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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…

  • Civil rights activist Joseph Lowery to speak at Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation Jan. 10

    The Rev. Joseph Lowery, who helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with Martin Luther King in 1957 and led the organization for 20 years, will be the keynote speaker at UCSC’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Convocation on January 10. Lowery will speak at 7 p.m. in the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. The…

  • 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…

  • UC Santa Cruz scientist endorses nitrogen management efforts

    As a soil scientist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Marc Los Huertos helps farmers on the Central Coast manage nitrogen levels to maximize harvests and minimize pollution. Los Huertos is also part of a growing global effort to address the problem of farm-generated nitrogen pollution. Just back from the Third International Nitrogen Conference…

  • UC Santa Cruz Library receives half-million-dollar gift to benefit Special Collections photo archives

    The University of California, Santa Cruz, has received a $500,000 gift to benefit Special Collections in the University Library. The endowment will be established in honor of the late Miller and Bunny Outcalt and their lifelong partnership in the field of photography. Proceeds will be used to fund a permanent staff position dedicated to work…

  • Unusual material that contracts when heated is giving up its secrets to physicists

    Most solids expand when heated, a familiar phenomenon with many practical implications. Among the rare exceptions to this rule, the compound zirconium tungstate stands out by virtue of the enormous temperature range over which it exhibits so-called “negative thermal expansion,” contracting as it heats up and expanding as it cools, and because it does so…

  • Marine biologist John Pearse to give Emeriti Faculty Lecture at UCSC on Tuesday, Nov. 23

    John Pearse, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology, will give the Emeriti Faculty Lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, November 23. His talk, “Reproduction in Freezing Oceans: Paradigm Shifts in the 20th Century,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the UCSC Media Theater. This event is free and open to the public. Pearse…

  • New Engineering 2 Building receives design award

    The just-dedicated Engineering 2 Building at UC Santa Cruz has received a merit award for design from the American Institute of Architects Los Angeles chapter. The merit award honors built work designed by Los Angeles architects. Anshen + Allen Los Angeles was the architect for Engineering 2, which was dedicated on November 5. Engineering 2…

  • Marine biologist John Pearse to give Emeriti Faculty Lecture at UCSC on Tuesday, Nov. 23

    John Pearse, professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology, will give the Emeriti Faculty Lecture at UC Santa Cruz on Tuesday, November 23. His talk, “Reproduction in Freezing Oceans: Paradigm Shifts in the 20th Century,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the UCSC Media Theater. This event is free and open to the public. Pearse…

  • First major study of organic farming in California yields surprises

    The first comprehensive study of organic agriculture in California challenges the popular notion that organic farming is dominated by small family-owned farms and shows how the industry’s regulatory structure has thwarted the very benefits that have generated strong public support for organic agriculture. Julie Guthman is available for media interviews; see contact information below. “Organic…

  • A puzzle posed by black-headed ducks yields to persistent biologists

    Some 100 species of birds are what scientists call “obligate brood parasites”–instead of building nests and raising their own young, they lay their eggs in the nests of other species and let those birds do the hard work of parenting for them. The black-headed duck of South America is one of these, but it stands…

  • Order of Species Loss has Important Biodiversity Consequences, Grassland Study Reveals

    In a study that mimicked the natural order of species loss in a grassland ecosystem, researchers found that declining biodiversity greatly reduced resistance to invasive species and that the presence of even small numbers of rare species had profound functional effects. The results, which appear in the November 12 issue of Science, have important implications…

Last modified: Mar 18, 2025