Science
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Reefense project aims to meld biology and engineering in novel structures for coastal protection
UCSC scientists are part of a DARPA-funded team to develop innovative solutions for coral reef restoration in Florida and the Caribbean to protect coastal infrastructure.
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Study shows mangrove and reef restoration yield positive returns on investment for flood protection
A robust analysis demonstrates that nature-based solutions to reduce the damage caused by coastal flooding are cost-effective.
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Polar bears in Southeast Greenland shed light on the species’ future in a warming Arctic
The most genetically isolated population of polar bears on the planet, they have limited access to sea ice and use ice from Greenland’s glaciers to survive.
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100,000-year-old polar bear genome reveals ancient hybridization with brown bears
Scientists found that all brown bears today have some polar bear ancestry due to genetic admixture that occurred during a warm interglacial period more than 100,000 years ago.
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Microbiologist Jacqueline Kimmey named Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
Kimmey’s lab is investigating how susceptibility to infections is influenced by the daily biological cycles known as circadian rhythms.
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Students dip their toes into coastal science at Younger Lagoon
Ocean Sciences Professor Carl Lamborg uses Younger Lagoon Reserve to teach Field and Lab Methods in Aquatic and Coastal Science.
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Hunting in darkness, elephant seals use sensitive whiskers to find prey
Researchers used miniature video cameras to study how free-ranging elephant seals use their whiskers to track down prey in the darkness of the deep ocean.
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Simulations reveal hydrodynamics of planetary engulfment by expanding star
A new study using hydrodynamical simulations reveals the forces acting on a planet when it is swallowed by an expanding star, as will eventually happen to the inner planets of our solar system when the sun becomes a red giant.
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Free public beach tours of Younger Lagoon Reserve have resumed
Tours of the reserve, which were suspended due to COVID-19 precautions, are again being offered through UCSC’s Seymour Marine Discovery Center.
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Amanda Quirk
Amanda Quirk’s research on galaxy mergers showed evidence that the Andromeda galaxy had some kind of major galactic collision in the past 4 billion years, and survived—which has implications for our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

