Science

The University of California, Santa Cruz, will hold a public workshop on Thursday, August 15, to discuss the preliminary draft of the Coastal Long Range Development Plan (CLRDP) for Long Marine Laboratory. The meeting will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the La Feliz Room of the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory,…

A surprising amount of the DNA sequence in the genes of humans and other higher organisms ends up on the cutting-room floor, so to speak, spliced out by the cellular machinery that turns genetic code into functional proteins. Differences in the editing of genetic information may, in fact, be a significant source of genetic variability.…

The University of California, Santa Cruz, will host an international gathering of particle physicists this week to discuss the development of a next-generation international particle accelerator facility. The Santa Cruz Linear Collider Retreat, June 26 to 29, will begin with a public presentation on the science of particle physics on Wednesday evening. There will be…

The complicated relationship between a common wildflower and a little gray moth is yielding new insights into how species coevolve, with implications for the conservation of biodiversity. Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Washington State University (WSU) described the variable interactions between these two species–a remarkable case study in coevolution–in a paper…

Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have produced a detailed picture of how California’s climate is likely to change within the next 50 to 100 years as a result of global warming. Their study, complete with temperature and precipitation data for different parts of the state, goes far beyond the usual speculation about…

All mammals produce a version of the prion protein, but scientists don’t know what it normally does. In an altered form, the prion protein becomes an infectious agent that causes “mad cow disease” and its counterparts in other animals, including humans. Researchers now suspect the normal prion protein plays a role in the transport or…

The Friends of Long Marine Lab will hold a “Whale of an Auction,” the group’s popular annual fundraiser, on Friday, June 14. The event will take place in the Porter College Dining Hall on the UC Santa Cruz campus, starting at 6 p.m. A social and gastronomic occasion as well as an auction, the evening…

For over 25 years, John Pearse taught students at the University of California, Santa Cruz, about marine life along the shore of the Central Coast through hands-on activities. Now the UCSC professor emeritus of biology is bringing his expertise and love of science to high school students through the Seymour Intertidal Monitoring Program (SIMP), an…

The California Energy Commission has awarded a $1 million grant to the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) to help solve the problem of bird deaths caused by power lines and other structures used for electricity transmission. Thousands of hawks, eagles, owls, and other birds die each year from electrocution and collisions with power…

People usually think of genetic mutations as negative, causing birth defects or leading to diseases like cancer. But mutations can also be beneficial. In fact, they are at the core of evolution, helping organisms to adapt to changes in their surroundings by creating proteins that work slightly differently. This process of molecular evolution will be…

About 40 percent of the U.S. population is infected with a bacterium that can cause stomach inflammation and ulcers and increases the risk of stomach cancer. Although the bacterium, called Helicobacter pylori, was discovered in the 1980s, scientists are just now beginning to understand how it causes infections in the stomach lining. Karen Ottemann, assistant…

Graham Pearson, retired director general of the United Kingdom Chemical and Biological Defense Establishment, will visit the University of California, Santa Cruz, this month and next as a Regents’ Lecturer. During his visit, from April 29 to May 10, Pearson will give a public lecture on biosecurity, meet with UCSC faculty and students, and take…