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.

Danger signs before Palos Verdes landslide | Los Angeles Times

“If we can record these movements to forecast the potential of the catastrophic failure, it will highly improve hazard management and forecasting,” said Xiang Li, a postdoctoral researcher with UCLA’s Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering and lead author of the study. (UCLA’s Alexander Handwerger was also quoted.)

Astronauts want to redefine planets again | Scienmag

Planetary scientists are proposing a new definition of a planet to replace one that many researchers view as sun-centric and outdated … Jean-Luc Margot, lead author of the article and UCLA professor of earth, planetary and space sciences and of physics and astronomy, will present the proposed new definition at the IAU General Assembly in August 2024. (Margot was quoted. Also: Axios.)

Can U.S. hospitals keep up with heat-related emergencies? | New York Times

“It’s difficult for us to know how many people are impacted by extreme heat when we look at emergency room data,” said Kelly Turner, a heat expert at the University of California, Los Angeles. “Many hospitals don’t have a code for heat or extreme heat. If, for instance, what actually happened is someone came in with headaches and pulmonary issues, that’s what’s going to be coded.”

Millions of Americans live without AC. Here’s how they stay cool. | USA Today

“The stresses on your organs to keep you alive when it’s really hot are intense. When temperatures drop at night, your body has a chance to recover,” said Bharat Venkat, director of the UCLA Heat Lab. “When you don’t get that it’s pretty serious.”

Forest carbon storage has declined across much of the West | Scienmag

“Our study develops new methods to carefully estimate forest-carbon storage at a regional level, track it over time, and diagnose the causes of changes over time,” said co-author Park Williams, a hydroclimatologist at UCLA. He expects the methods will be useful in monitoring carbon storage levels going forward, as well as assessing the carbon impacts of management efforts such as forest thinning and prescribed burning.

Family field trips to learn about L.A.’s original, Indigenous stewards | LAist

UCLA’s digital storytelling project Mapping Indigenous L.A. illuminates the lives of the original inhabitants of the Los Angeles Basin as well as those who have relocated and migrated here, including Pacific Islanders and the Indigenous diaspora of Latin America.

Trumpism’s weapon against Western democracies is antisemitism | Salon

“We are in a moment of crisis for democratic institutions across the world. Trump, much like Italy’s Georgia Meloni, Marine La Pen’s in France, the fact that Germany’s AfD (Alternative for Germany) is polling at record high numbers are all symptoms of the same problem — the systemic dissociation and feelings of dislocation that many people are feeling from democracy,” said UCLA’s Sharon Nazarian.

GOP group says Biden will use ‘force’ to keep power | Associated Press

“This is gaslighting and it is dangerous in fanning flames that could lead to potential violence,” said Rick Hasen, an election law expert and professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Between ‘Gladiator II,’ ‘Wicked,’ is the new ‘Barbenheimer’ upon us? | CNN

“It’s good when studios release big titles simultaneously,” [UCLA’s Tom] Nunan told CNN. “I do think that they feed off of each other –– that level of excitement. I think all of those things work in both of these films’ favor. I just don’t think it’s going to be the lightning in a bottle that ‘Barbenheimer’ was.”

Black patients diagnosed with Huntington’s later than whites | HealthDay News

Black patients with Huntington’s disease receive their diagnoses an average of one year later than white people with the incurable genetic disorder, a new study shows. Early diagnosis is essential to help patients get proper care and prepare for the effects of the disease, lead researcher Dr. Adys Mendizabal, a UCLA Health assistant professor of neurology, said in a news release.