Science & Tech

August 14, 2019

UCSB Researcher Uses Hypothetical Mussel Farms To Study Aquaculture Productivity in Southern California

By Hannah Hirou

The researchers predicted the profitability of 223 hypothetical mussel farms along the coast from Point Conception to the Mexico border in a region known as the Southern California Bight.

August 8, 2019

2019 Karp Discovery Award Will Further UC Women’s Brain Initiative

By Jacqueline Wen

The idea for the initiative emerged when the researchers saw that replication across current, public studies on the short- and long-term effects of the birth control pill on the brain didn't yet exist.

August 1, 2019

Eating for Two: MSI Researchers Study How Urchins Make Kelp More Palatable for Benthic Feeders

By Sean Crommelin

Sea urchins, much maligned throughout the California coast for destroying kelp forests, might not be quite the pests that they appear to be.

July 25, 2019

The Art of Change: Dissecting the Role of Lobbying in Climate Policy

By Natalie Overton

Meng and Rode were able to measure exactly how the Waxman-Markey bill was affected by the lobbying money surrounding its approval in the House and its no-show in the Senate.

July 18, 2019

Forming and Fueling Galaxies

By Jacqueline Wen

"Our study was about trying to find the reservoir of gas that feeds galaxies like the Milky Way,” Martin said.

July 11, 2019

UCSB Researchers Uncover Conditions Leading to Unusual 2015 Algal Bloom

By Sean Crommelin

It was especially fortuitous that the bloom occurred in the Santa Barbara Channel, a strip of coast which has been subject to close monitoring.

July 5, 2019

Monitoring by NGOs Helps Increase Compliance with National Mandates

By Jacqueline Wen

One significant takeaway from the research is that NGOs can still play an integral role even in an authoritarian country like China.

June 27, 2019

Where in the World is Marine Biodiversity Risk More Prevalent?

By Jacqueline Wen

After compiling the range and conservation status of 5,291 marine species, the scientists calculated the average extinction risk for each species against their worldwide distribution.

June 6, 2019

Bren Professor Researches Logistics of Carbon Capture and Utilization

By Sean Crommelin

June 6, 2019

Isla Vista Compost Collective Plans to Double Composting Service for Fall 2019

By Jacqueline Wen

Each week, “Dirtriders” on bikes with a cargo trailer attached pick up buckets filled with food product from their designated houses. Then, they drop off a new, clean five-gallon bucket for their houses to compost in...

May 30, 2019

African Social Spiders Demonstrate How Group Dynamics Influence Success of Individual Colonies

By Sean Crommelin

The presence of two dispositions (aggressive and docile) begs the question, which one leads to greater success?

May 30, 2019

Marine Species More Vulnerable to Global Warming Than Terrestrial Species

By Jacqueline Wen

In addition, McCauley and his colleagues found that local species extinctions in the ocean occurred at twice the rate than those on land.

May 23, 2019

‘Bolbo’ the Builder: UCSB Researchers Investigate the Impact of Bumphead Parrotfish Feeding on Tropical Reefs

By Sean Crommelin

Their diet, unusual compared to that of other primarily herbivorous parrotfish, consists of structural reef carbonates and the lifeforms that corals harbor.

May 23, 2019

Friends with Health Benefits

By Jacqueline Wen

Meaningful relationships “nurture a desire to create and/or seize life opportunities for growth,” and in doing so, promote development and exploration.

May 16, 2019

UCSB Researchers Discover Potentially Druggable Pathway Involved in Neurodegenerative Diseases

By Jacqueline Wen

"A new pathway exists that can potentially be targeted for drug delivery that can improve the lives of patients of these neurodegenerative diseases in a relatively short amount of time."