KTLA-TV reported that UCLA biologists have solved a centuries-old mystery surrounding the hunting habits of Surinam toads, which live in the murky water of the Amazon basin. The frogs’ vision is poor, but the UCLA team discovered that strange lobes on their fingertips are as sensitive to touch as those of humans and can detect nearby prey by sensing water movement. The frogs then snap open their jaws to create suction and swallow their prey whole. (Also: KNX-AM.) Read more about UCLA in today’s Discover Magazine, Popular Mechanics and others.

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More highlights from UCLA in the News: September 11, 2026

A 2,000-year-old ring may reveal new clues about Pontius Pilate | Discover Magazine

The new article takes a different perspective. Catherine Bonesho, a scholar of ancient Judaism at the University of California, Los Angeles, has deduced that the ring’s lettering likely translates from the Latin word pilato, meaning “for Pilate.” The ring’s owner was likely not the governor, but possibly a Judean slave who worked in his administration. The ring may have been used as a stamp to mark out Pilate’s name in deliveries. (Bonesho was quoted.)

Questions swirl over Trump’s new payout pledge if GOP wins | Los Angeles Times

Legal experts, meanwhile, say the pledge — however unusual — is unlikely to run afoul of federal bribery and vote-buying statutes. It is almost certainly protected by the 1st Amendment, said UCLA law professor Rick Hasen. (Hasen was also quoted by The New York Times.)  

Trump’s proposal of $5,000 payouts would cost more than $1 Trillion | New York Times

They could also lead to an increase in interest rates, which are already elevated and trending higher, said Lee Ohanian, a professor of economics at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The mic is on. So is live auto-tune | New York Times

Catherine Provenzano, an assistant professor of musicology at UCLA, said that “you can bet that any high-profile live performance since then has had somebody working live sound with Auto-Tune on it.”

LA renters dream of Las Vegas, but outsiders steer clear of LA | Los Angeles Times

Housing expert Shane Phillips at UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy studies said people from LA are also moving to Southern states such as Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, which have been building more housing. Even the Midwest is seeing upticks in people from the LA metro going there in search of affordability. “Given that the Midwest is not a particularly strong market, not great job prospects for many people, I think it’s just notable that there’s outmigration to there,” Phillips said.

A toxic cloud is quietly floating over Americans’ heads | Popular Mechanics

According to preliminary results from researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, firefighters who battled the LA blazes had five times more lead in their blood plasma, and even their cells, than firefighters fighting more rural fires.