Science
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Scientists will meet at UC Santa Cruz to discuss plans for a fast, mobile drilling system for polar research
Since the 1960s, scientists have been drilling through the thick ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland, pulling out ice cores that have yielded climate records covering the past 420,000 years of Earth’s history. Now researchers from a variety of disciplines want to deploy a new kind of drilling system that will enable them to…
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Media Availability/Photo Opportunity–Fatal attraction: Golden Eagles and Power Lines
Researchers with the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group will handle three tame, approachable, and photogenic birds of prey (golden eagle, peregrine falcon, and great horned owl) as they discuss efforts to solve the problem of bird deaths caused by power lines and other electricity transmission structures. When: Thursday, September 26, at 11 a.m.…
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UC Santa Cruz and federal fisheries lab join forces in Center for Stock Assessment Research
Concerns about the sustainability of many West Coast fish populations have led to increasingly tight restrictions on the fishing industry, angering some fishers whose livelihoods are at stake and highlighting the importance of accurate assessments of commercial fish stocks. To help meet the demand for fishery scientists with expertise in the quantitative assessment of fish…
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UC Santa Cruz receives $9.1 million grant to establish a Laboratory for Adaptive Optics to develop new tools for astronomers
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has received a grant of $9.1 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to establish a Laboratory for Adaptive Optics. The new laboratory strengthens UCSC’s position as an astronomy powerhouse and a national center for research on the exciting new technology of adaptive optics. The grant is the…
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UC Santa Cruz professor awarded $1 million grant for innovative approach to undergraduate science education
Manuel Ares, a professor of molecular, cell, and developmental biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will use a $1 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to pursue an innovative approach to teaching science to undergraduate students. Ares wants to give more students the opportunity to learn in a real research…
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Seymour Center lecture series ‘Voices from the Sea’ celebrates marine sanctuary’s 10th anniversary
The annual fall lecture series at the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory marks the 10th anniversary of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary this year with a program called “Voices from the Sea: Three Evenings in Celebration of Monterey Bay and Beyond.” Speakers include sanctuary superintendent William Douros and UCSC professor of ocean sciences…
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UCSC to hold public workshop on Long Marine Laboratory plan on August 15
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,…
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New technique shows how cells interpret genetic information
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.…
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Physicists gather at UC Santa Cruz to plan new linear collider project; public invited to lecture on the science of particle physics
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…
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A wildflower, a moth, and a diverse landscape: Shifting relationships offer a rare view of how species interactions evolve
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…
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New climate study shows California’s vulnerability to global warming
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…
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Researchers find clues to the normal function of prion proteins
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…