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.

The Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision puts lives at risk | STAT

(Commentary co-written by UCLA’s Dr. Jessica Faiz, Dr. Utibe Essien and Dr. Donna Washington) Despite decades of research and advocacy, along with millions of dollars committed to eliminate health disparities, generations of Black and brown patients continue to be mistreated and die from the effects of racism in the U.S. This has continued even amid the recent racial reckoning that sounded the alarm for racism as a public health issue.

The Supreme Court wants us to forget history | Los Angeles Times

(Commentary by UCLA’s Marcus Anthony Hunter) A few days shy of the Fourth of July, six Supreme Court justices dealt heavy blows to the independence of millions of poor and underrepresented Americans. With twin 6-3 rulings against race-conscious college admissions and student loan debt relief, the justices sent a loud and clear message that two systemic problems, racism and debt, do not exist.

Court’s conservatives are doing what they claim to detest | MSNBC

As Jonathan Zasloff, a law professor at UCLA School of Law, told me, “Either you believe in judicial restraint or you don’t.” The court’s decision making has the feel of “the Iran model — the legislature passed something, and then the Supreme Council of Guardians determines if they like it.” 

Scientists find new clue in what led to megalodon’s demise | CNN

Through an analysis of fossilized megalodon teeth, scientists have discovered the extinct shark was partially warm-blooded, with a body temperature around 7 degrees Celsius (44 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than estimated seawater temperatures at the time, according to a study published last week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “We found that O. megalodon had body temperatures significantly elevated compared to other sharks, consistent with it having a degree of internal heat production as modern warm-blooded (endothermic) animals do,” study coauthor Robert Eagle, professor of marine science and geobiology at UCLA, said in an email. (Also: BBC.)  

A new model for human origins in Africa | Salon

In an interview with Salon, Sriram Sankararaman, an associate professor in UCLA’s Departments of Computer Science, Human Genetics and Computational Medicine, praised the research team’s thorough exploration of possible models and use of rich, diverse data sets. But he doubts this is the end of the story. “The resulting complexity of the model means that it’s difficult to say exactly how closely it reflects reality,” Sankararaman, who was not involved with the Nature study, said.

Climate change keeps making wildfires and smoke worse | Associated Press

“A year like this could happen with or without climate change, but warming temperatures just made it a lot more probable,” said A. Park Williams, a UCLA bioclimatologist who studies fire and water. “We’re seeing, especially across the West, big increases in smoke exposure and reduction in air quality that are attributable to increase in fire activity.”

AI is coming for mathematics, too | New York Times

In February, Dr. Avigad attended a workshop about “machine-assisted proofs” at the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. … The gathering drew an atypical mix of mathematicians and computer scientists. “It feels consequential,” said Terence Tao, a mathematician at the university, winner of a Fields Medal in 2006 and the workshop’s lead organizer. Dr. Tao noted that only in the last couple years have mathematicians started worrying about AI’s potential threats, whether to mathematical aesthetics or to themselves.

Actors poised to go on strike against studios, streaming services | CNN

There are also concerns on potential increased use of artificial intelligence, or AI. “We all agree AI is going to be used. We don’t know yet how it will be used,” said Tom Nunan, a lecturer at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as well as a film producer and writer.

Reparations for slavery are overdue | Los Angeles Times

Reparations of some kind are in order for Black Californians today, and most Californians seem to agree. A poll by the Black Policy Project at the Ralph J. Bunche Center at UCLA found that 63% of Californians supported cash reparations — and even higher numbers supported other types of reparations.

Here’s what LGBTQ+ people need to know about their finances | Insider

The Williams Institute, a think tank that’s part of the UCLA School of Law, found that LGBTQ+ students shoulder a larger student-debt burden than their straight peers.