When Morton La Kretz was gathering swampy water at the UCLA Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden about 50 years ago for a biology class experiment, he never thought he would end up sponsoring renovations at the garden.

Transgender student advocates call for more transgender research and healthcare provisions on campus.
Although UCLA is ranked fifth on College Choice’s Best LGBT Friendly Colleges and Universities this year and is home to the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ research institute, several students said they think UCLA needs more research on transgender health care.

New research suggests that people with obesity have different eating habits due to their sex.
This new finding indicates medical professionals should take sex differences into account when designing future obesity treatments, said Arpana Gupta, principal investigator of the study and assistant professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The Graduate Students Association is the voice of graduate students on campus. The association meets for forum every three weeks and takes positions on current issues affecting graduate students.

UCLA researchers discovered that heavy elements do not necessarily concentrate where the universe ages the most, contrary to a long-held scientific theory.
An interdisciplinary research team at UCLA found that the ratios between heavier and lighter silicon isotopes are almost constant at different locations in the Milky Way, in contrast to established theories which state that heavier isotopes are more abundant at the galactic center.

Students can now learn about immigrants’ migration across cultural, legal and political borders by taking the new international migration studies minor.
The international migration studies minor, approved in fall 2016 by the UCLA Academic Senate, is recruiting its first cohort for fall 2017.

Activists and experts shared their opinions about gun control and how students can protect themselves against gun violence on campus at an event Wednesday evening.
Four speakers discussed their ideas for and against gun control at a panel called “Guns and Our Community.” The Undergraduate Students Association Council external vice president’s office held the event at the Kerckhoff Grand Salon to commemorate the campus shooting which occurred about one year ago.

A UCLA research team has developed a new stem cell gene therapy to treat babies with diminished immune systems.
Adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency, or bubble baby disease, is an immune system defect caused by the lack of adenosine deaminase, an enzyme found in white blood cells.

UCLA hospital volunteers will help patients better understand their health conditions and treatments with Project Health Literacy, a new research project.
The project will have two parts.

This post was updated March 8 at 3:40 p.m.
UCLA researchers are studying how wildlife mammals live in urban Los Angeles to improve the relationship between animals and humans.