Berkeley News

an artistic rendering of the folds of the human brain, colored blue and bright yellow and red

Mind & body

Are groovy brains more efficient?

A new study finds that the depth of small grooves in the brain’s surface is linked to stronger network connectivity and better reasoning ability.

arcing rows of empty chairs in a legislative chamber

Politics & society

Global study finds most people want gender-balanced government, even if quotas are needed

Two students hug each other wearing their regalia in the bleachers at UC Berkeley's 2025 campuswide commencement on May 17.

Campus & community

At UC Berkeley’s campuswide commencement, grads were grateful for their personal growth — and four Big Game wins in a row

Xavier Becerra and UC Berkeley Public Health Dean Michael C. Lu wearing graduation apparel

Campus & community

Xavier Becerra to UC Berkeley grads: With public health under attack, ‘It is game time.’

Spotlight: Commencement 2025

A young woman holds her graduation cap and smiles. She is wearing a white dress and a gold-and-navy sash

Majoring in gender and women’s studies helped this graduate find her voice

Priyanka D’Souza, pictured sitting on one of the wheeled stools installed as part of her MFA exhibition, before various works created for the exhibition mounted on a shelf viewable at seated height.

This Berkeley MFA exhibition probes how museums and institutions exclude disabled bodies

a young man wearing a green jacket puts his hands in his pockets and smiles in front of the Campanile

The key to success for this year’s University Medalist? Curiosity and collaboration

Research

a man in a green hoodie holding a smiling baby with both arms

Mind & body

Infant born with deadly disease now thriving thanks to customized CRISPR treatment six months after birth

A newborn boy, KJ, was diagnosed at birth with a rare and potentially fatal genetic disease. He received a novel, on-demand CRISPR therapy in record time.

painting of a bright pink flamingo against a deep blue background, standing in water and creating little tornados

Research

Flamingos create water tornados to trap their prey

green blob representing CRISPR enzyme on a blue double helix of DNA

Campus news

Federal appeals court sends CRISPR-Cas9 patent case back to patent office for reconsideration

a man in a red hat and winter gear stands onboard the green deck of a ship with red railing in Antarctica. He is holding a camera and filming something, looking focused.

Arts & culture

In a tiny boat 7,800 miles from UC Berkeley, graduate students made a daring documentary

an orange star is stretched out to loop around a dark oval at the center of a pink swirling mass

Research

Not one, but two massive black holes are eating away at this galaxy

Arts & culture

Frank Cahill smiles and holds up his hands as colorful confetti is all around him, showing the fun, playful spirit of the spelling bee and the people who run it

The world’s top spelling bee is coming up. This Berkeley Ph.D. student built the word list.

Two images side by side: on the left, two knights fight each other on horseback; on the right, the knight ask a woman for forgiveness after he killed her husband

Why did medieval readers kiss, smudge and deface their books?

More Arts & culture

Podcasts

Daniel Handler and Chanan Tigay talk on stage at an event for the Magnes' inaugural Jewish Arts & Bookfest

Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) on reading the authors you want to write like

Dense housing in San Francisco

Berkeley Talks: In 1970, one in five Americans moved every year. Now it’s one in 13. What changed?

People

An image of the Pulitzer Prize medal shows the front and the back. The medal is gold, with the image of Ben Franklin on one side and on the back is someone operating a printing press.

Six UC Berkeley alumni named 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners

Malcolm Potts speaking

Dr. Malcolm Potts, gutsy global changemaker for reproductive health and women’s rights, dies at 90

Campus & community

People standing in front of a room deliver a closing pitch about the platform SimpleGov.

In uncertain times, these UC Berkeley students are using tech to innovate democratic processes

Group portrait featuring (left to right): Julia Schaletzky, Smriti Mehta and Will Fithian, against the carved-stone backdrop of an elegant old campus building.

With right and left deeply divided, emerging UC Berkeley groups embrace the ‘vital center’

More Campus & community