Science & Tech

June 5, 2020

UCSB Researcher Illuminates Serotonin Trajectories, Density in the Brain

By Sean Crommelin

New research describes using fractional Brownian motion to create predictive “descriptions and manipulations” of the serotonergic matrix.

May 28, 2020

UCSB Researchers Investigate the “Untapped Gold Mine” of Wastewater Testing for COVID-19

By Sean Crommelin

Sewage surveillance has been employed to track the presence of opiates in wastewater previously. Now, scientists are using it to track COVID-19 in the population.

May 27, 2020

Understanding the Social Implications of COVID-19

By Anna Basa

The May 12 session of “Issues, Approaches, and Consequences of the COVID-19 Crisis” featured Professors Heejung Kim, David Sherman and Robin Nabi. 

May 22, 2020

Having Vivid or Bad Dreams During the Pandemic? You’re Not Alone

By Jacqueline Wen

The phenomenon of unusual sleep experiences during the pandemic may be due to “emotional overloading,” according to Professor Steve Smith.

May 21, 2020

Partisanship, Racial Politics, Public Health and the Planet

By Sean Crommelin

Ian Carrillo seeks to add another dimension to a debate in environmental sociology.

May 18, 2020

The Economics of the COVID-19 Crisis with Peter Rupert

By Anna Basa

Rupert introduced the Mortensen-Pissarides model for unemployment to the S.I.R. model for infectious diseases to estimate the effects of COVID-19 on the labor force.

May 16, 2020

Goleta Beach Water Quality Deteriorated After 2018 Montecito Mudslide Cleanup Efforts

By Jacqueline Wen

UC Santa Barbara researchers examined the possible impacts of sediment disposal on the water quality at Goleta Beach.

May 13, 2020

A Touchy Subject: UCSB Researchers Model Signals of Touch in the Human Hand

By Sean Crommelin

The researchers used a dimensionality reduction model to simplify the tactile signals of the hands. These were detected by sensors on an apparatus.

May 11, 2020

UCSB Professors Discuss Uncertainty in COVID-19 Datasets

By Gracie Shi

The seminar is the third of the UC Santa Barbara’s interdisciplinary COVID-19 Webinar series.

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).