Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

180,000 Californians rely on federally backed flood insurance. Trump could overhaul the system

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · 5d

Hey! @ucdavisnews.bsky.social is on Bsky. Go follow us for research and other news from UC Davis!

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · 9d

Drastic changes to the National Flood Insurance Program could dismantle a half-century of U.S. policy on dealing with natural disasters, Nicholas Pinter of @ucdavis.bsky.social tells the @latimes.com. www.latimes.com/environment/...

The Trump administration is looking to overhaul FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program. That leaves insurance at risk for 180,000 policyholders in California.

www.latimes.com

The LA Fires Spewed Out Toxic Nanoparticles. He Made It His Mission to Trace Them

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · 9d

Nicholas Spada at @ucdavis.bsky.social’ Air Quality Research Center "is one of only a handful of scientists in the world proficient at using a nuclear method for detecting toxic substances in air particles to understand their impact on human health and the environment." www.wired.com/story/the-la...

Nicholas Spada is one of the only scientists in the world using a nuclear x-ray process to study deadly nanoparticles in wildfire smoke. What he’s uncovered in California is a nightmare.

www.wired.com

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · 13d

How rapidly reducing methane emissions "is really pulling the emergency brake" on climate change. @tessahill.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social and Fatima Denton discuss new report from @climatecrisisag.bsky.social with @wedonthavetime.bsky.social at #ClimateWeekNYC www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

Pulling the E-Brake on Methane Emissions

As global emissions continue to climb, there is a growing call for rapidly reducing methane.

Valley Fever Is Spreading Across the Arid West, Affecting People and Dogs

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · 15d

Valley fever is affecting people and dogs across the arid West as researchers seek solutions."Their paths are different but bound by the same invisible spores,"writes @amymquinton.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social. www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/...

A soil fungus fuels valley fever, now reaching beyond California and Arizona due to climate change. UC Davis doctors and veterinarians trace the threat.

Maternal Exposure to Crude Oil, Flame Retardants Can Affect Later Generations

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Aug 27

Research on the tenacious little killifish sheds light on how exposure to crude oil and flame retardants impacts later generations. From @andrewwhitehead.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social

Andrew Whitehead @andrewwhitehead.bsky.social · Aug 27

2 new papers now out in #ES&T on the persistent and multi-generational impacts of flame retardants on behavior and brain biology

Press release from ‪@ucdavis.bsky.social‬ ‪@ucdaviscaes.bsky.social‬ that ties this with our work on multi-gen impacts of oil spills www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

A tiny fish with transparent embryos is helping University of California, Davis, researchers shed light on how exposure to crude oil and flame retardants can affect behavior, skeletal growth, cardiac ...

The Color Lab Uncovers the Soothing Effects of Light

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jul 28

As someone who helps prep scientists for media interviews, I love how the "stress test" in this research was to have someone do 5 minutes of public speaking! 😅 Nerve-wracking work, but so important. Another great story from Greg Watry for @ucdavis.bsky.social. www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/...

Veronica Then wore an electroencephalogram, or EEG, cap and stood in front of a black curtain with a white square placed behind her like a target. Studio lights beamed down from the ceiling as a panel...

The Silly Side of Science & Salish Sea Wild

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jul 3

Humor is one of the best ways we have to cut through the noise and make science fun and accessible. See how @seadocsociety.bsky.social, part of @ucdavis.bsky.social, does it in their funniest clips from Salish Sea Wild. #SciComm youtu.be/j3QxfSUOeMc?...

YouTube video by SeaDoc Society

youtu.be

Sharing Impact & Value: Strategic Communication for Government Workers | COMPASS

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jul 2

COMPASS is awesome, gold-standard #SciComm. They're giving a free communications training for government workers July 30. Sessions fill fast. www.compassscicomm.org/event/strate...

Strategically and clearly communicate the importance of your work to relevant audiences, without partisanship. Government workers at all levels — local, state, and federal — provide important and nece...

www.compassscicomm.org

Disposable E-Cigarettes More Toxic Than Traditional Cigarettes

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jun 25

“When I first saw the lead concentrations, they were so high I thought our instrument was broken." - @ucdavis.bsky.social study author Mark Salazar on testing disposable e-cigs for toxic metals. www.ucdavis.edu/news/disposa...

They may look like travel shampoo bottles and smell like bubblegum, but after a few hundred puffs, some disposable, electronic cigarettes and vape pods release higher amounts of toxic metals than olde...

Lake Tahoe Clarity Report: Trend Stable, Not Improving

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jun 16

Lake Tahoe's Annual Clarity report out today: "It’s not, at this point, noticeably worse. But it’s not getting better, and we need to find out why.” 💙 @ucdavistahoe.bsky.social www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center releases its annual Tahoe Clarity Report.

