Kara J. Manke

Berkeley News • 12th November 2024

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

Every year, volunteers with the UC Berkeley-led SOD Blitz Project survey tens of thousands of California trees for signs of the fungus-like pathogen.

Berkeley News • 4th November 2024

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

A new study used facial recognition technology to track the amount of time actors appear on screen in more than 2,300 films.

Berkeley News • 30th October 2024

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

UC Berkeley's Ken Alex says regardless of who the next president is, proponents will continue to push for this "straightforward statement of climate denial."

Berkeley News • 30th September 2024

How UC Berkeley researchers are making online spaces safer for all - Berkeley News

Across campus, researchers are building tools to support freedom of expression on the internet while minimizing the potential for harm.

Berkeley News • 11th September 2024

California has dramatically improved its air quality, but racial disparities persist - Berkeley News

The state’s aggressive emissions policies have reduced exposure to PM2.5 air pollution by 65% since 2000, but low-income communities of color still breathe the dirtiest air.

Berkeley News • 22nd August 2024

Can an aquifer be injured? Scholar brings a disability lens to ecological repair - Berkeley News

In her new book Disabled Ecologies, UC Berkeley professor Sunaura Taylor returns to a Tucson Superfund site to document how residents organized one of the earliest and most successful environmental justice movements in the country.

Berkeley News • 13th August 2024

How color shapes which animals we fear — and which we protect - Berkeley News

From albino squirrels to black coyotes, urban wildlife with unique color variations reveal the role of human bias in wildlife conservation.

Berkeley News • 5th August 2024

Dozing at the wheel? Not with these fatigue-detecting earbuds - Berkeley News

UC Berkeley researchers have created earpieces that identify brain activity associated with relaxation and drowsiness.

Berkeley News • 18th July 2024

Researchers reveal a hidden factor in California’s insurance crisis: The ‘winner’s curse’ - Berkeley News

As lawmakers scramble to reform homeowners’ insurance regulations, a new study examines how insurers are pricing wildfire risk — and how different strategies can significantly impact premiums.

Berkeley News • 13th June 2024

Can engineered plants help make baby formula as nutritious as breast milk?

Human breast milk contains a unique blend of prebiotic sugars that are tricky to replicate in commercial infant formula. New research shows that plants may be the perfect manufacturers.

Berkeley News • 11th June 2024

Psychedelics change how we see the world. A UC Berkeley study aims to find out why.

Researchers will use neuroimaging to observe the effects of psilocybin on the human brain — in real-time.

Berkeley • 6th May 2024

Why parrots sometimes adopt — or kill — each other’s babies

Competition over love and real estate drives two extreme behaviors in green-rumped parrotlets, new study finds.

Berkeley • 9th April 2024

How to keep AI from killing us all

In a new paper, UC Berkeley researchers argue that companies should not be allowed to create advanced AI systems until they can prove they are safe.

Berkeley • 18th March 2024

What artificial streams can teach us about insects, algae and our changing climate

By the end of the century, drought may reshape California's mountain waterways and the ecosystems that depend on them.

Berkeley • 29th February 2024

What bats can teach us about the evolution of human speech

A new study finds that the part of bats’ brains that controls vocalizations has the same neural and genetic machinery as the part of the human brain that controls speech, making bats ideal candidates for understanding speech development and pathology.

Berkeley • 13th February 2024

How a pair of Bay Area bobcats fueled one student's passion for wildlife photography

Vishal Subramanyan spent much of his teen years documenting the lives of two bobcats named Notch and Blondie. Now, he hopes to use his skills as a naturalist and photographer to advance conservation work across the globe.

Berkeley • 12th December 2023

Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned — or thinned

UC Berkeley researchers found that prescribed burning and restoration thinning can reduce wildfire risk and boost a forest’s resilience to climate change, and using any combination of these treatments is far better than doing nothing.

Berkeley • 9th November 2023

How to use AI for discovery — without leading science astray

A new statistical technique allows researchers to safely use the predictions obtained from machine learning to test scientific hypotheses.

Berkeley • 30th August 2023

Bat study reveals how the brain is wired for collective behavior

The same neurons that help bats navigate through space may also help them navigate social environments.

Berkeley News • 17th July 2023

Hidden cameras spot wildlife returning home after 2018 megafire

UC Berkeley researchers analyzed motion-sensor camera photos collected before and after the Mendocino Complex Fire and found that many species were remarkably resistant to the impacts of the historic blaze