California

Close-up depiction of a microorganism

Breakthrough genomic test identifies virtually any infection in one go

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Researchers at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have developed a single genomic test that can quickly detect virtually any kind of pathogen in a patient. This allows for much quicker diagnoses, enables targeted treatment to begin sooner, and could lower healthcare costs. Over the course of 7 years, researchers led by UCSF professor Charles Chiu tested 4,828 patients’ samples with its clinical mNGS method. The mNGS test accurately identified 86% of neurological infections.

Salmon run

Salmon return to Klamath River for first time in 112 years

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On October 16, biologists with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spotted the fish above the former site of the J.C. Boyle Dam in the Upper Klamath River. The dam was one of four that had blocked the salmon’s migration between the Klamath Basin and the Pacific Ocean. Each of those dams was recently deconstructed in the largest dam removal project in United States history, which has restored the river to its natural, free-flowing state.

Holding turmeric-like substance in front of Berkeley's Campanile

U.C. Berkeley researchers use turmeric-like powder to ‘clean the air entirely’ of carbon dioxide

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New research from U.C. Berkeley, published in Nature, points to a new material – a bright yellow powder that resembles turmeric – that could help rid the air all around us of CO2. The scientists say that just 200 grams of the material can absorb up to 20 kilograms of carbon in a year – which is approximately the same absorption potential as a tree. The substance could be easily integrated into carbon capture systems already deployed to remove CO2 from refinery emissions or to capture atmospheric carbon and store it underground.

Birds flying at the beach on a sunny day

California gets final approval for nation’s third-largest marine sanctuary

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A new 4,543-square-mile area off a gorgeous and ecologically rich stretch of the California coast has achieved federal protection. The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary was officially designated Friday along 116 miles of the coast in the San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. Created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, it is the country’s third-largest marine sanctuary. It is also first designed with the involvement of Indigenous groups and the first in 30 years in California.

Virus up close

‘Gamechanger’ HIV prevention drug to be made available cheaply in 120 countries

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Gilead Sciences says it has signed agreements with six manufacturers to make and sell generic lenacapavir in 120 “high-incidence, resource-limited” countries. Lenacapavir, given as a twice-yearly injection, has shown strong results for HIV prevention. It stopped infection in a trial involving girls and women in South Africa and Uganda, and offered almost complete protection in a second trial that mainly involved men across Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, and the U.S.

Neurons inside human brain

Synapse-restoring pill set for human trials as novel schizophrenia treatment

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Spinogenix is the American company behind the once-a-day pill that restored lost nerve cell connections in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Having been granted approval from the Australia Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), it is now actively enrolling participants for its Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, tolerability, and pharmacodynamics of once-a-day SPG302 as a treatment for schizophrenia.

Nervous Swans in the Rice Fields

California tears down levee in ‘largest tidal habitat restoration in state history’

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A backhoe loader has dug into a levee in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, breaking down a portion of the earthen embankment and allowing tidal waters to flow across 3,400 acres of land for the first time in 100 years, officials said. The plot of land, located in Solano County and just upriver from Rio Vista, is being called Lookout Slough, and it will provide new habitat for fish and wildlife and increase flood protection for the greater Sacramento area by boosting water storage capacity in the Yolo Bypass.

Produce aisle at grocery store

California bans all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores

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California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable. The new measure, approved by state legislators last month, bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026. Consumers who don’t bring their own bags will now simply be asked if they want a paper bag.

Hollywood sign at sunset

California passes two new bills protecting actors and performers against AI

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In a potentially precedent-setting moment for tech legislation across the country, the new laws not only bolster those existing protections but extend them to everyone in California — not just to people working in front of a camera in Hollywood, as IndieWire notes. Together, the bills make it illegal to use an AI-generated digital replica of an actor’s likeness or voice — or technically, any Californian’s — without their explicit consent. Studios will also be prohibited from cloning deceased actors unless they have permission from their estates.

Gray wolf population growing fast in California — up sixfold in the past five years

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The first wolf returned to the state after an 87-year absence in 2011, when a young male walked across the border from Oregon. By 2015, the first new wolf pack had re-established, in Siskiyou County. By 2019, there were seven gray wolves in California. Now there are 44 — a sixfold increase over the past five years, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Wolves are now found in nine of California’s 58 counties, in seven packs from the Oregon border to the mountains around Lake Tahoe, and in the Southern Sierra near Bakersfield.

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