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Uranus and Neptune may not be ‘ice giants’ after all
The evidence that Uranus and Neptune must be icy is “all indirect, it’s all circumstantial,” says Jonathan Fortney, a planetary astrophysicist at the University of California (UC), Santa Cruz. “This was always in the back of people’s minds: that the planets could be more complicated.”
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Report: 5 unintended effects kicked in after California raised minimum wage
California raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. It was supposed to help workers earn more money. But a new study found something strange. Many workers are not better off. Some are working fewer hours. Some lost their jobs to robots. A college study looked at more than 100 restaurants.…
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Professor details scam horror that cost her nearly a half million dollars
A successful imposter scam involves “hiding the real” and “showing the fake,” explained Anthony Pratkanis, professor emeritus of social psychology at UC Santa Cruz. Pratkanis, who co-wrote the book “Weapons of Fraud,” said scammers use social influence tactics that appeal to human nature. “We could all fall prey to these crimes,” Pratkanis said, not just “little…
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Colorful songbirds face higher risk of extinction
With bright feathers that look painted on, colorful birds are typically pretty and charismatic poster species for conservation. Those same colors can also put them at a higher risk for extinction in some parts of the world, according to a study from UC Santa Cruz published in the journal Conservation Biology.
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The ocean’s hidden, deadly killer: Why thriving seas can suddenly die and turn into mass underwater graveyards
In June 2026, researchers at UC Santa Cruz confirmed that two young humpback whales found dead on the coastline had been affected by domoic acid: a neurotoxin that comes from harmful algal blooms. Additional coverage in the Santa Cruz Sentinel and Monterey County Herald.
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Sculpture! Champagne! Celebrities! Inside the Serpentine’s Glitzy Summer Party
Celebrities, patrons, and art world luminaries – including Sir Isaac Julien, Distinguished Professor of History of Consciousness and the Arts – descended on London’s Kensington Gardens in droves on Tuesday night for the much-anticipated, invitation-only Serpentine Summer Party.
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When your local reflecting pool or pond turns green with algae, don’t reach for chemicals – nature has better solutions
“Trying to kill algae with chemicals is a common response when community ponds or other water features go green. But as a scientist who studies freshwater ecology, I can tell you there are better solutions that cost far less, last longer and carry less risk of harm to pets and wildlife,” writes UC Santa Cruz Professor…
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Can Food Improve Mood?
When most people think about mental health, they think about therapy, medication, stress management, or perhaps childhood experiences. Rarely do they think about what’s on their plate. But according to Dr. Andrea Cook, a UCSC professor, licensed clinical psychologist, and certified health coach, that may be changing.
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Look, choose: the museum is a dream. The visions of Isaac Julien in the gres art 671 cultural space
An Italian newspaper covered Museum Dreams, a major immersive exhibition and retrospective by pioneering British filmmaker and UC Santa Cruz Distinguished Professor Isaac Julien that’s on display through early October. The article mentions the Moving Image Lab at UC Santa Cruz that Julien co-leads with Professor Mark Nash.
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NASA satellite spots El Niño driving higher seas toward California
“For this winter in particular, there is a very reasonable likelihood that we’re going to see sea levels that are consistent with what we predict for the 2050s,” Michael Beck, the director of the Center for Coastal Climate Resilience at UC Santa Cruz, told SFGATE. “If you look at this somewhat positively, you could say that this…