Farmers have dealt with pests since the advent of agriculture. Cats can catch mice, and fences can keep out rabbits. But what do you do when the creature raiding your crops is a six-ton African ...

When Thuc-Quyen Nguyen learned she had been selected as UC Santa Barbara’s next Faculty Research Lecturer, she felt what she describes as surprise, happiness and deep honor. The award, established in ...

Some people seek perfection. UC Santa Barbara materials professor Daniel Gianola is focused on creating, finding and exploring imperfections, with an eye to developing new and better materials. “Our ...

Mantis shrimp are small creatures known for their superlatives. Their eyes have 12 to 16 different color receptors, versus our own three, and can detect the polarization of light. Their punches are ...

According to long-standing canon in evolutionary biology, natural selection is cruelly selfish, favoring traits that help promote reproductive success. This usually means that the so-called “force” of ...

Queue the “Pomp and Circumstance” and collect your regalia. Commencement season is back, baby, and UC Santa Barbara is ready to roll. More than 7,400 students — a combination of both undergraduate and ...

Agriculture in Syria started with a bang 12,800 years ago as a fragmented comet slammed into the Earth’s atmosphere. The explosion and subsequent environmental changes forced hunter-gatherers in the ...

A study conducted by UC Santa Barbara researchers and collaborators has found that California has lost more than half of its coastal dune systems. The researchers’ assessment — the first of its kind ...

Many people say they’d like to change aspects of their personality — to be more outgoing, more patient, or more emotionally resilient. But can traits like these really change? Recent research suggests ...

Carbohydrate is a familiar term. It’s the bagel you had for breakfast, the bread in your sandwich, the slice of cake you’re thinking about sneaking later today. But carbs aren’t only in baked goods, ...

When it comes to raising children in the digital age, one of the worst things a parent can do is give their kid a smartphone and hope for the best. Turns out, same goes for the grownups. That ...

From the highest mountains to the deepest ocean, the driest desert to the lushest jungle, Earth displays a dazzling array of lifeforms. And eukaryotes account for many of these lifeforms, including ...