Science & Tech

May 28, 2013

Politics, Money and Muscles: Researching the Link Between Physical Strength and Motives

By Kaitlin Cuskey

UCSB researchers recently found an evolutionary link between political motivation and physical strength in males, where increased upper body size indicated a more aggressive and self-serving stance toward resource redist...

May 21, 2013

Questioning the Future of Technological Warfare

By Oliver Lee

In the history of armed conflict, the intelligent use of evolving technologies has been shown to overmatch even the most tested tactics and courageous warriors. The fourth NexTech war-game, organized by the Rapid Reactio...

May 21, 2013

A Nostalgic Gaucho Contemplates Time Travel

By Chris Nebergall

Writing my final Gaucho’s Guide column fills me with musings on the passage of time. As such, it’s only fitting that today we talk about time travel. Time travel logic is notoriously difficult to get right, and in fa...

May 21, 2013

Computer Scientists Predict the Success of Network Interactions

By Evan Crook

In today’s increasingly connected world, information flows and spreads. Messages get retweeted, photos get reposted and videos go viral. Such online interactions can have real-world consequences, as demonstrated by pro...

May 14, 2013

UCSF Research Team Develops Epilepsy Cell Therapy In Mice

By Priyanka Shindgikar

UCSF researchers have found a way to cure epilepsy in mice using cell transplantation and hope to implement this technique to cure forms of human epilepsy. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and by...

May 14, 2013

Harvard Happiness Study Analyzes Keys to a Lifetime of Joy

By Brandon Shin

With graduation fast approaching and our days of care-free living slipping away, many of us have pondered the age-old question, “What makes us happy?” Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, it is not the resul...

May 14, 2013

Blizzard Subscribers Drop By the Millions While Eve Online Prospers

By Timothy Fok

Activision Blizzard recently revealed that the number of active World of Warcraft subscribers has dropped to 8.3 million as of May 2013 — a far cry from the game’s record-breaking 12 million subscribers back in Octob...

May 7, 2013

UCSB Alumnus Among the First to Hack Google Glass

By Evan Crook

Google’s new Glass headset has only been available for less than a month, but some enterprising users have already figured out how to hack it. The augmented-reality device, which has been the subject of much hype and s...

May 7, 2013

Scientist Examines Hormones, Desire

By Brigitte Naughton

Researchers at UCSB recently observed a link between peaking estrogen levels during young women’s monthly cycles with increased sexual desire and conversely higher progesterone levels with decreased sexual motivation. ...

April 29, 2013

With the Next Generation of Consoles Upon Us, the Gaucho Gamer Takes a Look at Wii U

By Timothy Fok

Many people aren’t aware of it, but the next generation of home video game consoles has been with us since the release of the Wii U in November 2012. Though it’s been out for many months now, many consumers are unawa...

April 29, 2013

Scientists Determine Cause of LED Efficiency Droop

By Daniel Saleh

A collaborative effort between materials researchers at UC Santa Barbara and at CNRS-École Polytechnique in France has determined that Auger recombination is the cause of the efficiency drop that light emitting diodes (...

April 23, 2013

Climate Change Affects Wine Grapes, Vintners

By Andrea Weinstein

The impact of climate change on wine production is becoming increasingly pronounced due to its lingering effects on the environment and the resulting repercussions it may possibly have. UCSB Bren School professor Lee Han...

April 23, 2013

Multitasking: Why Doing Too Many Things At Once is Bad For the Brain

By Brandon Shin

“Practice makes perfect.” It’s that favorite mantra of parents, teachers and coaches all around the world. It’s been drilled into our minds since before we could remember. It makes perfect sense too: If you want ...

April 16, 2013

UCSB Scientists Create Device Capable of Detecting Narcotics and Explosives

By Brigitte Naughton

Researchers at UCSB recently created a device that can detect and differentiate between explosives, pollutants and various airborne chemicals via a microfluidic nanotechnology that mimics the mechanism behind canine chem...

April 16, 2013

Study Examines Vascular Health, Cognitive Decline

By Priyanka Shindgikar

UCLA researchers have been studying the specifics of a broader concept that vascular health and stroke risk affect cognition independent of dementia processes. The published study, titled “Vascular Risk and FDDNP-PET I...

April 12, 2013

Should the Next Xbox Require Constant Internet Connection?

By Timothy Fok

Rumors have been circulating that the next Xbox will always require an Internet connection to use the console. These rumors resulted from twitter posts made by a creative director at Microsoft Studios named Adam Orth. He...