Author: Tim Stephens
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UCSC researchers receive grant to study toxin production in algal blooms
Toxic algae periodically bloom in Monterey Bay and other coastal waters, sometimes poisoning seabirds and marine mammals and interfering with economically important fisheries. It can take weeks, however, for scientists to determine that an algal bloom is producing a potentially deadly toxin. Now researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, hope to catch toxin-producing…
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Botanists discover a new species of conifer in Vietnam
An unusual conifer found in a remote area of northern Vietnam has been identified as a genus and species previously unknown to science. The limestone ridges where the tree grows are among the most botanically rich areas in Vietnam and certainly harbor many other undescribed species, but they are outside the country’s protected reserves, said…
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Marvelous marine mammals get the spotlight at the Seymour Center
Local marine mammals are starring in the Seymour Center’s winter program at UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory. From January through March, the center presents “Marvelous Marine Mammals,” a series of events focused on Monterey Bay’s sea lions, sea otters, dolphins, whales, and elephant seals, and the scientists who study them. Events include three science lectures, a…
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Earthquake expert will give a free public lecture at UCSC’s Seymour Center on Wednesday, January 16
Ross Stein, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program, will give a free public lecture at the University of California, Santa Cruz, on Wednesday, January 16. The lecture, titled “Living It Up in the Fault Lane, or How Earthquakes Converse,” begins at 7:30 p.m. at the Seymour Center at Long Marine Laboratory,…
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Analyzing a planetary system that closely resembles our solar system, astronomers find habitable worlds are unlikely
Of all the extrasolar planetary systems detected by astronomers in recent years, the star 47 Ursae Majoris and its known companions, two Jupiter-sized planets, is the one that most closely resembles our own solar system. Computer simulations now show, however, that Earth-sized planets are unlikely to form in the so-called “habitable zone” of 47 Ursae…
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White sharks migrate thousands of miles across the sea, new study finds
A new study is shattering old beliefs about the great white shark–one of the largest, most awe-inspiring predators in the sea. Scientists have long believed that these powerful carnivores spend most of their lives relatively close to shore, pursuing seals and sea lions. But a study in the January 3 issue of the journal Nature…