Office of Research
-
New capture scenario explains origin of Neptune’s oddball moon Triton
Neptune’s large moon Triton may have abandoned an earlier partner to arrive in its unusual orbit around Neptune. Triton is unique among all the large moons in the solar system because it orbits Neptune in a direction opposite to the planet’s rotation (a “retrograde” orbit). It is unlikely to have formed in this configuration and…
-
Greenbeards have blue throats in a breakthrough study of the evolution of altruistic behavior
A new study of side-blotched lizards in California has revealed the genetic underpinnings of altruistic behavior in this common lizard species, providing new insights into the long-standing puzzle of how cooperation and altruism can evolve. The study, led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, offers the first evidence in vertebrates of an…
-
Original seismographic record of 1906 San Francisco earthquake found and put on display at UC’s Lick Observatory
On April 18, 1906, the seismographic station at the University of California’s Lick Observatory on Mt. Hamilton obtained the only good record of local strong ground motion from the great earthquake that devastated San Francisco that day. Astronomers at Lick Observatory recently discovered what appears to be the original tracing of the 1906 earthquake from…
-
Insects that produce males from unfertilized eggs reveal a surprising cellular feat
Scientists have long known that the social insects in the order Hymenoptera–which includes ants, bees, and wasps–have an unusual mechanism for sex determination: Unfertilized eggs develop into males, while fertilized eggs become females. But the development of an unfertilized egg into an adult (called parthenogenesis) remains a mysterious process. One mystery has been the origin…
-
UCSC physicist Michael Dine awarded Guggenheim Fellowship
Michael Dine, professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been awarded a 2006 Guggenheim Fellowship. Dine plans to use the $32,000 fellowship to support his work during the 2006-07 academic year, when he will be on sabbatical leave. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed on the basis of distinguished achievement in the past…
-
UCSC receives funding for training grants from stem cell institute
The University of California, Santa Cruz, has received $375,000 from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund the first year of a new training program in stem cell research. CIRM announced today that it has distributed $12.1 million in grants to 16 California institutions as part of the CIRM Training Program. At UCSC,…
-
Peregrine falcons educate and entertain their fans in San Francisco, on the web, and at UCSC’s Long Marine Lab
A pair of endangered peregrine falcons, named George and Gracie by their legions of fans, have returned to nest in downtown San Francisco. Last year, they used a nest box on the PG&E building, where a webcam installed by PG&E and scientists from the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) enabled scientists and…
-
Albatross study shows regional differences in ocean contamination
As long-lived predators at the top of the marine food chain, albatrosses accumulate toxic contaminants such as PCBs, DDT, and mercury in their bodies. A new study has found dramatic differences in contaminant levels between two closely related albatross species that forage in different areas of the North Pacific. Researchers also found that levels of…
-
UCSC researchers receive $1.6 million grant for biosensor project
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have received major funding from the National Institutes of Health to develop new sensor technology for biomedical applications. The project builds on earlier advances by UCSC researchers in optical and electrical sensing technologies and involves a broad interdisciplinary group of collaborators at UCSC and Brigham Young University.…
-
UCSC chemist explores the membranous origins of the first living cell
Blowing bubbles is child’s play, showing how easily soap molecules can assemble into a sheet and curl around to form a bubble. To David Deamer, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and acting chair of biomolecular engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, the formation of a soap bubble is no mere curiosity–it illustrates an…