Postdoctoral researcher Chris Darimont of environmental studies hit a media home run with a paper about the impact of commercial fishing and hunting on the size and reproductive patterns of fish and other species. Among the news outlets that covered the story were the New York Times, NPR's Science Friday, Reuters, Britain's Telegraph, the BBC, New Scientist, Fox News, KUSP Radio, National Geographic Online, Scientific American's 60-Second Science Blog, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Discovery News, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, ScienceNOW, wired.com, livescience.com, environmentalresearchweb.org, redOrbit.com, sciencedaily.com, and thetyee.com, as well as publications in Hungary, France, Poland, and Slovakia. Several Canadian newspapers also ran the story, including the Calgary Herald, Globe and Mail, and National Post.
A study led by biologist Marm Kilpatrick of disease transmission from Yellowstone bison to cattle received widespread coverage, including the San Jose Mercury News, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Associated Press, UPI,Forbes, Canadian Business, MSN Money, MSNBC, Scientific American, Wildlife Extra, Ag Weekly, Biology News Net, Science Daily, PhysOrg, Science Centric, Billings Gazette, and Casper Star-Tribune.
New findings by astrophysicist Mark Krumholz on how massive stars form received international coverage, with stories in German, Swiss, Russian, Dutch, and Spanish media, as well as USA Today, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Science Daily, Physics World, Live Science, Space.com, Red Orbit, and Science Blog.
Jonathan Fox of Latin American and Latino studies fielded a call from the Associated Press about a father charged with arranging for his 14-year-old daughter to marry a neighbor in exchange for $16,000. The father is a member of an indigenous Mexican Trique community, in which such arranged marriages are not uncommon. Fox noted that the case is not the first he has heard of. The International Herald Tribune was among the papers that ran the story.
Engineer Jacob Rosen's medical robotics research was featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Innovation Watch, MedGadget, Mechatronics Zone, PhysOrg.com, and BoingBoing.
In a Santa Cruz Sentinel story about how Congressman Sam Farr voted on a resolution supporting Israel, Ronnie Lipschutz commented on Farr's decision to break with his party with a nonvote of "present." The story also ran in the Monterey County Herald.
Deborah Letourneau of environmental studies was quoted in a story on Scientific American's 60-Second Science Blog, about lady bugs. Letourneau said the news that lady bugs are more populous in organic olive orchards than those sprayed with pesticides was both "timely and useful."
The Contra Costa Times, Monterey Herald, and Santa Cruz Sentinel ran a story about Mark Snyder's research on changes in coastal winds due to climate change.
In an article about the dire financial situation faced by San Francisco's Magic Theater, the New York Times noted that Shakespeare Santa Cruz was able to raise more than $400,000 in a short period of time when faced with a similar situation. The Denver Post also reported on SSC's fundraising efforts in a story about theater companies facing an uncertain future. Similar stories citing SSC appeared in SF Weekly and the News Virginian.
A Ventura County Star profile of a printmaking instructor at Ventura College noted that she was drawn into the field by art lecturer/printmaker Paul Rangell, while attending UCSC as a student.
Media Highlights provides monthly summaries of "UCSC in the News" columns.
