Health & Wellness

Science-based ways to start off the school year

October 2, 2025 by

With Week 1 of fall quarter nearly behind us, science editor Saanvi Tiwary shares three scientifically-backed strategies for Gaucho success in the classroom and beyond.
read more

Meghan Morrissey: Bringing creativity to cancer research

May 1, 2025 by

At the beginning of 2025, UC Santa Barbara assistant professor in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology Meghan Morrissey was granted the Damon Runyon-Rachleff Innovation Award for her research...
read more

The cost of a virus: the politics of the U.S. bird flu outbreak and its public health implications

February 20, 2025 by

Amidst growing fears of human-to-human transmission, “bird flu” is no longer just a grocery store problem — it’s exposing instability in our new administration’s approach to public health. S...
read more

New UCSB study conducts first-ever mapping of the human brain across pregnancy

October 17, 2024 by

While we have long understood the profound changes that the human body undergoes during pregnancy, the transformation of the maternal brain has for the most part remained a mystery —  until now. Re...
read more

Simply Stated: What are the effects of performance-enhancing drugs on an athlete’s body?

August 29, 2024 by

Like virtually all of its kind that precede it, the 2024 Summer Olympics has been rife with doping scandals. Chinese Olympic swimmer Pan Zhanle was the subject of doping accusations after he secured h...
read more

Simply Stated: What’s the science behind the mental strength of Olympic athletes?

August 29, 2024 by

The mind of an Olympic athlete is a finely tuned instrument where focus, resilience and neurological efficiency converge to produce peak performance. While Olympians’ physical prowess is the result ...
read more

OPINION: My journey through topical steroid withdrawal, a failure of the medical community

July 13, 2024 by

I am struggling with a condition called topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), a diagnosis that has yet to be officially recognized by the National Health Service. This debilitating condition was caused by...
read more

Simply Stated: Are aphrodisiacs a hoax?

February 15, 2024 by and

What is an aphrodisiac? An aphrodisiac is a substance or food that can provoke arousal, sexual desire, behavior and even pleasure. There are three typical usage types for aphrodisiac foods: increasing...
read more

Data sheds light on what COVID-19 is like for inmates at CDCR institutions

January 18, 2024 by , and

Due to the recent continuous drop in COVID-19 cases in CDCR institutions and the high vaccination rates among the population throughout the state’s prisons, their reopening guidelines have loosened.
read more

Simply Stated: Do “guilt-free” prebiotic drinks actually make you healthier?

November 22, 2023 by

Have you found yourself grabbing a Poppi or Olipop prebiotic drink from the Arbor before class, reassured with the prebiotic labeling, or adding that free “gut health” supplement into your Blender...
read more

Santa Barbara County Public Health Department releases STI data

October 5, 2023 by and

The Santa Barbara County Public Health Department released updated data on five sexually transmitted infections within the county this month. Key county trends SBCPHD made note of in the press release...
read more

Simply Stated: What’s actually in my supplements?

August 25, 2023 by

A July 17 report revealed  that an alarming number of sports supplements contain incorrect amounts of ingredients, traces of prohibited compounds, and missing ingredients that are reported on the lab...
read more

Simply Stated: Is my phone damaging my eyes?

August 11, 2023 by

Time and again, we have been warned about how this heavy usage of mobile devices can affect our eyes — specifically, how blue light, the main source of light that most digital devices emit, can caus...
read more

FDA makes history, approves Elevidys to treat pediatric Duchenne muscular dystrophy

July 11, 2023 by

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Elevidys in June, making it the first gene therapy designed to treat pediatric Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a life-threatening genetic disorder of progre...
read more

UCSB professor receives NIH Director’s New Innovator Award

July 7, 2023 by

Michael Beyeler, the director of UC Santa Barbara’s Bionic Vision Lab and assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, was one of 103 people awarded the prestigious National Institutes...
read more