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The article reports on the move of geologist Taylor Perron and his colleagues Jim Kirchner and Bill Dietrich at University of California, Berkeley, to examine how erosional processes create uniform patterns of landscapes. They compare a computational model with precise measurements of various landscapes. Moreover, it reveals that having developed a computational model that accurately predicts the natural patterns in landscapes, geologists can learn how factors have shaped Earth's topography.

The article describes how Jay Keasling, a synthetic chemist at the University of California, Berkeley, and his team have engineered yeast cells to produce an important precursor for a drug to treat malaria. Keasling collaborated with Amyris Biotechnologies and non-profit drug company Institute for OneWorld Health to try to complete the synthesis of artemisinin. The research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The author reflects on the release of climate change research results to the mass media before undergoing peer review. The author notes research from the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature (BEST) team at the University of California, Berkeley which became interest to the mass media but was criticized by the scientific community who viewed the media coverage as publicity before peer review. The author adds that communication of science occurred before the scientific process was incomplete.

The article highlights the Synthetic Biology 2.0 conference held at the University of California in Berkeley, California. This conference resulted to an open letter that denounced the ambitions of synthetic biology and objected to the idea that its practitioners might institute structure of self-governance to mitigate some of its inherent risks.

The article reports on the study of Carolyn Bertozzi and colleagues on chemical labelling of molecules without causing toxicity to animal subjects at the University of California, Berkeley. It notes that molecular labelling in living animals can provide insight regarding metabolism and disease process. It mentions that Bertozzi's team injected the mice with nitrogen-based chemical azide which is bound to sialic acids found on cell surfaces. It cites that the team introduced another cyclooctyne compound which was linked to the fluorescent probe. Moreover, Bertozzi's chemical technique does not rely on copper catalyst.

This article presents an interview with William Dietrich, a professor of Earth and planetary science at the University of California, Berkeley about his research on topographic signatures of life on Earth and Mars. Dietrich says there are hill slopes on Mars that are rounded and smooth and there are valley networks with apparent regular spacing which look familiar of those on Earth.