk” model of leadership is scientifically flawed.

🎧Berkeley Talks: What if “nice” isn’t a weakness but a competitive edge? UC Berkeley experts and business leaders unpack how empathetic leadership boosts trust, engagement and results. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/09/b...

Watch how Berkeley research turned coffee spills into a life-saving test - Berkeley News A new technology born at UC Berkeley uses the "coffee-ring effect" to deliver rapid test results for COVID, cancer and more.

Researchers from @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social turned the “coffee-ring effect” into a rapid disease test that can detect COVID, sepsis, and even cancer markers in just minutes. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/09/w...

Atomic clocks: counting the seconds that could change physics - Berkeley News UC Berkeley physicist Shimon Kolkowitz explains atomic clocks in just 101 seconds.

Most of the atomic clocks in the world — fewer than 500 in total — are housed at standards institutes and used to keep time for the planet. But the one inside UC Berkeley’s Kolkowitz Lab has a different mission. news.berkeley.edu/2025/10/30/a...

Rewriting the code: The inside story of the first CRISPR cure - Berkeley News Victoria Gray spent 34 years battling the debilitating pain of sickle cell disease. Then she volunteered to be the world's first "prototype" for a CRISPR therapy — trading a life that felt hopeless fo...

Victoria Gray spent 34 years battling the debilitating pain of sickle cell disease. Then she volunteered to be the world's first "prototype" for a CRISPR therapy. news.berkeley.edu/2026/01/08/b...

UC Berkeley student researchers featured in "60 Minutes" story pulled by CBS editor-in-chief Bari Weiss UC Berkeley Journalism offers a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree and a summer minor, preparing students for careers in journalism.

Our @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social from the @hrcberkeley.bsky.social Investigations Lab — including J-School student Kyle Sweasey —contributed #OSINT for the @hrw.org report on #CECOT that was pulled from "60 Minutes" last month. journalism.berkeley.edu/uc-berkeley-...

“I’m proud to have transferred and now graduated from UC Berkeley; it is an amazing accomplishment.

It felt surreal to be closing such an important chapter of my life, but it made me beyond grateful for my entire time here.” – Matthew Dubuque '25

📸 by Stanley Luo, UC Berkeley #UCBerkeley #CalGrad

Astronomers see fireworks from violent collisions around nearby star - Berkeley News While searching for exoplanets, scientists captured the first direct images of colliding objects in a neighboring star system.

Seen twice in 20 years, the debris from enormous collisions around a nearby star is giving scientists a rare glimpse into how planets form amid early chaos. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/18/a...

For whom the bells toll: 3L Simone Browne finds harmony balancing music with international law An accomplished performer who has toured worldwide, Browne serves as UC Berkeley’s interim carillonist while pursuing an international law career.

An accomplished performer who has toured worldwide, 3L Simone Browne serves as UC Berkeley’s interim carillonist — playing regular recitals, managing, and teaching in the Campanile studio while pursuing an international law career. https://bit.ly/4q17DWI @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social

Berkeley Talks: How do we make better decisions? (revisiting) - Berkeley News A panel of UC Berkeley professors discuss how they view decision-making from their respective fields, and how we can use these approaches to make more informed choices.

🎧Berkeley Talks: New year, new decisions? UC Berkeley professors unpack what goes into making decisions that count. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/26/b...

Nobel wins, psychedelic lilies and a mission to Mars: UC Berkeley's top stories of 2025 - Berkeley News A look at some of the campus's biggest stories chronicled by UC Berkeley News.

As another year comes to a close, reflect on some of UC Berkeley's biggest stories and breakthroughs of 2025. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/15/n...

Chemtrails Aren't Real. So Why Are Politicians Passing Laws About Them? The history and politics of so-called weather weapons.

Theories about chemtrails have been popular in recent years, with politicians trying to pass laws.

"In these low-trust situations, it’s really a fertile ground for this type of story,” said Prof. Tim Tangherlini. @RollingStone.com

What's powering these mysterious, bright blue cosmic flashes? Astronomers find a clue. - Berkeley News Scientists have found over a dozen luminous blue outbursts — including one called the Cow — that were thought to be unusual supernovae. A new outburst, the brightest yet, suggests otherwise.

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a... black hole shredding a massive star? New findings point to this unexpected origin. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/16/w...

Berkeley Talks: The Page Act and the making of racialized US immigration control - Berkeley News A panel of UC Berkeley scholars unpack how the 1875 law helped institutionalize racially targeted exclusion at the border and laid the groundwork for the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and later U.S. immi...

🎧Berkeley Talks: How did early immigration laws target women? UC Berkeley historians unpack how the 1875 Page Act shaped downstream immigration and gender policy. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/12/b...

Come in, sit, stay a while: How alum Sarah Cain invites visitors into her paintings - Berkeley News The multidisciplinary artist created BAMPFA’s newest site-specific installation with a goal she always has with her paintings: to break it out of its preciousness.

Instead of staring at paintings, what if you stepped inside them? UC Berkeley alum Sarah Cain creates art to break them out of their preciousness. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/10/c...

Not everyone reads the room the same. A new UC Berkeley study examines why.  - Berkeley News Some brains perform a complicated assessment, said Jefferson Ortega, a psychology Ph.D. student. New research shows others seem to take a shortcut.

From meetings to parties, some people miss cues others notice instantly. UC Berkeley researchers reveal what influences how we “read the room.” news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/16/n...

For 20 years, this UC Berkeley program has helped students who’ve been in foster care succeed - Berkeley News Hope Scholars started with one employee and one student. It has since grown to offer hundreds of students holistic support, including mentorship, emergency funds and move-in day supplies.

From dorm move-ins to mentorship, UC Berkeley’s Hope Scholars program has spent 20 years leveling the playing field for students from foster care and other nontraditional backgrounds. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/16/f...

The housing crisis, explained in 101 seconds - Berkeley News Watch UC Berkeley’s Ben Metcalf break down the policies needed to make homes affordable again.

Why is housing so expensive—and why is it so hard to fix? UC Berkeley's @ternerhousing.bsky.social Managing Director Ben Metcalf breaks down the housing crisis and solutions in just 101 seconds. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/11/t...

Research on the circadian rhythm of mosquitos seeks new ways to fight parasitic diseases Researchers are uncovering new ways to understand how malaria parasites and their mosquito carriers keep track of time.

Research in Filipa Rijo-Ferrera’s lab at #UCBerkeley shows both #parasites and their #mosquito hosts share #circadian rhythms that time biting and transmissibility. Targeting these internal clocks may offer a new path to reducing #malaria and other mosquito-borne illnesses.
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From Bob Dylan to Ice Cube: Mapping 60 years of storytelling in pop lyrics - Berkeley News UC Berkeley researchers used machine learning to analyze more than 5,000 Billboard Hot 100 hits, finding that storytelling has been on the uptick since the 1990s thanks to the rise in popularity of hi...

From heartbreak to racism to personal truth, storytelling in pop lyrics has evolved, largely thanks to hip-hop's rise in popularity. UC Berkeley researchers analyzed over 5,000 @billboard.com Hot 100 hits to map the evolution of music over the past 60 years. news.berkeley.edu/2025/12/12/f...