UC Santa Cruz scientists to provide rapid COVID-19 testing by end of month

While doctors and nurses treat COVID-19 patients on the front lines, behind the scenes scientists are working hard in their labs to come up with ways to battle the pandemic. A team of UC Santa Cruz scientists are targeting high capacity coronavirus diagnostic testing with 24-hour turnaround that will meet the needs of community in the County of Santa Cruz.
Original story from KSBW.



Galaxy found to float in a tranquil sea of halo gas

“The signal from the fast radio burst exposed the nature of the magnetic field around the galaxy and the structure of the halo gas. The study proves a new and transformative technique for exploring the nature of galaxy halos,” said J. Xavier Prochaska, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz and lead author of a paper on the new findings published online September 26 in Science.




Tuna study spearheads changes in dining halls

KAZU — UC Santa Cruz is warning students about the dangers of eating too much tuna following a university study. The study started with one professor, Myra Finkelstein, questioning her students’ tuna-rich diets. Tuna consumption among her students became a concern when she found out how much they claimed to be eating every week.





Santa Cruz County’s New Wave of Climate Controversy

Goodtimes — This fall, Santa Cruz County could become one of the first local governments in the country to take decisive action on sea-level rise by altering permitting rules for residents who want to build seawalls or other forms of armoring around valuable coastal real estate. Who will benefit from plans to armor the coast, adapt West Cliff and more?


New study traces Io's volcanic tides

PhysOrg — “The magma in Io’s crust takes time to flow,” said Francis Nimmo, a geophysicist at the University of California Santa Cruz and co-author on the new paper. “If you squeeze and stretch the crust rapidly, nothing happens; but if you squeeze and stretch it more slowly, the magma has time to move far enough to fill a volcanic conduit, causing an eruption. It’s similar to the way you can run on wet sand, but if you walk slowly your feet sink.”