Science
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Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
A “grazing encounter” may have smashed the moon to bits to form Saturn’s rings, a new study suggests.
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Record of Antarctic ice sheet response to climate cycles found in rock samples
The effects of global climate cycles on Southern Ocean temperatures drove cycles of melting and freezing in the East Antarctic Ice Sheet every few thousand years, according to a new study.
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Study reveals the molecular origin of the genetic disease cystinosis
New understanding of how the transporter protein cystinosin functions may lead to better treatments for a devastating genetic disease.
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UCSC partners in NSF research hub to use nature to protect coastal communities
A $20 million NSF grant funds the new Climate Risks and Equitable Nature-based Solutions Hub, focusing on coral reef and mangrove ecosystems.
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With Pivot Fellowship, astronomer J. Xavier Prochaska turns to oceanography
A new program from the Simons Foundation supports successful researchers who have a deep interest, curiosity, and drive to make contributions to a new discipline.
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Pioneering radio astronomer Frank Drake dies at 92
Frank Drake, professor emeritus of astronomy and astrophysics and an eminent radio astronomer known for his pioneering efforts in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), died September 2 at his home in Aptos.
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New study confirms ‘rippled sheet’ protein structure predicted in 1953
UCSC scientists reported three crystal structures of periodic rippled beta sheets, a novel protein structure with potential applications in biomedicine and materials science.
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NASA releases Webb telescope’s first exoplanet image
UCSC astronomers led the analysis of the first exoplanet images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope.
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Astronomer Ariadna Murguia-Berthier wins 2022 Trumpler Award for Ph.D. thesis
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific is honoring Murguia-Berthier for the research she completed as a graduate student in astronomy at UC Santa Cruz.
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Astronomers witness star-slinging tug-of-war between merging galaxies
Observations of a newly-dormant galaxy indicate that it stopped forming stars not because it used up all of its gas but because most of its star-forming fuel was thrown out of the system as it merged with another galaxy.
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JWST makes first unequivocal detection of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet atmosphere
UCSC astronomer Natalie Batalha leads a team that detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the exoplanet WASP-39b using the James Webb Space Telescope.
