CNAS Science News
![Megalodon illustration](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2024-01/GettyImages-1004792742.jpg?h=340155df&itok=1OoWgO42)
January 21, 2024
The Megalodon was less mega than previously believed
A new study shows the Megalodon, a gigantic shark that went extinct 3.6 million years ago, was significantly more slender than earlier studies suggested.
![A person's arm is shown getting the vaccine](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2021-03/2021-01-29%20SOM%20Vaccine%2009%20%281%29.jpg?h=10d202d3&itok=twGGKCh7)
January 17, 2024
New vaccine design uses immunity against influenza to offer faster protection against emerging pathogens
Strategy developed by UC Riverside-led research team speeds up production of antibodies against COVID-19
![plant and cell cross section](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2024-01/GettyImages-1355628381%20%284%29.jpg?h=0e2c8f0b&itok=mFlO0_QZ)
January 17, 2024
Keys to aging hidden in the leaves
Scientists have known about a particular organelle in plant cells for over a century. However, UCR scientists have only now discovered that organelle’s key role in aging.
January 12, 2024
The early bird (or scientist) gets the worm
UC Riverside research on nematodes secures $1.3M NSF funding
![doctor and patient](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2024-01/GettyImages-1141776223.jpg?h=34bbd072&itok=65tNbLYi)
January 04, 2024
Scientists tame chaotic protein fueling 75% of cancers
Meet MYC, the shapeless protein responsible for making the majority of human cancer cases worse. UC Riverside researchers have found a way to rein it in, offering hope for a new era of treatments.
![high fat foods](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2024-01/GettyImages-1407832840.jpg?h=91106740&itok=NceLQca4)
January 03, 2024
New reasons eating less fat should be one of your resolutions
A UC Riverside study to motivate your new year’s resolutions: high-fat diets may impair genes linked not only to obesity, colon cancer and irritable bowels, but also to the immune system, brain function, and potentially COVID-19 risk.
![gray mold on strawberries](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2021-03/gray%20mold.jpg?h=f8f1d6ec&itok=_4sUB4g8)
December 20, 2023
Discovery: plants use “trojan horse” to fight mold invasions
UC Riverside scientists have discovered a stealth molecular weapon that plants use to attack the cells of invading gray mold.
![Frontera](https://news.ucr.edu/sites/default/files/styles/news_article_featured_l/public/2023-12/Frontera.jpg?h=2a36fde7&itok=ZU5Tbk2b)
December 20, 2023
Supercomputer enables illustration of large-scale structure of universe
UC Riverside physicist helped develop PRIYA, a new cosmological simulation model