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.

Coronavirus cases are rising again in California’s big cities | Los Angeles Times

“I think that it’s possible we might see a modest uptick in the next few weeks due to the fact that we are reducing some of the restrictions, such as indoor mask use,” UCLA epidemiologist Dr. Robert Kim-Farley said. “But I do not anticipate that we would see a major surge at this stage, just because so many people are immune, due to natural infection or vaccination.”

Should I get a second COVID-19 booster? | Los Angeles Times

But several others believed that however small the upside of a second booster, the downside was even smaller. That’s why Dr. Otto Yang, associate chief of infectious diseases at UCLA, said his default position is that “anyone that’s qualified should just go ahead and get it.”

Pandemic threatens economic gains for people of color | USA Today

Economic gains also weren’t spread equally between income classes, with lower-income people of color likely to reap the fewest rewards, experts said. “I think overall the economy became much more unequal in terms of, after you account for the business cycle, the distribution of earnings,” said Paul Ong, a University of California, Los Angeles research professor and economist. “So, you have that counterforce working and quite often that increase in inequality takes on a racial dimension.”

Experts weigh in on teens and COVID-19 boosters | NBC’s “Today”

Data suggests that protection from the original COVID-19 vaccine series wanes after about six months, Dr. Jaime Deville, clinical professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, told TODAY. That, plus evidence showing that omicron and the new BA.2 subvariant can evade some of the protection from vaccines, makes boosters an important tool to stay as safe as possible while the pandemic continues, Deville said.

What will heat wave mean for California water? | Sacramento Bee

“The recent rate of Sierra Nevada snowmelt is extraordinary,” Daniel Swain, a UCLA climate scientist, tweeted Monday. “With upcoming heatwave, it’s starting to seem possible that vast majority of snowpack could be gone by mid-late April.”

Does cutting back on salt help battle heart failure? | HealthDay News

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, interim chief of the division of cardiology at University of California, Los Angeles, said for decades patients with heart failure have been advised to restrict their salt intake. “This longstanding, widely accepted recommendation was based on a physiologic rationale, clinical observation and expert opinion rather than having been demonstrated in prospective, randomized clinical trials,” he noted.

Mitochondria double as tiny lenses in the eye | Quanta

This was “a beautiful experimental model” and a very novel finding, said Yi-Rong Peng, an assistant professor in the department of ophthalmology at the University of California, Los Angeles who was not involved in the study. It would be interesting, Peng added, to see if these mitochondrial bundles could also be playing a role inside rods to enhance night vision.

Vancouver, B.C., could end ‘single-family zoning’ | Vancouver Sun

The headline of a 2019 article in the Journal of the American Planning Association states plainly: “It’s time to end single-family zoning.” In the article, three UCLA urban planning professors argue this kind of zoning is “inequitable, inefficient and environmentally unsustainable,” and “lets a small number of people amass disproportionate property wealth” while forcing “others to pay more for housing than they should.”

The danger of rattlesnake bites | KABC-TV

“If you’re bitten by a rattlesnake, which are really the only venomous snakes in Southern California, there’s a couple of things that could happen. … The first thing you’ll notice is a ton of pain. So, patients have a lot of pain. They’re going to get a lot of swelling in the extremity that was bitten. And then they could get some blood problems,” said UCLA’s Dr. Michael Levine.

The need for mental health resources for college students | KPCC-FM

“I think what we’re going to see at many colleges, universities, you’ll see fewer students finishing their degrees. … You’ll see young people who are somewhat delayed at pursuing careers because they just are uncertain about what steps they want to take,” said UCLA’s Tyrone Howard.

Six tips to help your gut absorb Vitamin D | The Healthy

You’ve probably heard that sunlight is a good source of vitamin D. Dana Ellis Hunnes, PhD, MPH, RD, Senior Dietitian at UCLA Medical Center and author of “Recipe For Survival” explains to The Healthy exactly how that works: our skin takes the ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun and transforms them into cholecalciferol, an inactive form of vitamin D. The liver and kidneys then work to turn this substance into calcitriol, the biologically active form of vitamin D that’s critical to bone health and even immune function.