Author: Tim Stephens
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Researchers hope to break new ground in high-energy astrophysics with hard x-ray telescope, now up for final NASA review
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and their collaborators at other institutions anticipate new insights into the mysteries of high-energy astrophysics as plans for an innovative x-ray telescope progress toward final approval by NASA. If all goes well with a technical study approved by NASA for this year, the telescope should be orbiting…
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UCSC astronomer awarded top high-energy astronomy prize for work on supernovae and gamma-ray bursts
Stan Woosley, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has won this year’s Bruno Rossi Prize for his pioneering work on supernovae and gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the universe. The prize is awarded each year by the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society. Woosley,…
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Oracle grant funds UCSC bird group’s education program
The Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has received a $50,000 grant from Oracle Corporation to support the group’s education program. The grant provides funding to maintain and enhance the Oracle Peregrines Outreach Program, which includes presentations to school and community groups on birds of prey and conservation…
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UCSC to host public lecture on earthquakes, including discussion of the recent earthquake and tsunami in South Asia
A public lecture on large earthquakes this month in Santa Cruz will provide a scientific perspective on the recent earthquake and tsunami in South Asia. Susan Hough, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist, will speak on “The Very Long Reach of Very Large Earthquakes” on Wednesday, January 26, at 7 p.m. at the University Inn and…
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New view of distant colliding galaxies captured by Keck laser system
For the first time, astronomers have been able to combine the deepest optical images of the universe, obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope, with equally sharp images in the near-infrared part of the spectrum using a sophisticated new laser guide star system for adaptive optics at the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The new…
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An unusual RNA structure in the SARS virus offers a promising target for antiviral drugs
Research on the genome of the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) has revealed an unusual molecular structure that looks like a promising target for antiviral drugs. A team of scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has determined the three-dimensional shape of this structure, an intricately twisted and folded segment of…
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Femtosecond laser technique opens new opportunities for research on nerve regeneration
In a breakthrough for research on nerve regeneration, a team of scientists has reported using femtosecond laser pulses to precisely cut individual axons of nerves in the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, one of the most versatile and widely used experimental organisms for genetic and biomedical research. The nerves severed by this precision technique regrew within 24…
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$200,000 gift to UCSC establishes graduate fellowship in marine mammals
A gift of $200,000 from Rebecca and Steve Sooy of Foster City has established an endowed fellowship fund to support graduate students studying marine mammals at the University of California, Santa Cruz. The Sooys have been volunteer docents at Año Nuevo State Reserve for many years, where they became fascinated by the northern elephant seals…
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UCSC engineers develop assistive technologies for the blind
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, are developing new assistive technologies for the blind based on advances in computer vision that have emerged from research in robotics. A “virtual white cane” is one of several prototype tools for the visually impaired developed by Roberto Manduchi, an assistant professor of computer engineering, and his…
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Deep Down Things, a new book by physicist Bruce Schumm, explores the astonishing world of particle physics
Particle physicists have developed an amazingly successful theory describing how the universe works on the most fundamental level. This theory, known as the Standard Model and hailed as one of the greatest intellectual achievements of the 20th century, is still only understood and appreciated by a limited number of people who tend to have advanced…
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Computer analysis shows scientists could reconstruct the genome of the common ancestor of all placental mammals
Contrary to the movie Jurassic Park, in which scientists recreate dinosaurs from ancient DNA, genetic material more than about 50 thousand years old cannot be reliably recovered. Nevertheless, a team of scientists has now demonstrated that computers could be used to reconstruct with 98 percent accuracy the DNA of a creature that lived at the…
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Antibiotic rifampicin shows promise for fighting Parkinson’s disease in laboratory tests
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have shown that rifampicin, an antibiotic used to treat leprosy and tuberculosis, can prevent the formation of protein fibrils associated with the death of brain cells in people with Parkinson’s disease. The drug also dissolved existing fibrils in laboratory tests. The researchers studied the effects of rifampicin…