New chemical process makes biodiesel production easier, less energy intensive
Discovery by UC Santa Cruz researchers could accelerate biofuel’s adoption
Fewer than 7% of global hotspots for whale-ship collisions have protection measures in place
A UC Santa Cruz scientist who specializes in research at the intersection of big data and marine-life conservation has contributed to a new study that shows the vast majority of “hotspots” where ships collide with whales in the world’s oceans lack protections for the majestic giants.
“An Aesthetics of Resilience” fosters interdisciplinary conversations and research
https://news.ucsc.edu/2024/09/aesthetics-of-resilience.html
Scientists discover first nitrogen-fixing organelle
https://news.ucsc.edu/2024/04/nitrogen-fixing-organelle.html
UC Santa Cruz research will harness advanced AI to better measure, predict climate-change impacts
Two UC Santa Cruz research projects designed to leverage advanced forms of artificial intelligence to improve how scientists measure and predict the effects of climate change have won funding from a $20 million investment by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Bear DNA study to measure impact of conservation actions on genetic diversity
The National Science Foundation will fund research at UC Santa Cruz that will examine the DNA of brown bears in the lower 48 states, where the iconic beast’s numbers have seen catastrophic declines over the last century. The research project will use genetic-sequencing technologies to study the effects of this rapid population decline, as well as the impacts of previous conservation-management actions.
Sea otters use tools when feeding to survive a changing world
Sea otters are one of the few animals that use rocks and other objects to access their food, and a new study has found that individual sea otters that use tools—most of whom are female—can eat larger prey and reduce tooth damage when their preferred prey becomes depleted.
Balancing carbon sequestration and community benefits
UCSC student Cole Seither addresses the delicate balance between agroforestry, carbon sequestration, and community benefits in combating climate change. His research is supported by the Earth Futures Institute’s Frontier Fellows program.
Scientists find unexpected proteins in bacteria motors
A team of scientists, co-led by Karen Ottemann, a professor of Microbiology and Environmental Toxicology, recently found three unexpected proteins while studying the motors that power the flagella of a species called Helicobacter pylori. The proteins, which are normally found in another type of appendage on a separate group of bacteria, seem to exert control over the motion of the flagella. These proteins, known as PilN, PilO, and PilM, had never been found associated with a flagella before.
Industrial fishing poses greater risk to marine life due to untracked activity, UC Santa Cruz researchers find
A new study led by a scientist at UC Santa Cruz’s Institute of Marine Sciences finds that blue whales, tunas, and other top predators in the northeast Pacific Ocean face greater risk of harm from industrial fishing than previously thought.
Closer water monitoring needed as wildfires increase
UC Santa Cruz researchers warn that wildfires can change the chemistry of nearby streams that people and wildlife depend on for drinking water. But they found that the baseline water-chemistry data needed to detect such changes aren’t always available.
Scientists begin to crack open climate-change riddles hiding in ancient coral
An international team of researchers on an expedition co-led by UC Santa Cruz Professor Christina Ravelo collected cores of fossil coral off the coast of Hawai’i to look for signs of climate and sea-level change over the past half million years.