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By Allison Arteaga Soergel

Diversity among chemistry TAs benefits undergrads

Diversity among graduate student teaching assistants (TAs) may be among the most essential factors in retaining underrepresented minority undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, according to statistical evidence from a new study set to publish in the August issue of the Economics of Education Review.

Original story from UCSC Newscenter.

By Tim Stephens

Marine mammals show off their training in evacuation from Long Marine Lab

CZU Lightning Complex update: two dolphins, five seals, and a sea lion were safely evacuated from the UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Laboratory thanks to good preparation, well-trained and cooperative animals, and generous assistance from SeaWorld San Diego and the Marine Mammal Center.

Original story from UCSC Newscenter.

By Tim Stephens

Evidence supports ‘hot start’ scenario and early ocean formation on Pluto

The accretion of new material during Pluto’s formation may have generated enough heat to create a liquid ocean that has persisted beneath an icy crust to the present day, despite the dwarf planet’s orbit far from the sun in the cold outer reaches of the solar system.

Original story from UCSC Newscenter.

By Paul Koch

The Cost of Silence

The Cost of Silence, a new documentary by director Mark Manning, offers a more nefarious reading of the decision to use chemical dispersants by aerial spraying and injection during the aftermath of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Original story from Science.

By Ryan Sirles

Slugs rising to the COVID-19 challenge

While the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed our daily lives, our Banana Slug community is using science to rise and meet the challenge. We are racing to understand how the coronavirus is causing illness and how to stop it. We are working to increase the supply of protective gear for health workers. We are on the medical front lines and driving policy. We are still teaching and supporting our students.

By Ed Yong

The mysterious case of the ornamented coot chicks has a surprising explanation

As adults, American coots have a drab color scheme, with black bodies and white bills. Their chicks, however, have an aesthetic that’s part drunk friar, part disheveled lion, and part tequila sunrise. Their faces and bald pates are bright red, while their necks are encircled in scruffy yellow-orange plumes.
Original story from The Atlantic.

By Alanna Mitchell

“There’s no coming back from this:” Why the global ocean crisis threatens us all

We are hunting whales in Antarctica and time is running out. Unlike the harpooners of old, our goal is not to butcher them for blubber. Instead, it’s to get close enough to slap satellite-linked tracking tags on them. And rather than kill them, the point is to figure out how to make sure they survive.
Original story from Canadian Geographic.