Podcast: A biology prof on growing up gay in rural Minnesota

Submitted by rhkayen on Mon, 07/09/2018 - 07:46

Noah Whiteman, an associate professor in the Department of Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley, has always known how to survive. He moved to Sax-Zim, a rural area in Minnesota, when he was 11 and spent the next seven years learning to fish and hunt with his naturalist dad and hiding that he was gay. When a boy he’d been friends with started to bully him at every chance he got, Noah knew it was time to get out.

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2018 IB Commencement Viewing

Submitted by Zachary Chestnut on Fri, 06/22/2018 - 15:58

The 2018 IB Commencement Ceremony recording is available for viewing. Relive the speeches from Prof. Daniela Kaufer, Sofia Chang, and Hiep Nguyen and follow along as our graduates are recognized for their hard work and achievements.

Did last ice age affect breast feeding in Native Americans?

Submitted by mjalbe on Mon, 04/23/2018 - 13:54

Dr. Leslea Hlusko, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, and her lab have interesting new findings. "The critical role that breast feeding plays in infant survival may have led, during the last ice age, to a common genetic mutation in East Asians and Native Americans that also, surprisingly, affects the shape of their teeth." Read more...

Increased UV from ozone depletion sterilizes trees

Submitted by rhkayen on Tue, 02/13/2018 - 13:59

“Paleontologists have come up with various kill scenarios for mass extinctions, but plant life may not be affected by dying suddenly as much as through interrupting one part of the life cycle, such as reproduction, over a long period of time, causing the population to dwindle and potentially disappear,” said co-author Cindy Looy, a UC Berkeley associate professor of Integrative Biology.

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California’s Dry Regions are Hotspots of Plant Diversity

Submitted by rhkayen on Fri, 01/05/2018 - 13:01

The first “big data” analysis of California’s native plants, using digitized information from more than 22 herbaria and botanical gardens around the state, provides some surprises about one of the most thoroughly studied and unique areas in the country.

For one, the state’s arid regions, including deserts such as Death Valley, are hotspots for originating new plant species and providing refuges for older plants that have disappeared elsewhere.