Video archive

Study details how dengue infection hits harder second time around

Study details how dengue infection hits harder second time around December 21, 2011:

One of the most vexing challenges in the battle against dengue virus, a potentially fatal mosquito-borne virus, is that getting infected once can put people at greater risk for a more severe infection down the road. A new study with UC Berkeley researchers details how the interaction between a person’s immune response and a subsequent dengue infection could mean the difference between getting a mild fever and going into a fatal circulatory failure.

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies December 5, 2011:

UC Berkeley astronomer Chung-Pei Ma, graduate student Nicholas McConnell and colleagues have discovered the largest black holes to date ‑- two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system.
PBS Newshour reports on black hole discovery today at 3 & 6 p.m.

How hummingbirds shake off the rain

How hummingbirds shake off the rain November 9, 2011:

Ever wonder how birds are able to fly in the rain? Robert Dudley and Victor Ortega-Jimenez showed that hummingbirds shake their heads with 34 g’s of force, much like a dog flings off water. But hummingbirds do this in flight in the heaviest downpour without losing control.

This is not your grandmother’s microscope

This is not your grandmother’s microscope November 8, 2011:

See how CellScope, a project initiated by UC Berkeley engineers, has opened up the microscopic world to more people. The lightweight, mobile microscopes are not only being used in developing countries to diagnose disease, but also in classrooms to get kids excited about science.

Haas study sheds eerie light on fright and financial decision making

Haas study sheds eerie light on fright and financial decision making October 27, 2011:

Watching a scary movie can motivate you to sell your stocks earlier than you would have otherwise. That’s the frightening evidence shown in a series of studies from the Haas Marketing Group.