A new study by Associate Professor Dennis Egger (Department of Economics and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford) and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley reveals that giving unconditional cash transfers to pregnant women in rural Kenya significantly reduces infant and child mortality.

New study in rural Kenya, co-authored by economist Edward Miguel, shows that unconditional cash transfers halved infant mortality rates. In conversation with NPR, Miguel emphasized that the findings go beyond poverty relief, demonstrating how direct aid enables families to seek lifesaving care at critical moments — a powerful case for cash as a public health intervention.

A newly published study shows that infants and little children born to people who received $1,000, no-strings-attached, in a massive experiment had improved survival rates.

Simply giving money to poor families at certain times reduced deaths among young children by nearly half, a new study found.

This New York Times opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof examines the devastating impact of recent U.S. foreign aid cuts, spotlighting how millions of vulnerable children around the world—especially in Africa—are losing access to life-saving food, medicine, and basic support. It echoes the findings of the landmark ‘Worms’ study by Edward Miguel, Michael Kremer, and others, which showed how low-cost health interventions like deworming can dramatically improve long-term outcomes for children. As funding dries up, the global consequences could be profound—making this a crucial moment to reflect on what decades of research tell us about the power of aid.

Preaching humility, he inspired new levels of transparency in economics and other fields

Students, faculty and community members gathered in front of Sproul Hall on the UC Berkeley campus to support international students and protest threats by the Trump administration to cut federal funding to a growing number of elite universities.

At rallies across the United States, including Berkeley, San Francisco, and Palo Alto, communities gathered to defend scientific research against proposed federal funding cuts by the Trump administration.

Speaking to ABC7 News, Professor Ted Miguel emphasized the fundamental role of science in daily life, stating, “Science isn’t just some abstract thing. It’s what makes us healthy, it’s what makes us rich, it’s what gives us technology – it gives us our iPhone. So, if we attack it, we’re really not going to live the same kind of lives we want to live and I think it’s really dangerous.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) faces substantial budget reductions, jeopardizing research into critical diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease. Since January, grant funding has been threatened, and thousands of scientific employees have lost their jobs, raising concerns about the long-term consequences.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the NIH budget reductions, but the battle over funding continues.

The Stand Up For Science protest took place at UC Berkeley’s Sproul Plaza on Friday 7th March, with hundreds rallying before marching through campus. Part of a nationwide movement, the protest aimed to prevent political censorship in science, reinstate terminated federal employees, and restore research funding and DEI initiatives.

Ted Miguel joined the protest, standing in solidarity together with other students and faculty members from UC Berkeley. Speaking to The Daily Californian, Ted remarked, “First of all, we want to inform people. There have been such radical changes: firing government scientists, cutting government research grants — it’s been really devastating for scientific research and threatens the fact that our universities and scientific institutions are the best in the world.”

Other UC Berkeley speakers included Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna, Bryan Méndez and Rena Dorph who warned that funding cuts threaten their work and science education programs.

Co-sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), the protest featured chants like “save democracy, protect science.” Protesters argued that Trump’s policies undermine progress and economic growth, contradicting his promises of a “golden age of America.”

If sweating through your shirt in summer’s extreme heat makes you mad, you’re not alone. In fact, research shows that there’s a direct correlation between high temperatures and hot tempers, and that anger can sometimes lead to bad behavior.

Here’s an experiment that seems excruciating to imagine in the midst of the current global heat wave: Starting six years ago, researchers began putting thousands of people in baking hot rooms to find out if high temperatures may make us more violent. The findings surprised even the scientists – and could have major implications for world peace.

As the adverse effects of the climate crisis become increasingly imminent, the call for equity in all spheres of life needs to be equated with the call for climate change education (CCE). It is imperative for the educational curriculum to incorporate climate education as an integral element of every discipline, from STEM courses to literature and the arts. The significance of a curriculum inclusive of climate education lies in its interdisciplinary potential to build students who can initiate cross-sectoral climate action. However, school curricula in India currently lack this focus on interdisciplinary climate studies.