I am trying to use MATLAB, but whenever I open it all I am getting is a blank screen. How do I fix this?

If you are using gnome as your windows manager and you try to use MATLAB, you may run into this issue. To fix the problem, go to System Menu -> Preferences -> Appearance, then select the 'Visual Effects' tab. Set the effects to 'None' and close the window. MATLAB should behave normally once this is done.