UC Santa Cruz

Astrophysicists have done a bit of crime scene investigation. They’ve traced radioactive elements on the seafloor back to the cosmic explosions they might have come from – and potentially linked the event to evolutionary changes in viruses in Africa.

How would you be able to sleep if you were surrounded by predators who might eat you as soon as you nodded off? Well, a new study shows that elephant seals manage it by only sleeping two hours a day, and doing so deep in the ocean.

“We don’t need any energy input, and it bubbles hydrogen like crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said UCSC Professor Scott Oliver, describing a new aluminum-gallium nanoparticle powder that generates H2 when placed in water – even seawater.

Using their sonar system, toothed whales are able to zero in on prey in the pitch black conditions of the deep sea. Seals lack such a system, but still catch prey in the same conditions. New research now shows how their whiskers allow them to do so.

An international team of scientists has published the first complete, gap-free sequence of the human genome. The new reference genome adds hundreds of millions of base pairs to earlier drafts, filling in crucial gaps to improve studies of disease.

Most fish utilize a mouthful of water to swallow their prey. According to a new study, however, moray eels are unique in not doing so, allowing them to feed while out of the water … with some help from a second set of jaws in their throat.

In a landmark new study, geneticists have completely sequenced the entire human X chromosome. Using a new technique that takes "ultra-long" reads of DNA sequences, the team revealed more than three million base pairs that were previously unmapped.

Ranking right up there in the Things People Worry About is the potential for a cataclysmic super-eruption of the Yellowstone hotspot. According to a new study, however, the volcanic region may currently be waning.

With their bright plumage, North American coot chicks really stick out. A new study by UC Santa Cruz indicates that such coloration not only serves to get more food out of the parents, but also maximizes the bird's reproductive strategy.

Compasses point north – that’s a pretty constant fact of life. But it hasn’t always been the case, as the north and south poles flip on a semi-regularly basis. Exactly how long this process takes has been up for debate, and now a new study suggests it happens far more slowly than previously thought.

Statistically it’s pretty much a given that alien life is out there, whether that’s Martian microbes or intelligent life beaming comms through the cosmos. Now, a new telescope array has joined Breakthrough Listen, scanning for flashes of laser light that alien civilizations might be giving off.