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Algal Blooms Love Heat Waves. When is Bay Area Swimming Dangerous for Humans and Pets?
Not every algal bloom is toxic to humans and animals, but the bright green bloom currently floating on the surface of Discovery Bay definitely could be, said Raphael Kudela, a phytoplankton ecologist at UC Santa Cruz. This bloom is caused by cyanobacteria, which Kudela describes as “harmful algae that produces really nasty toxins.”
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Guest Commentary | Unions benefit workers — and employers
Veronica Hamilton, a graduate student researcher for the Center for Labor and Community, and Teresa Ghilarducci, a researcher collaborating with the center, wrote an opinion article for the Santa Cruz Sentinel about the importance of labor unions. They write that union activity creates a "ripple effect" that ultimately "lifts living standards and promotes dignity in work across the…
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The Northeast Indian YouTubers challenging cultural stereotypes through mukbang
Anthropology Professor Dolly Kikon says viral mukbang videos from Northeast India show an intimate relationship between tribal communities, their land, and natural resources. “In these videos, food from the source to the table is being emphasized," she told Rest of World. "There is [an] assertion of indigeneity, there is an element of ecology. In a…
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Harsh Florida law sees more Black kids tried as adults than white kids
The Miami Herald interviewed Psychology Professor Craig Haney about the possible impacts of a Florida law that has seen more juveniles tried as adults. “For young people who are in the process of development and haven’t fully learned social skills … this is an experience that damages their maturation,” Haney said.
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Chicago teachers demand climate solutions in their next contract
As heat and extreme weather become more prevalent because of the climate crisis, J. Mijin Cha, an environmental studies professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said it makes sense that climate demands are turning up in union negotiations. “If you want a green school, you have to really think about what the challenges of…
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New Observatory Opens in the Young Country of Kosovo
Pranvera Hyseni is a force of nature when it comes to pursuing her passion. Currently a PhD student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Pranvera studies the composition of meteorites. Nevertheless, she found the time and energy to not only engage in cutting-edge research but also to establish her country’s premier astronomical facility. Additional…
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Melting away: The fight against Sea Star Wasting Disease
Carrie Melissa Miner, an Academic Specialist with UC Santa Cruz and researcher at MARINe, says that instances of Sea Star Wasting Disease are difficult to study due to the limited stress responses that sea stars exhibit. “When sea stars are observed with lesions or tissue necrosis, particularly when there are just a handful of individuals,…
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How Antarctic Scientists Think about the Future of Our Planet
Another episode of Scientific American's Science Quickly podcast featured UC Santa Cruz chemical oceanographers Carl Lamborg and Phoebe Lam and doctoral student Marissa Despins. The three discussed how the climate crisis intertwines with their work. Listen to the previous episodes on June 14 and June 28.
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Webb space telescope keeps delivering cosmic surprises
Garth Illingworth, an astronomer at the University of California at Santa Cruz who was among the people who dreamed up the Webb in the late 1980s, said the telescope has assembled a vast amount of data on exoplanets — the worlds that orbit distant stars. That data still needs to be assembled into a coherent…
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In ‘Seeing Through Stone,’ artists imagine a world without prisons
Highlights from 'Seeing Through Stone,' an exhibition co-created with the Institute of Arts and Science and the San Jose Museum of Art. The UC Santa Cruz sponsored show includes artists from all over the country reflecting on incarceration and prison abolition.