Science & Tech

February 6, 2025

Simply Stated: Companionship in the age of AI

By Zoey Contos

Artificial intelligence (AI) companions are rapidly gaining popularity, created to mimic meaningful relationships and serve as personalized mental health support, often feeling unnaturally human.

February 6, 2025

Trump’s first two weeks: actions to transform science public policy

By Saanvi Tiwary

With President Donald Trump’s return to office, questions have arisen about changes in public policy that pertain to science. His first term saw significant shifts in scientific priorities, environmental policies and p...

January 30, 2025

The hidden environmental cost of groundbreaking AI models

By Katharine Chi

Although large language models are an exciting piece of innovation that have vastly transformed the landscape of information technology, the environmental impacts of AI are often ignored and swept under the rug. How does...

January 23, 2025

Research in Review: frog extinction, plastic pollution, and cancer studies in animals

By Rebecca Raymond

New UCSB research on frogs, plastic pollution, and cancer in animals.

January 23, 2025

TikTok, time is up: to be banned or not to be banned?

By Cassie Cruz

News of the looming nationwide TikTok ban concerned many of TikTok’s 170 million U.S. users. The nationwide ban was set to take place on Jan. 19 unless Tiktok’s Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, sold TikTok’...

January 16, 2025

Simply Stated: Is gossiping a nasty habit or human nature?

By Olivia Lohrer

While gossiping is often portrayed as a malicious activity, science shows that “spilling the tea” has significant roots in both evolutionary biology and social psychology.

January 16, 2025

This May Help: Maintaining agency and preserving mental well-being amidst political uncertainty

By Roxanna Reid

For professor Erin Khuê Ninh, this collective emotional response to political inequities was heightened by the recent election and became the decisive catalyst for launching This May Help.

December 19, 2024

Simply Stated: What is 3D printing and how is it being used on campus?

By Alex Fu

If you have ever taken a peek inside the UC Santa Barbara Makerspace before, you might have seen a cluster of identical machines lined up against a wall, quietly at work creating parts of all shapes and colors. These mac...

November 21, 2024

Simply Stated: How is randomness in nature plotted to form a simple bell curve?

By Rebecca Raymond

Nature’s design can seem random upon first glance; however, a closer look reveals a common pattern that ties it all together, from the growth of a tree bark to the toss of a coin — the bell curve.

November 21, 2024

UCSB student selected for prestigious Land Trust Alliance and USDA Conservation Scholars Program

By Saanvi Tiwary

Lena Rose Ouse Hicks, a fourth-year environmental studies major with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies at UC Santa Barbara, has been awarded the prestigious 2024–25 Scholars for Conservation Leadership ...

November 14, 2024

Simply Stated: Are electronic forms of note-taking really superior?

By Yumiko Florando

After a day spent cramming material for a class you know you went to but cannot seem to recall anything from, you may be left wondering: are electronic forms of note-taking really the most effective way to retain and com...

November 14, 2024

Letter from the editors: What does a second Trump presidency mean for the fate of science?

By Olivia Lohrer, Katharine Chi

In light of last Tuesday’s election, we are faced with an urgent question: what will a second Trump presidency mean for public trust in the integrity of science?

November 5, 2024

Simply Stated: Can AI predict politics? Investigating the mathematics of election forecasting

By Roxanna Reid

Despite the overwhelming surplus of election predictions, many voters remain skeptical about whether it’s even possible to interpret the current political landscape through a scientific perspective. Thanks to three mat...

October 31, 2024

The gruesome, real-life experiments that inspired Frankenstein and their scientific possibility

By Kaitlin Lee

An enduring symbol of Halloween, Frankenstein has become an iconic figure of horror since its origins in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel — a story of a scientist who brings a creature to life from cadaver body parts and el...

October 31, 2024

Simply Stated: Why do some people lucid dream and others don’t?

By Zoey Contos

Imagine being immersed in a dream, aware that you're dreaming and able to shape and traverse the world around you with no limitations. This phenomenon is called lucid dreaming and is characterized by the sudden realizati...