July 21, 2025

SPOP orientation welcomes future students to UC Irvine and the Anteater Family. (Photo by Steve Zylius / UC Irvine)

UC IRVINE NEWS

Astronomers discover exoplanets may be larger than realized

An exoplanet host with several background stars. If left uncorrected, the additional light from the background stars can lead to underestimated exoplanet size measurements. The square grid represents individual pixels from NASA’s TESS satellite.

In new research, UC Irvine astronomers describe how more than 200 known exoplanets are likely much larger than previously thought. It’s a finding that could change which distant worlds researchers consider potential harbors for life. “We found that hundreds of exoplanets are larger than they appear, and that shifts our understanding of exoplanets on a large scale,” said Te Han, a doctoral student and lead author of the new Astrophysical Journal Letters study. “This means we may have actually found fewer Earth-like planets so far than we thought.”

UC Irvine developed heart valve shines in early preclinical testing

The Iris Valve, a transcatheter, growth-accommodating pulmonary valve designed for very young children, was developed at UC Irvine and is currently progressing toward FDA clinical approval.

UC Irvine researchers designed and developed a minimally invasive replacement pulmonary heart valve. Created for pediatric patients with congenital cardiac defects, the device can expand as children grow, eliminating the need for multiple surgeries. The team successfully conducted laboratory and early-stage feasibility testing of the implant, a key step toward obtaining approval for human use.

Feeling ‘meh’ about daily life might signal higher than normal stress

Diego Pizzagalli

Occasional “meh” feelings are considered a part of the human experience, but longer spells could indicate prolonged stress or mental health challenges. Diego Pizzagalli, the founding director of the Noel Drury, MD Institute for Translational Depression Discoveries, says those feelings could be anhedonia, which can be caused by sustained stress.

UC NEWS

World-changing UC innovations

The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica in 1994. UC Irvine scientists were the first to discover that common industrial chemicals were chewing through Earth's protective sunscreen. Credit: Space Frontiers/Getty Images

In the early 1970s, through research funded by the federal Atomic Energy Commission, UC Irvine chemistry professor Sherry Rowland and postdoctoral scholar Mario Molina discovered that chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, destroyed the Earth’s protective ozone layer. Following the 1987 Montreal Protocol, the worldwide agreement banning CFCs, the sale and use of these substances declined by over 95 percent. As a result, Rowland and Molina won the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their part in averting global catastrophe.

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Sociology Ph.D. candidate earns Lauds & Laurels award

UC Irvine sociology Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Cabrera earns Lauds & Laurels recognition

Sociology Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Cabrera has earned Lauds & Laurels recognition for her work bridging research, representation and community – online and off. The Lauds & Laurels recognition, awarded annually by the UC Irvine Alumni Association and its board of directors, is one of the university’s oldest honors. Cabrera’s name now joins a list of more than 900 honorees who have left a lasting mark on the campus and beyond.

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