Science & environment

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Research

Why are Tatooine planets rare? Blame general relativity.

Astronomers have found thousands of exoplanets around single stars, but few around binary stars — even though both types of stars are equally common. Physicists can now explain the dearth.

Campus news

From quantum theory to the modern laser: Why ‘basic science’ is the foundation of innovation

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Research

For 21 years, enthusiasts used their home computers to search for ET. UC Berkeley scientists are homing in on 100 signals they found.

Science & environment

Rewriting the code: The inside story of the first CRISPR cure

two lumpy rocks colliding with fiery glow where they touch

Astronomers see fireworks from violent collisions around nearby star

The surprising ecological benefits of cows

Six people stand at a table in front of the U.N. emblem

New open-source modeling tool helps countries achieve environmental goals

A new ‘hypertropical’ climate is emerging in the Amazon

Roughly diamond-shaped asteroid with a rocky, uneven surface, set against a completely black background

Strange ‘space plastic’ found on asteroid Bennu

Randy Schekman sits in a chair in an empty classroom with an illustration of a yeast bud cell drawn in chalk on the blackboard behind him

Berkeley Talks: For Nobel laureate Randy Schekman, it began with pond scum and a toy microscope

A blue tinted image showing a clam shell with thin white string-like tendrils emerging from one side.

For UC Berkeley engineer Phillip Messersmith, nature provides a blueprint for healing

blue and white bus with 'H2' and 'Hydrogen fuel cell bus' written on side

How UC Berkeley is improving the affordability of hydrogen fuel

a bright orange sponge on left, 4 translucent, bell-shaped comb jellies on right

Did the first animal look like a sponge or a comb jelly? The debate continues.

Lines of fire burn through a carpet of dried pine needles on a forest floor.

Prescribed burning helps store forest carbon in big, fire-resistant trees

an orange fish floats above a large group of purple sea urchins

Even moderate heat waves depress sea urchin reproduction along the Pacific coast

Seung-Wuk Lee, professor of bioengineering, in his lab.

UC Berkeley researchers pioneer greener way to extract rare earth elements

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