Science & Tech

December 31, 2015

Santa Barbara Allergist Suggests A Nutty Solution for Peanut Allergies

By Natalie Overton

One in 50 children between the ages of five and 11 have a peanut allergy. The CDC reports that peanut allergies have risen by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011, accounting for over three million cases in the United States...

December 23, 2015

Unraveling Secrets of the Mussel Foot Protein

By Mackenzie Gorman

A multidisciplinary team of researchers and faculty at UCSB has made strides in their efforts to develop an underwater adhesive, or glue. By building upon past studies on mussel adhesion, the group has progressed in grea...

December 3, 2015

Holiday Science Lab

By Priyanka Shindgikar

What is crystallization? Crystallization is a solid-liquid separation technique. An impure solid compound is completely dissolved in hot water. This solution contains the desired compound as well as impurities that float...

November 24, 2015

The Science of Protein Aging

By Tara Sharifi

Just as humans age externally, internal physiological processes require the function of new and healthy cells containing proteins that age over time. Biomedical researchers at the Center for Nanomedicine at the Universit...

November 19, 2015

California Health Department Bans Crabs Due to Toxic Algal Blooms

By Erendira Garcia

Crab season is getting a late start this year due to high levels of domoic acid (DA) present in Dungeness and rock crab off of most of the West Coast. From Ventura County to the Oregon border, State Fish and Wildlife ser...

November 19, 2015

First Summit Addressing UC Carbon Neutrality

By Mackenzie Gorman

Janet Napolitano announced the goal that all University of California campuses must be carbon neutral by 2025. Carbon neutrality implies that the campuses would have a net zero carbon footprint — the amount of carbon p...

November 12, 2015

UC Aims for Carbon Neutrality by 2025

By Priyanka Shindgikar, Mackenzie Gorman

University of California president Janet Napolitano announced the goal of carbon neutrality at all nine universities by 2025. The Carbon Neutrality Initiative aims to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emitted from buil...

November 12, 2015

Giant Insect Species are Santa Barbara Newbies

By Mackenzie Gorman

Two species of giant insects have broadened their migration patterns and found their way to Santa Barbara this past week. The giant swallowtail butterfly, Papilio cresphontes, and the giant sphinx moth, Cocytius antaeus,...

November 5, 2015

Promoting Gender Equity in S.T.E.M. Academia

By Mackenzie Gorman

UCSB is one of four California universities recently chosen to split a $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). This grant is part of the NSF’s ADVANCE program, which was implemented to increase the r...

November 5, 2015

Study Shines Light on Photosensation

By Mimi Liu

Light perception begins with activation of a light sensitive protein, called rhodopsin. One class of photoreceptor cell in humans couples activation of rhodopsin to opening of “transient receptor potential” (TRP) cha...

October 29, 2015

Commonly Abused Drugs – Ecstacy

By Anicia Sarsoza

Molly, Molly, Molly Methylenedioxyphenethylamine (MDMA), commonly known as “Ecstasy” or “Molly,” is one of the most popular recreational tablets that has been hitting the dance and party scene for years. Ecstasy ...

October 29, 2015

Commonly Abused Drugs – Adderall

By Tara Sharifi

Adderall: Proceed with Caution Most commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), Adderall has gained popularity in recent years as a “study tool” among college students during testing seasons...

October 29, 2015

Commonly Abused Drugs – Heroin

By Stephanie Pernett

Not So Heroic, Heroin First synthesized in 1895 by Heinrich Dreser, who worked for the Bayer Company in Germany, heroin was originally marketed as treatment for a variety of illnesses, such as asthma, bronchitis, tubercu...

October 29, 2015

Commonly Abused Drugs – Cocaine

By Erendira Garcia

Although not a new trend, cocaine use has been portrayed in media — from soap operas to trap music — as an increasingly glamorized lifestyle. Cocaine has had a tumultuous history and continues to be one of the most c...

October 27, 2015

The Genetic ID Card — A Simple Medical Solution

By Mackenzie Gorman

Imagine that you have developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), and your entire body is under attack. It starts with just a fever, a cough and red eyes, so you don’t really think anything of it. But then, a rash appear...

October 22, 2015

A California Sharktober

By Karla Bernardo

With the increased amount of shark encounters that have occurred this past year due to the warming of the marine climate, surfers and beachgoers must be much more vigilant when out in open ocean. The El Niño Southern Os...