UCLA in the News lists selected mentions of UCLA in the world’s news media. Some articles may require registration or a subscription. See more UCLA in the News.
Researchers create solar flares in tiny glass sphere | Wired
The UCLA scientist and his colleagues have now created what [Seth] Putterman calls “our sun in a jar,” a 1.2-inch glass ball filled with plasma, which they have used to model processes like those that create solar flares. These are explosive bursts of energy sometimes accompanied by the release of a high-speed blob of plasma that could wreak havoc with satellites in orbit and electricity grids on the ground. “The steps we’re making will influence modeling so that there can be a warning and determination of precursors of space weather,” says Putterman.
Lack of shade at L.A. bus stops a health hazard | Los Angeles Magazine
Most of the bus stops in Los Angeles lack protection from the elements, exposing daily commuters to the county’s sweltering heat and creating a health hazard for already marginalized Angelenos, according to a new study from UCLA and local advocacy group, Move LA … “Heat already kills more people than any natural disaster and that’s at the levels that we have now,” Madeline Brozen, the deputy director of the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies and co-author of the study told LAMag. “It’s going to be getting worse in the future as climate change worsens and LA County continues to get hotter.”
Prison deaths skyrocketed when pandemic hit | WebMD
Deaths among prison inmates soared almost 50% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to newly available data. The fatalities more than doubled in six states, according to the figures from researchers at the UCLA Law Behind Bars Data Project … “Clearly the pandemic is the story, but it is just a part of the story,” said Aaron Littman, an assistant professor and the acting director of the UCLA project. (Also: the Independent.)
What makes ‘Till’ great and why it was shunned | The Nation
(Commentary by UCLA’s Robin D.G. Kelley) The charge that the Academy is rife with misogynoir is neither unreasonable nor surprising. In its 95-year history, only one Black woman has won the Oscar for Best Actress: Halle Berry for “Monster’s Ball.” Despite token efforts to diversify its ranks, 81 percent of its voting members remains white, and members are not required to watch all of the submissions, including films considered front-runners. I suspect that many members simply skipped “Till,” which is consistent with a portion of the public that expressed reluctance to see the film.
L.A. County prepares for a rare blizzard | New York Times
“This is shaping up to be a very unusual event in certain places, especially, and the impacts are probably going to be really substantial,” Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at [UCLA] said in a video on Tuesday. (Swain was also quoted by the Associated Press and Reuters. )
Fentanyl found in drugs from Mexican pharmacies | KCRW-FM’s ‘Press Play’
It’s common for many Americans to go to Mexico to buy cheaper medicine. But according to a new UCLA study, some pills bought from Mexican pharmacies, like oxycodone and adderall, contained potentially life-threatening ingredients such as fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. (UCLA’s Chelsea Shover was interviewed.)
Supreme Court case could change the internet | LAist 89.3-FM’s ‘AirTalk’
“This really frames a very important issue about governance of content on the Internet. I think that many people in the last few years have said the algorithms are not socially responsible. And they’ve been accused of giving the big social media companies such as YouTube a gatekeeping power which they are not using in a way that is promoting civic responsibility,” said UCLA’s Alex Alben (approx. 5:10 mark).
How repeat exposures to mass shootings affect youth | Mercury News
(Commentary co-written by UCLA’s Mark Kaplan) Exposure to gun violence at any point during childhood is an adverse childhood experience, and extensive research on exposure to these experiences shows links to dozens of negative outcomes in a person’s life. These can include poor mental health, increased risk for chronic disease, addiction, suicide, decreased school success and even premature death.
Alleged Turkey quake video debunked | Associated Press
An Yin, a professor of geology at the University of California, Los Angeles, agreed, saying the video showed fluvial incision of the Chinese Loess Plateau. Yin, Gao and Columbia University geophysicist Michael Steckler all agreed that the fissures in this part of China were created by river erosion, not earthquakes.
Turkey and Syria struck by another big quake | MSNBC
“The aftershock pattern that we’re seeing in Turkey is within the normal range. We’re about two weeks out from the first 7.8 main shock, and during this time frame it’s normal to get a series of large aftershocks,” said UCLA’s Jonathan Stewart. (Stewart was interviewed.)
