UCR College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS)

06/05/2026

A flesh-eating fly has returned to the U.S. What now? https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/06/04/flesh-eating-fly-has-returned-us-what-now

The New World screwworm lays its eggs in open wounds and burrows into skin. While human infections are rare, the insect poses an existential threat to cattle farming and dairy production. And it is now in Texas.

06/04/2026

Frontiers of Cosmology Lecture at UC Riverside: The Surprising Expansion History of the Universe. Presented by Adam Riess. Thursday, June 4, 2026. Reception: 5pm. Lecture: 6pm. This event is free and open to the public. https://events.ucr.edu/event/frontiers-of-cosmology-lecture-2572

06/04/2026

The College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences will celebrate 2026 Commencement with the following graduating CNAS students leading their classmates in procession, giving the commencement speech, leading graduates during the tassel-turning ceremony, and performing the national anthem & UCR Alma Mater:

Samantha Grace Guli-Mai - Student Commencement Speaker
Samantha Arenas - National Anthem
Julia Maxeen Martin - National Anthem
Rebecca Santos - National Anthem
Jennifer Kamholz - UCR Alma Mater
Snigdha Maddula - College Marshal
Sahithi Malireddy - Undergraduate Student Marshal
Zachary Cadima - Graduate Student Marshal
Leila Haidar - Tassel Turner

Congratulate our amazing student participants and learn more! cnas.ucr.edu/commencement.

06/04/2026

Why fungi could speed Joshua tree recovery after Dome Fire https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/environment/wildfires/2026/06/02/mojave-fungi-survival-helps-joshua-tree-recovery/90373452007/

via Desert Sun

While the Dome Fire wiped out more than a million Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert, the soil fungi they depend on largely survived.

06/03/2026

Google wants to release 64 million bacteria-riddled mosquitoes across California and Florida. Here's why scientists are enthusiastic. https://www.livescience.com/health/viruses-infections-disease/google-wants-to-release-64-million-bacteria-riddled-mosquitoes-across-california-and-florida-heres-why-scientists-are-enthusiastic

via LiveScience

Google has applied for an experimental mosquito release permit to deploy millions of non-biting southern house mosquitoes that it has infected with the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis, in an effort to reduce mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus.

06/03/2026

Arctic rivers are bleeding orange. Scientists just found the toxic origin https://gizmodo.com/arctic-rivers-are-bleeding-orange-scientists-just-found-the-toxic-origin-2000767152

via Gizmodo

Not even the most remote, natural hotspots appear exempt from rising temperatures.

06/03/2026

A secret to making a queen bee may lie in the wax around it https://www.sciencenews.org/article/queen-honeybee-development-wax

via Science News Magazine

Queen-cell wax helps shape honeybee queen development, challenging the idea that royal jelly alone makes a queen, a new study suggests.

06/03/2026

The mystery of Alaska’s orange rivers is finally solved https://www.popsci.com/environment/orange-rivers-alaska/

via Popular Science

New research clearly links thawing permafrost to toxic shift—and offers a way to predict it.

06/03/2026

High puff vapes become more toxic over time study says https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2026-06-03/high-puff-vapes-become-more-toxic-over-time-study-says

via U.S. News and World Report

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06/03/2026

How honeybees really crown their queens https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2026/06/03/how-honeybees-really-crown-their-queens

Centre for Integrative Bee Research (CIBER)

For generations, scientists believed a queen honeybee was made almost entirely by diet: feed an ordinary larva enough royal jelly and a ruler emerges. But new research suggests queens are created through a more elaborate process.