This month in science:
Two UCSC discoveries named top breakthroughs by Science; physics experiment proves patterns in quantum chaos; Pedro Morales-Almazán highlighted in UC Santa Cruz Magazine, and more. Happy holidays!
The magazine's annual roundup of top discoveries includes two that highlight UC Santa Cruz contributions: the discovery in the lab of ocean sciences professor Jonathan Zehr of unique nitrogen-fixing compartments in the cells of marine algae, and the ongoing revelations about the early universe thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope.
Ph.D. candidate Allison Payne tells the #StoryBehindthePaper for her study “Reproductive success and offspring survival decline for female elephant seals past prime age,” which was recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology. Payne discusses how her research on reproductive senescence emerged from an unconventional setting—an undergraduate field class at UC Santa Cruz.
Several current and former UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff have joined with leading experts in the field of conservation genomics to launch Wise Ancestors, a nonprofit centering indigenous peoples and local communities as co-creators of biodiversity conservation projects.
Professor Ari Friedlaender will share an innovative research program that uses cutting-edge technologies to study the challenges baleen whales face in California's marine sanctuaries. Learn how this research aims to better protect these sentinel animals and preserve the health of our oceans for future generations.
