2025 Media Watch Archives
Battery scientist shares honest review after one year of driving Tesla Model Y — here's what she had to say
The Cool Down -
Battery scientist Jill Pestana's Tesla Model Y has somehow improved itself during the first year she has owned it, as the expert shared in a glowing review on TikTok. … Pestana is a battery engineer who obtained her Master of Science in materials science and engineering at the University of California, Irvine, according to her LinkedIn profile. Read More
How Marine Mollusks are Teaching Us to Build Better Batteries
Supply Chain Brain -
“Chiton grow new teeth every few days that are superior to materials used in industrial cutting tools, grinding media, dental implants, surgical implants and protective coatings, yet they are made at room temperature and with nanoscale precision," says David Kisailus, UC Irvine professor of materials and engineering, and the head of the school's Biomimetic and Nanostructured Materials Laboratory. "We can learn a lot from these biological designs and processes.” Read More
Scientists make mind-blowing medical breakthrough using human waste: 'This can be done easily'
The Cool Down -
Scientists at the University of California, Irvine, and partner institutions have engineered "osteoyeast," a modified organism that mimics the cells responsible for building bones naturally. … “The fact that it uses yeast as a chassis, which is inexpensive and can be placed in large vats at relatively low temperatures … shows that this can be done easily without major infrastructural needs, and that has the added benefit of making it accessible to developing economies," explained David Kisailus, a UC Irvine professor. Read More
Combining These 2 Supplements Can Slow Down Alzheimer’s Disease, Researchers Find
Best Life -
“We saw in mouse neurons that GTP levels were lower in old age. This led us to try to raise GTP levels with an energy precursor molecule that’s very safe, nicotinamide [vitamin B3],” said study author Gregory J. Brewer, a professor of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine, in a statement to PsyPost. Read More
440 Million People at Risk: Scientists Uncover Global Wildfire Paradox
SciTechDaily -
In Europe and Oceania, the study noted a decline in wildfire exposures, mainly because of population shifts from rural to urban areas. This highlights how both social and environmental factors play critical roles in shaping wildfire risk. “The global paradox of decreased burn area and increased human impacts we uncovered … is due largely to an increasing overlap between human settlements and fire-prone landscapes,” said co-author Amir AghaKouchak, UC Irvine Chancellor’s Professor of civil and environmental engineering. Read More
Battling Power Outages and Heat Wave, Iran Orders More Shutdowns
The New York Times -
Amir AghaKouchak, an environmental expert and civil engineer at the University of California, Irvine, said years of drought had compounded poor government decision-making — such as draining groundwater for farming or piping water into central desert regions to support water-intensive industries like steel production. “Water and energy are closely related, often forming a vicious cycle,” he said, as heat waves increase demand for water and power, while drought and low reservoir levels reduce hydroelectric power, causing blackouts. Read More
Los Angeles river defenses may crumble under the next megaflood
The Los Angeles Post -
"We have developed an innovative, new flood risk modeling platform that, for the first time, enables household exposure and inequalities to be systematically quantified across major metro regions," said lead author Brett Sanders, UCI professor of civil and environmental engineering. … Jochen Schubert, a flood hazard researcher at UC Irvine and co-author of the 2022 study, stated that decades of urban development have altered runoff behavior. Read More
Green tea antioxidant and vitamin B3 show promise for treating Alzheimer’s-related cellular decline
PsyPost -
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine have identified a promising method to counteract key biological features of brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease using naturally occurring compounds. … “The strongest risk factor for Alzheimer’s that everyone knows is age. As we age, we have less energy. We developed a technique to measure a particular kind of energy in brain cells called GTP,” said study author Gregory J. Brewer, a professor of biomedical engineering at the University of California, Irvine. Read More
Good News – This Hot Drink Could Help Protect Against Dementia
HuffPost -
This study only showed that a compound in it could be useful in some form in the future. Professor Gregory Brewer said that “More work is going to be required to find the best way to administer this treatment, since a recent clinical trial involving UC Irvine researchers showed that oral nicotinamide was not very effective because of inactivation in the bloodstream”. Read More
Natural Compound Combo Restores Aging Brain Cells
Neuroscience News -
“As people age, their brains show a decline in neuronal energy levels, which limits the ability to remove unwanted proteins and damaged components,” said lead author Gregory Brewer, adjunct professor of biomedical engineering at UC Irvine. “We found that restoring energy levels helps neurons regain this critical cleanup function.” Read More