Author: Tim Stephens
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UC Santa Cruz botanist explores the fascinating world of plant resins in a comprehensive new book
From the Stone Age to the present day, people have found a wide range of uses for plant resins and have been fascinated by amber, which is fossilized resin. Plant resins–sticky plant secretions that harden when exposed to air–have been used as medicines, fuels, varnishes, adhesives, and perfume ingredients, to mention just a few examples.…
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UCSC ranked first for impact of faculty research in space sciences
In a new analysis of scholarly publications from top U.S. universities, the University of California, Santa Cruz, ranked first for the impact of its faculty in the field of space sciences. The findings reaffirm UCSC’s reputation as a center of excellence for research in astronomy and related fields. The analysis was conducted by ISI (founded…
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Chemistry students conduct research in Thailand through UC Santa Cruz program
For the past 17 years, chemistry students from around the country have come to the University of California, Santa Cruz, for a summer of intensive research. Last year, the campus expanded its summer research program to another sun-kissed locale: Thailand. The National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsors UCSC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, which gives…
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Seafloor sediments hold clues to runaway global warming
Scientists from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and other institutions around the world arrived in Rio de Janeiro yesterday after spending two months at sea on the research ship JOIDES Resolution near an ancient submarine mountain chain off Africa, known as the Walvis Ridge. There they studied evidence of a massive release of methane…
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New role for brain chemical found in mammary glands, with implications for breast cancer research
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have discovered a new role for a molecule long associated with brain development: orchestrating the growth of mammary glands during puberty. The findings may have important implications for the development of breast cancer. The molecule, a signaling protein called netrin-1, has been intensively studied for its role…
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Messages from the early universe shed light on how elements form
New information from a distant corner of the universe may lead to a fuller understanding of how the elements of the periodic table–which make up all the familiar matter in the universe–come to be. A team of astronomers has used light from a powerful quasar to analyze the composition of a young galaxy in unprecedented…
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Three at UCSC recognized as ‘Hispanic Power Hitters’
Three faculty and administrators at the University of California, Santa Cruz, have been recognized by Hispanic Engineer & Information Technology magazine as “2003 Power Hitters in Business and Technology.” They are Francisco Hernandez, vice chancellor for student affairs, and Frank Talamantes and Martha Zúñiga, both professors of molecular, cell and developmental biology. The magazine published…
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Public chemistry lecture at UC Santa Cruz features Nobel laureate Herbert C. Brown
Nobel laureate Herbert C. Brown will give the third annual Joseph F. Bunnett Research Organic Chemistry Lecture at 4 p.m. on Friday, May 2, in the University Center at UC Santa Cruz. Brown’s talk, entitled “The Discovery and Exploration of a New Continent of Organic Chemistry,” is free and open to the public. The R.…
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Research Review Day at UCSC Engineering School will highlight faculty research projects
Leading faculty and researchers in the Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will present their latest findings during a Research Review Day on Monday, May 5. Engineering research at UCSC is concentrated in the areas of information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. The event will take place in the University Center…
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Bioinformatics experts gain ground in protein sequence analysis
Proteins, with their extraordinary diversity of structure and function, pose some of the toughest problems in the field of bioinformatics, giving rise to a growing arsenal of computational tools for protein analysis. An array of computer-based strategies is now available to help molecular biologists who have found an unknown protein, determined its sequence of amino…
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UC Santa Cruz Arboretum will hold annual spring plant sale on Saturday, April 26
Brighten up your garden with kangaroo paws, pincushion flowers, and sweet-smelling blossoms from the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum. The Arboretum is holding its annual Spring Plant Sale in conjunction with the California Native Plant Society on Saturday, April 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sale will take place at the Arboretum’s Eucalyptus Grove…
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UC Santa Cruz Genome Browser provides a portal for scientific exploration of finished human genome sequence
As leaders of the Human Genome Project announced the project’s successful completion at a press conference today in Bethesda, MD, bioinformatics researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, made the completed reference sequence of the human genome publicly available on the web-based UCSC Genome Browser (http://genome.ucsc.edu). This was also the first site to make…