This month in science:
UC Santa Cruz undergraduates reflect on powerful degree-defining experiences; UCSC the world's top public university for highly cited researchers; Professor Carol Greider kicks off new public science-talk series on December 11; plus more.
From scuba diving off the coast of Alaska to do hands-on marine research, taking artistic inspiration from the raw beauty of UC Natural Reserve lands, or delving into the computational biology behind cancer and genomics research, the UC Santa Cruz Science Division’s degree-defining experiences engaged over 2,300 students last fall and winter. They represented 26 majors, spanning arts, humanities, physical and biological sciences, social sciences, and engineering.
Fourteen outstanding UC Santa Cruz graduate students in science and engineering fields earned scholarships worth a total of $180,000 from the prestigious Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation for the 2025-26 academic year.
A research-backed defense of DEI programs written by three biomedical scientists, including UC Santa Cruz Professor Needhi Bhalla, states how such programs broaden participation in and democratize science—ultimately producing more effective and supportive training environments for all scientists.
Carol Greider, professor molecular, cell, and developmental biology, will give the first lecture in the Science Division’s new series, “Science in the Neighborhood.” The ends of chromosomes, called telomeres, play a pivotal role in human disease: short telomeres lead to degenerative conditions, long telomeres predispose people to cancer. Dr. Greider researches the mechanism of telomere-length regulation so that we can devise approaches for disease treatment.
