Posts by Kara Manke

circular cutouts of three women and three men, arranged in two rows of three each, against a blue background

Awards

Six UC Berkeley faculty elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The organization convenes leaders from across disciplines to examine new ideas and work together to meet the nation’s challenges.

Ann Johnson sits in her wheelchair with a cord plugged into a neuroprosthesis implant while she participates in a clinical trial helping to restore her ability to speak with a brain-computer interface

Research

Berkeley Voices: A stroke left her ‘locked in.’ With the help of AI, she heard her voice again.

Mind & body

Scientists trick the eye into seeing new color ‘olo’

A new electric train at the Caltrain San Francisco station.

Research

Electric trains are quieter, more reliable than diesel. New study finds they’re healthier, too.

Two steelhead trout swim within the bubbling waters of a flowing stream.

A single dry winter decimated California’s salmon and trout populations

A photo of a small, white, propeller-shaped object that is held between the tips of two fingers. The object is smaller than the width of a fingernail.

UC Berkeley engineers create world’s smallest wireless flying robot

Two people sit on chairs made from tree trunks and smile at the camera. Behind them is a long wooden table that holds basketry and serving utensils.

Initiative aims to create a ‘rightful presence’ for the Ohlone community at UC Berkeley

Study finds persistent spike in hate speech on X

An illustration shows a man being manipulated like a string puppet by a disembodied hand.

Why conspiracies are so popular — and what we can do to stop them

Smoke emerges from forested hills. In the foreground, two fire trucks aim streams of water at a vulnerable home. Overhead, an aircraft releases a plume of red flame retardant chemicals.

Is the Bay Area prepared for major wildfires?

A helicopter in the center frame drops water on a fire as yellowish smoke clouds the sky.

Health, housing and the path ahead: UC Berkeley researchers on the Los Angeles fires

Three dried grapevine specimens, mounted on paper, are spread across a table. Behind the table stand two individuals who are smiling at the camera. Storage cabinets that are filled with file folders can be seen in the background.

What a century-old grapevine reveals about a disease that plagues wine country

UC Berkeley engineer Homayoon Kazerooni elected to the National Academy of Inventors

Two people stand next to one another in a forested area. One person is reading off of their phone while the other is writing something on a small piece of paper.

Citizen scientists discover new, more virulent form of sudden oak death in Bay Area

Michelle Yeoh stands with a hand to her mouth as Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan congratulate her.

With the help of AI, UC Berkeley researchers confirm Hollywood is getting more diverse

Five firefighters walk across an ashy and barren landscape

Project 2025 could be disastrous for the climate. Legal scholars are preparing to fight back.