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.

Justin Torres wins National Book Award | Los Angeles Times

[UCLA’s] Justin Torres and Yale historian Ned Blackhawk were the big winners at the 74th National Book Awards, honored for their works in fiction and nonfiction, respectively, as the prestigious literary prizes were announced Wednesday at a gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City … Torres was the final winner of the night for his novel “Blackouts,” an experimental journey into the annals of queer history that is equal parts intergenerational love letter and homoerotic fever dream.

Gen-Z’s media interest include less romance | LAist 89.3-FM’s ‘AirTalk’

A new study out of the UCLA Center for Scholars and Storytellers looked into recent media consumption patterns of folks in the age range of 10-24, with all folks studied in that time fitting under the category of being in Generation Z. (UCLA’s Yalda Uhls was interviewed.)

U.S. wildfires have hit millions of acres in 2023. Is that bad? | USA Today

The fire season in the West typically determines the severity of the fire season across the country, as the majority of acreage burned in the lower 48 states is found in the West, UCLA geography professor Glen MacDonald told USA Today.

L.A. will offer more energy incentives to some residents | New York Times

“This transition is obviously going to be expensive,” said Stephanie Pincetl, a professor at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and founding director of the California Center for Sustainable Communities. “Somebody is going to have to pay for all of this.”

10 Freeway closure brings traffic, fumes, anger | Los Angeles Times

A closure of this magnitude will inevitably have ripple effects that spread out to surface streets and neighborhoods along the detour route, said UCLA professor Michael Manville, chair of urban planning. Predicting how commuters will react is nearly impossible. “Keep in mind with everything, you’re talking about millions of individual decisions by millions of travelers,” Manville said.

No ban on preaching Christianity in Israel, experts say | USA Today

Several experts pointed out that the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel from 1948 guarantees freedom of religion. “There is no legal prohibition in Israel about preaching Christianity in Israel, and it is protected under free speech,” Tamar Hofnung, a visiting scholar at the UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies, told USA TODAY in an email.

Older, more diverse America by the year 2100 | Voice of America

The Census report offers an idea of what the nation may look like in the future. But it cannot predict unexpected events like a worldwide pandemic. Paul Ong teaches public affairs at the University of California, Los Angeles. He said such predictions can help the U.S. prepare for change, from health care for old people to the number of schools for the young. “Seeing that possibility also opens up opportunities for action,” he said.

How I made my pets more environmentally friendly | BBC

University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers calculated that meat-eating by dogs and cats creates the equivalent of about 64 million [tons] of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year — roughly the same climate impact as driving 12.5 million cars for a whole year. The same paper also calculated that every year, an area double the size of the [United Kingdom] is used to produce dry food for cats and dogs.

AI model can help predict cancer survival outcomes | Medical Xpress

Investigators from the UCLA Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model based on epigenetic factors that is able to predict patient outcomes successfully across multiple cancer types. The researchers found that by examining the gene expression patterns of epigenetic factors — factors that influence how genes are turned on or off — in tumors, they could categorize them into distinct groups to predict patient outcomes across various cancer types better than traditional measures like cancer grade and stage. (UCLA’s Hilary Coller, Mithun Mitra and Michael Cheng were quoted. Also: Scienmag.)

Can you die from laughter? | The Science Times

Laughter can also trigger asphyxiation or laryngospasm, a sudden spasm of the vocal cords when a person does not receive enough oxygen between laughs. However, the chances of these causes of death are slim, according to cardiologist Dr. Megan Kamath from UCLA Health. She further adds that while there are reported cases of deaths from laughter caused by asphyxiation or cardiac arrest, it remains an unlikely cause of death for healthy people.