Kara J. Manke

Berkeley News • 8th June 2026

Tripping into old age: Can psychedelics protect the aging brain? - Berkeley News

In a new study, UC Berkeley researchers are investigating whether psilocybin can support healthy aging by boosting plasticity in the brains of older adults.

25th April 2026

From Sproul Plaza to 924 Gilman: How the East Bay helped define punk’s radical legacy

A new book by UC Berkeley and Cornell professors reclaims the punk movement’s diverse, countercultural roots.

Berkeley News • 23rd March 2026

From Sproul Plaza to 924 Gilman: How the East Bay helped define punk’s radical legacy - Berkeley News

A new book by UC Berkeley and Cornell professors reclaims the punk movement’s diverse, countercultural roots.

27th February 2026

We may be underestimating the true carbon cost of northern wildfires

A study led by a UC Berkeley researcher reconstructed emissions from Swedish wildfires and found that current climate estimates are failing to fully account for carbon released from smoldering organic soils.

20th January 2026

AI has a bias problem. Can we build something smarter?

UC Berkeley computer scientist Emma Pierson believes we can use AI to improve our healthcare and criminal justice systems — but only if we design these algorithms with an eye toward equality.

18th December 2025

From Bob Dylan to Ice Cube: Mapping 60 years of storytelling in pop lyrics

UC Berkeley researchers used machine learning to analyze more than 5,000 Billboard Hot 100 hits, finding that storytelling has been on the uptick since the 1990s thanks to the rise in popularity of hip-hop.

Berkeley News • 17th November 2025

Prescribed burning helps store forest carbon in big, fire-resistant trees - Berkeley News

After more than a century of fire suppression in California’s forests, mounting evidence shows that frequent fire — through practices like prescribed fire or Indigenous cultural burning — can improve forest health, increase biodiversity and reduce the...

9th October 2025

Vision scientist Teresa Puthussery receives MacArthur ‘genius’ award

Puthussery’s discoveries about the retina are paving the way for new treatments for eye disease and vision loss.

13th September 2025

Do chatbots have a moral compass? Researchers turn to Reddit to find out.

By challenging AI chatbots to judge thousands of moral dilemmas posted in a popular Reddit forum, UC Berkeley researchers revealed that each platform follows its own set of ethics.

4th September 2025

California communities can reduce wildfire damage by half. Here’s how.

A new UC Berkeley-led study demonstrates how two mitigation strategies — home hardening and defensible space — can have a major impact on wildfire destructiveness.

27th August 2025

Are we truly on the verge of the humanoid robot revolution?

In two new papers, UC Berkeley roboticist Ken Goldberg explains why robots are not gaining real-world skills as quickly as AI chatbots are gaining language fluency.

12th August 2025

Pups in tow, Yellowstone-area wolves trek long distances to stay near prey

For the first time, a UC Berkeley-led research team has observed gray wolves outside of the Arctic migrating during pup-rearing season.

10th July 2025

https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/07/08/from-covid-to-cancer-new-at-home-test-spots-disease-with-startling-accuracy/

A new technology created by UC Berkeley engineers uses the "coffee-ring effect," paired with plasmonics and AI, for rapid diagnostics.

10th July 2025

https://news.berkeley.edu/2025/07/09/uc-berkeley-scientists-uncover-neural-mechanisms-behind-long-term-memory/

For the first time, neuroscientists have recorded activity from hundreds of neurons simultaneously in bats, providing new clues into how memories are stored.

10th July 2025

Wildfire season is here. UC Berkeley scholars are helping Bay Area communities prepare.

UC Berkeley Professor Michael Gollner and his students are applying advanced wildfire simulation tools to help neighborhoods understand their specific wildfire risks.

27th May 2025

Berkeley Voices: How seeing a new color stretches the limits of human perception

Last month, UC Berkeley researchers tricked the eye into seeing a new color they named "olo." They say it could transform how we understand and treat eye diseases, and expand the way we see the world around us.

Berkeley News • 22nd May 2025

This university alliance is training students to strengthen tribal food, energy and water systems - Berkeley News

The Native FEWS Alliance, a multi-university consortium led by UC Berkeley and the University of Arizona, is one of hundreds of programs affected by National Science Foundation funding cuts.

Berkeley News • 7th May 2025

A stroke left her ‘locked in.’ With the help of AI, she heard her voice again.

UC Berkeley researchers explain how a brain-computer interface restored Ann Johnson’s ability to speak after 18 years.

Berkeley News • 25th April 2025

Scientists trick the eye into seeing new color ‘olo’

UC Berkeley scientists created a new platform called “Oz” that directly controls up to 1,000 photoreceptors in the eye at once, providing new insight into the nature of human sight and vision loss.

16th April 2025

Electric trains are quieter, more reliable than diesel. New study finds they’re healthier, too.

A new study found that electrifying the San Francisco Bay Area’s Caltrain commuter rail line reduced riders’ exposure to carcinogenic black carbon by an average of 89%.