Science
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The Hunt for a Fundamental Theory of Quantum Gravity
For mathematical convenience, Bousso assumed that there’s an unlimited variety of particles—an unrealistic assumption that makes some physicists wonder whether this third layer matches reality (with its 17 or so known particles) any better than the second layer does. “We don’t have an infinite number of quantum fields,” said Edgar Shaghoulian, a physicist at the…
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Astronomers discover strange solar system body dancing in sync with Neptune: ‘Like finding a hidden rhythm in a song’
“This new motion is like finding a hidden rhythm in a song we thought we knew,” team member and University of California, Santa Cruz scientist Ruth Murray-Clay said. “It could change how we think about the way distant objects move.” Additional coverage in IFL Science.
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Evolution in overdrive as Baltic cod shrink due to fishing pressure, study shows
“The study is a wonderful example of genomic time travel,” said Malin Pinsky, an associate professor of biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and co-author of the 2023 paper. “The broad message that humans are altering the course of evolution resonates far beyond Baltic cod,” Pinsky, who wasn’t involved in this study, added.
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‘It’s just a weird, weird bird’: Why we got the dodo so absurdly wrong
“The dodo laid a single egg in a nest on the ground, which made these eggs particularly vulnerable to predation by introduced species like rats and pigs, which arrived on Mauritius at the same time as people,” says Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California-Santa Cruz.
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UC Santa Cruz researcher develops innovative CRISPRware software
Eric Malekos, a graduate student in biomolecular engineering at UC Santa Cruz with a background in computer science and mathematics, along with fellow Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology Department Ph.D. student Christy Montano A Ph.D., has created an innovative software program called CRISPRware, which makes the process of gene editing faster and easier for researchers,…
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Conference organizers, potential participants fault US policies for falling attendance
This year’s International Conference on Supersymmetry and Unification of Fundamental Interactions is planned for mid-August at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Conference cochair Howard Haber expects about 150 participants, down from around 200 in recent years. He says that some international scientists have canceled their participation because they are “spooked by stories in the…
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Astronomers discover a pulsar and a helium star orbiting each other
“There’s a physical law that if a binary system loses more than half its mass, the system will become unbound,” says Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who was not involved in the study. When the more massive star exploded and became a neutron star, Ramirez-Ruiz…
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How did these class rings stay put for decades? Santa Cruz County beach mystery delights ocean expert
UC Santa Cruz coastal scientist Gary Griggs sees a scientific mystery in two lost-and-found class rings — including one buried for 44 years at Main Beach. Griggs says the stories challenge assumptions about coastal sand movement, raising new questions about how objects can remain so close to where they were lost despite decades of shifting…
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EPA employees put names to ‘declaration of dissent’ over agency moves under Trump
“People are going to die,” said Carol Greider, a Nobel laureate and professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who also signed the letter. She described last week’s East Coast heat wave as evidence of the ways people are feeling the effects of climate change. “And if we don’t…
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Vera Rubin Scientists Reveal Telescope’s First Images
“You’ve not seen the whole thing, all captured at once at this depth with so many objects there,” said Steven Ritz, a physicist at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the project scientist for Rubin construction. “That, I would point out, is new. And just how pretty it is.” Additional coverage by the BBC,…
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How changing ocean colors could impact California
Earth’s oceans have been getting greener at the poles and becoming bluer closer to the equator, according to a study published Thursday in Science. The shift reflects changes in marine ecosystems, which experts say could affect fish populations and create problems for fisheries, including in California. “It has lots of potential implications for the way…
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Scientists warn of critical missing piece in humans’ understanding of animals: ‘Not quite sophisticated enough’
Animals use various strategies to adapt to climate change, but scientific studies usually measure only one factor over a period of time or space. A new paper says considering multiple factors within one study could create a more holistic understanding. “The picture that we all have in our heads for species on the move, we’re…