UC Davis Team Breaks ‘Big Day’ County Record with 173 Birds

Reposted by Kat Kerlin

Daniel Karp @dskarp.bsky.social · Jun 11

Amidst all the heaviness out there, so fun to share a wonderful story about our record-breaking big day a month ago!

Thanks so much to Tiffany Dobbyn of @ucdavisnews.bsky.social for writing this!

caes.ucdavis.edu/news/uc-davi...

The wind was whipping across a dark, open field near the southern edge of Yolo County when two small burrowing owls suddenly burst into flight. For a team of birders from UC Davis, the birds marked th...

caes.ucdavis.edu

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jun 10

"The only time that we are coming across young, small turtles is when they are popping up in these bullfrog stomachs." Sidney Woodruff talks to @npr.org about their study @ucdavis.bsky.social. www.kuaf.com/npr-news/202...

By removing invasive bullfrogs, scientists help Yosemite's native turtles recover

The huge amphibians "will literally just feed on anything that fits into their mouth" — including turtle hatchlings. Clearing thousands of frogs from ponds helped other species stage a comeback.

www.kuaf.com

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · Jun 5

Cleaning stations are the “beauty salons” of the sea, where little fish clean big fish "clients." A study explores their role for coral microbial diversity. @dranyabrown.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social @miamirosenstiel.bsky.social @whoi.edu www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

Fish ‘Beauty Salons’ Offer Insight into How Microbes Move Within Reefs

Where do you go when you’re a fish and you need a skincare treatment? Coral reefs contain natural “beauty salons,” lively social hubs of activity where fish “clients” swim up and wait to be serviced b...

Wildfire exposure and the unknown impacts to health

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 30

Mike Kleeman of @ucdavis.bsky.social is working to understand the long-term health effects of wildfires. He shows @cnn.com his mobile air sampling unit in Altadena as residents struggle with cleanup and the unknown. www.2news.com/video/wildfi...

Approximately 200 Eiffel Towers' worth of wildfire debris have been collected nearly five months since the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed neighborhoods in Southern California. Now researchers are...

www.2news.com

City-Dwelling Monarch Butterflies Stay Put

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 29

Resident monarchs and the non-native milkweeds that sustain them don't help or hurt migratory monarchs, as some have feared. @ucdavis.bsky.social study.

UC Davis Egghead @ucdavis-egghead.bsky.social · May 28

Monarch butterflies famously migrate, but have also established populations in the SF Bay Area as people plant milkweeds that provide food year-round. A new study finds that the city and migratory populations are not connected www.ucdavis.edu/news/city-dw...

Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual migrations, but not all migrate. In recent years, more and more monarchs have been living and breeding year-round in California’s Bay Area, thanks in pa...

Course Inspires Next Generation of California Naturalists

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 27

A Wild Davis experience: Gerhart got an email from Stebbins Cold Canyon Reserve. "It said, 'the whole landscape was decimated by the LNU Complex fire, and we need all the help we can get.' “So I emailed and said, ‘I've got 30 students in spring. What can we do?’” www.ucdavis.edu/student-rese...

Students who complete “Wild Davis,” an UC Davis course in wildlife conservation and habitat restoration, can earn California Naturalist Certification.

They brought a species back from the brink in Bodega Bay — now federal cuts may undo it all

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 22

Endangered white abalone survived overfishing, a wasting disease, climate change, and an abysmal sex life to find love and a lifeline at the Bodega Marine Lab @ucdavis.bsky.social. But loss of funding may be their biggest threat yet unless other sources ⬆️. www.pressdemocrat.com/article/news...

A groundbreaking program to rescue endangered white abalone at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab is now at risk, as proposed federal budget cuts threaten to end the funding that made the species’ comebac...

www.pressdemocrat.com

Extreme Weather Cycles Change Underwater Light at Tahoe

Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 21

Can Lake Tahoe get a "sunburn?" Sort of. Especially since it's so clear. UV radiation shifts at the lake with extreme wet-dry climate cycles, finds a study from @ucdavistahoe.bsky.social @ucdavis.bsky.social. www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

Large shifts in UV radiation at Lake Tahoe are associated with wet and dry climate extremes, finds a UC Davis study.

Scientists Find Their Voices to Rally Support for Research

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 20

The Labs to Lives series at @ucdavis.bsky.social highlights people who conduct federally funded research and what's at risk if it disappears. www.the-scientist.com/scientists-f...

A new initiative at the University of California, Davis highlights the contributions of federally-funded research and what’s at risk if it disappears.

www.the-scientist.com

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Kat Kerlin @katkerlin.bsky.social · May 20

A chorus of native species are making themselves heard in the ponds of Yosemite after invasive American Bullfrogs are removed, finds @ucdavis.bsky.social study of native turtles. www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news...

Native Turtles Return to Yosemite After Removal of Invasive Bullfrogs

After invasive American bullfrogs croak, native turtles return to Yosemite, finds a UC Davis study.