Science & Tech

May 9, 2020

Experiments With Drosophila Flies Raise Questions About Function of Opsins

By Sean Crommelin

For over a century, opsins have historically been observed operating in rhodopsin, a light receptor.

May 6, 2020

Red Tide, Blue Waves: Bioluminescence in Southern California Beaches

By Leon Liu

With water that is a murky brown by day and a brilliant electric blue by night, many beaches in Southern California have been reporting bioluminescent waves crashing against the coastline.

May 4, 2020

Gender Diversity and the New Discoveries It Brings to Neuroscience

By Hannah Hirou

Jacobs spotlights the issue that is common in science — the underrepresentation of both female researchers and scientific studies about women.

May 1, 2020

Assessing Sand Demand for a Low-Carbon Transition in Infrastructure

By Anna Basa

With ecological sustainability in mind, researchers aimed to highlight the limitations of a future that implements a low-carbon transition in infrastructure when utilizing natural sand as “relief”

April 30, 2020

UCSB Natural Science Departments Conduct Spring Quarter Lab Classes Remotely

By Gracie Shi

With the transition from in-person to online lab classes, lab instructors, TAs and students are learning to adapt to the new format.

April 27, 2020

27-Year Monitoring Project Reveals Regional Effects of ENSO on Sea Urchin Settlement

By Sean Crommelin

Inspired by similar sites in Japan and the East Coast, Schroeter’s team initially conceived the project as a means to monitor enhancement strategies for red sea urchins as a commercial fishery.

April 23, 2020

Clear As Mud: Planktonic Remains in Millenia-Old Mud Reveal Climate History of Pacific

By Sean Crommelin

The scientists' findings and modeling are part of ongoing research that hopes to understand the effect changes in climate may have on the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

April 21, 2020

UCSB Researchers Demonstrate Potential of Antibody-Measurement Technique Using HIV Samples

By Jacqueline Wen

Antibodies are crucial diagnostic biomarkers that can inform a quick diagnosis of a medical condition in an individual.

April 20, 2020

Q&A on COVID-19 With Dzwokai Zach Ma

By Leon Liu

Dzwokai Zach Ma, UCSB associate professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology, answers questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 virus.

April 20, 2020

“I think we’re all trying to help out as much as we can”: UCSB Researchers Utilize Resources To Help Fight Coronavirus

By Sofía Mejías-Pascoe, Jacqueline Wen

The production of face shields on campus is just one example of how skilled students, researchers and scientists are uniting to help the community through the coronavirus pandemic.

April 15, 2020

California Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Assessment and Living Shoreline Restoration Opportunities

By Gracie Shi

In the seminar, Mann provided not only information about what California as a whole has done to protect our coast but also specific actions Santa Barbara County has taken to make contributions.

April 14, 2020

UCSB Researchers Investigate the Impact of Nitrogen Pollution on Coral Bleaching in Moorea, French Polynesia

By Sean Crommelin

Researchers have discovered an important relationship between the extent of coral bleaching experienced by a reef and the level of nutrient pollution present in the water the reef is in.

April 9, 2020

Re-examining Remote Kelp Forests After 45 Years

By Jacqueline Wen

Studying kelp forests in remote areas could allow investigators to tease apart human impacts from natural changes.

April 7, 2020

Campus Lagoon: Yesterday’s Memory and Today’s Home

By Yiu-On Li

Besides attracting a great deal of sunset photos and nostalgia for UCSB students in quarantine, the Campus Lagoon plays host to a wide variety of flora and fauna.

April 2, 2020

UCSB Receives NSF Grant To Train a New Generation of Data Scientists

By Jacqueline Wen

To foster student engagement in data science education and outreach, the National Science Foundation’s Central Coast Data Science Initiative has awarded UCSB nearly $920,000 over three years.