A new book entitled “What, if Anything, are Species?” by IB Professor Brent Mishler explores this controversial topic in detail, based on 40 years of investigation. He concludes that species are nothing special; entities currently given that rank are simply clades like taxa at all other levels on the tree of life, smaller or larger than the traditional species level.  He goes into the advantages of fully rankless classification, and of a multi-level approach to ecology and evolution.

The Extraordinary Teaching in Extraordinary Times Award is intended to honor UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and student instructors who in 2020 embraced the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and engaged in or supported excellent teaching. These instructors and staff used innovative methods and worked beyond their traditional roles to ensure that students remained engaged and supported, and were challenged to do meaningful work under extraordinary circumstances.

The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.

Congratulations to:

Dan Kim, 

Claire Evensen

Daisy Horr

IB Associate Professor Caroline Williams was one of the lead authors of a new study appearing this week in the journal Global Change Biology. Read more here.

It was proclaimed on March 14th, 2017, also known as "Pi Day" and is Albert Einstein's birthday (and on every March 14th henceforth) that it is Marian Diamond Day in the City of Berkeley. 

Professor Marian Diamond loved to bake pies, and was the first person to publish research on Einstein's brain. We honor her memory this upcoming Pi Day.

Congratulations to The Biology Scholars Program! Which just received the 2020 HEALTH EQUITY INNOVATION FUND grant from Genentech to support students during the pandemic and beyond.

Ream more about the program here!

Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional membership organization for scientific researchers and educators in the field of genetics. Our members work to advance knowledge in the basic mechanisms of inheritance, from the molecular to the population level.

Bill Clemens, who died peacefully of metastatic cancer at his home in Berkeley on Nov. 17 at the age of 88, became one of the most persuasive voices against the impact hypothesis. He represented many biologists and paleontologists who, seeing continual turnover of life in the fossil record, challenged the catastrophism of physicists like Luis Alvarez, geologists like his son, Walter, and, increasingly, the public, which found the impact hypothesis very compelling.

Read More...

We applaud the combined responses of our students, staff, and faculty during these unbelievably challenging times and celebrate our amazing portfolio of research, education, and scientific progress for the common good.  

Read the IB Newsletter Here!

Cara Brook, a UC Berkeley researcher whose work on bat viruses has taken on new urgency with the rise of COVID-19, is one of five recipients of this year’s L’Oréal For Women in Science fellowships.

The awards were announced yesterday (Monday, Nov. 16) by L’Oréal USA, which sponsors the annual fellowships to recognize early-career female scientists. Brook and the other recipients each will receive $60,000 to advance their research.