Science
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ARCS Foundation scholarships support seven outstanding graduate students at UCSC
Seven UC Santa Cruz graduate students have received $10,000 scholarships from the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2003-04 academic year. The Northern California chapter of the ARCS Foundation is the most generous provider of annual student awards to the UCSC campus. The ARCS Foundation, founded in 1958, is a national organization…
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UCSC Arboretum’s Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, October 11, features new introductions from Australia
New Australian introductions available for the first time in the United States will be among the plants on sale at the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum during its annual Fall Plant Sale on Saturday, October 11, from 12 noon to 3 p.m. As in previous years, the Arboretum’s plant sale is a joint event with the…
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UC Santa Cruz launches bold new collaboration with NASA
The University of California, Santa Cruz, will manage a national research program valued at more than $330 million under a new agreement between UC and NASA. The ten-year contract, a first-of-its-kind for NASA, will establish a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at the NASA Ames Research Center. Chancellor Greenwood’s announcement about agreement. A news conference…
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Geobiologist Kenneth Nealson to discuss the search for life on other planets in public lecture on Thursday, October 16, at UC Santa Cruz
If life exists on Mars, how would we know? Scientists have been grappling with this deceptively simple question for years. Kenneth Nealson, the Wrigley Professor of Geobiology at the University of Southern California, is a leading authority on this issue, which he will address in a public lecture at the University of California, Santa Cruz,…
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UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory celebrates its 25th anniversary with a special lecture series and public programs
Long Marine Laboratory turns 25 this fall, and the oceanside research facility will be celebrating its silver anniversary with a variety of public programs, tours, and lectures during the first 25 days in October. Highlighting the October celebration is a stellar lineup of speakers for the lab’s annual fall lecture series. In addition, there will…
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‘Wind to Whales’ research program to investigate the Monterey Bay ecosystem receives additional funding of $2 million
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a grant of nearly $2 million to the University of California, Santa Cruz, to support the ongoing development of the Center for Integrated Marine Technologies (CIMT). The center, established last year with an initial $2 million grant from NOAA, has brought together a diverse group of…
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Astronomers capture a dwarf galaxy being torn apart in the dark matter halo of a massive galaxy
For the first time, astronomers have found direct evidence of a phenomenon long thought to play an important role in the formation of giant galaxies: the ongoing disruption of a small galaxy as it orbits within the dark matter halo of a much larger galaxy. Images from the Hubble Space Telescope, confirmed by detailed observations…
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Coastal upwelling in the California Current was weaker 6,000 years ago than today, according to new studies
The California Current is a major influence on the climate of western North America and on the productivity of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems along the West Coast. But 6,000 years ago, the California Current wasn’t quite what it is today, according to a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz. New…
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Astronomers reveal the first detailed maps of galaxy distribution in the early universe
Peering back in time more than 7 billion years, a team of astronomers using a powerful new spectrograph at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii has obtained the first maps showing the distribution of galaxies in the early universe. The maps show the clustering of galaxies into a variety of large-scale structures, including long…
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Study shows lead-based paint is poisoning albatross chicks at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Lead-based paint from deteriorating buildings still poses a hazard to wildlife on Midway Atoll, despite extensive environmental remediation efforts undertaken as part of the conversion of the site from a military base to a national wildlife refuge. A new study by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, shows that Laysan albatross chicks in…
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UCSC scientists part of team decoding gamma-ray burst mystery
Scientists have pieced together the key elements of a gamma-ray burst, from star death to dramatic black hole birth, thanks to a March 29 explosion considered the “Rosetta stone” of such bursts. The results are described in the June 19 issue of Nature, in an article coauthored by Stan Woosley, professor and chair of astronomy…
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Cooperation between unrelated male lizards adds a new wrinkle to evolutionary theory
Blue-throated lizards that help each other achieve reproductive success are also helping scientists understand how social cooperation evolved. Most examples of cooperative behavior in animals involve cooperation between genetically related individuals, which is explained by the theory of “kin selection.” Now, researchers have described an example of cooperation between genetically similar but unrelated members of…