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.
What caused 31 atmospheric rivers? | Los Angeles Times
“The answer really is that we don’t know yet,” said UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain. “It could be anything from the Hunga Tonga[-Hunga Ha’apai] volcanic eruption last spring, which injected a record-breaking amount of water vapor into the stratosphere in a way that’s not represented well in seasonal forecasts. It could be an unusual transition from La Niña to El Niño. It could be random bad luck.” (Swain was also quoted in a separate story in the Los Angeles Times.)
Sharp decline in violence at California schools | KTLA-TV
Despite mass shootings and other high-profile incidents nationwide, a new UCLA study has found that day-to-day violence at California’s middle and high schools is sharply lower than it was around the turn of the century. … “Each school shooting is a devastating act that terrorizes the nation, and there is a growing sense in the public that little has changed in two decades to make schools safe,” said UCLA scholar Ron Avi Astor, who co-authored the study. “But mass shootings are just one part of this story. Overall, on a day-to-day basis for most students, American schools are safer than they’ve been for many decades.” (Also: KNBC-TV.)
Are cities spending homelessness dollars effectively? | LAist
Legislators on the audit committee voted unanimously to order the audit late last month. It’s the first state review of its kind amid the wave of new funding in recent years. “I think it will raise questions — bottom line questions — about where we’re putting the money,” said Gary Blasi, a UCLA law professor who closely follows homelessness and has represented unhoused people as an attorney.
The ultimate L.A. bookshelf | Los Angeles Times
A poor Black teenage girl is shot by a middle-class Korean storekeeper; a wealthy judge rejects a prison sentence for manslaughter. Months later, a city erupts in mass violence, with Koreans a major target. These are the bare bones of the UCLA historian’s [Brenda Stevenson’s] account of the 1991 killing of Latasha Harlins. Her accomplishment is to weave together the family histories of all three players in a way that shows systemic injustice is all in the details.
Florida seeks to bar Medicaid transgender care | Bloomberg Law
It’s similar to a case recently argued in the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where the plaintiffs objected to Medicaid exclusions for gender-affirming surgeries. The Fourth Circuit panel didn’t seem receptive to the plaintiffs’ argument, even though the weight of the law currently is in their favor, according to the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, which conducts independent research on sexual orientation, gender identity law and public policy.
California could ban food additives linked to health risks | CBS News
Dana Hunnes, senior clinical dietitian at UCLA, believes the number of additives in our food supply is concerning. “The more we consume of a certain product, the more likely it is that we’re going to have negative side effects in our body,” she said.
A peanut allergy treatment might be coming | KTLA-TV
Taking inspiration from the groundbreaking vaccines used during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers at UCLA are exploring a new method to treat peanut allergies. Scientists at the university have developed a “nanoparticle” that delivers mRNA to liver cells in an attempt to “teach” the immune system to tolerate the protein found in peanuts that is responsible for causing allergic reactions in 1 out of every 50 children. (UCLA’s André Nel was quoted. Also: Science Alert.)
Adoption of COVID-19 precautions came down to values | Scienmag
Given the battles over COVID-19 rules and recommendations in the United States over the past three years, the findings of a new UCLA-led study may come as a bit of a shock: Globally, those who professed to hold traditional values tended to adhere more closely to coronavirus-prevention measures than those who considered themselves more liberal. (UCLA’s Theodore Samore and Daniel Fessler were quoted.)
Varying therapies may work together to treat melanoma | Medical Xpress
Research led by scientists at UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that responses to a type of immunotherapy called PD-1 checkpoint blockade in patients with advanced melanoma depended on whether or not they had previously received another immunotherapy—CTLA-4 blockade—as well as other factors. (UCLA’s Dr. Katie Campbell and Dr. Antoni Ribas were quoted.)
