Hacker News
- Scientists have found in the precolonial Andes highlands from 750 to 1450 Common Era (CE), favorable climate conditions sparked population growth that overtaxed a marginal resource base, which resulted in 450 years of internecine warfare. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2022/020634/violence-abundance 11 comments science
- A mechanical jumper is capable of achieving the tallest height — roughly 30 m — of any jumper to date, engineered or biological. The feat represents a fresh approach to the design of jumping devices. Design allows it to speed up from 0 to 60 mph in 9 meters per second — an acceleration force of 315g https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2022/020619/hitting-news-heights 7 comments science
- Remoteness does not enhance coral reef resilience, according to marine ecologists | University of California - Santa Barbara https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2021/020440/no-silver-bullet 3 comments environment
- Research finds evidence of a cosmic airburst destroying a city in the Middle Bronze Age (about 3,600 years ago, roughly 1650 BCE) The settlement in its time had become the largest continuously occupied Bronze Age city in the southern Levant, having hosted early civilization for a few thousand years. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2021/020400/ancient-disaster 73 comments science
- Research uncovers patterns in the resting brains of highly sensitive people. While people with high sensitivity might get more rattled by uncomfortable situations, they might also experience higher levels of creativity, deeper bonds with others and a heightened appreciation of beauty. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2021/020260/sensitive-brain-rest 27 comments science
- Study identifies possible mechanism for methane production from cows & goats. Understanding could reveal methods to extract raw materials necessary for chemicals like biofuels & pharmaceuticals from abundant, renewable, plant parts. This could decrease or eliminate reliance on more finite resources https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2021/020165/wonder-fungi 7 comments science
- Four year study of 371 reefs in 58 countries around the world reveals "sharks are functionally extinct on many of the world’s reefs". Sharks were not observed on nearly 20% of surveyed reefs, suggesting a widespread decline that has gone undocumented on this scale until now. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019975/reef-shark-roundup 15 comments worldnews
- Researchers study the neural and genetic links to romantic love in newlyweds. “Romantic love maintenance is part of a broad mammalian strategy for reproduction and long-term attachment that is influenced by basic reward circuitry, complex cognitive processes and genetic factors.” https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019898/wired-marriage 16 comments science
- As the climate is changing, so too are the world's forests. Research indicates that forests are shifting to communities that can cope with greater average water stress as well as more variability in water stress. This should buffer forests against some of the effects of climate change https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019837/changing-forests 7 comments science
- The western United States has experienced such intense droughts over the past decade that technical descriptions are becoming inadequate. In many places, conditions are rocketing past “severe,” through “extreme,” all the way to “exceptional drought.” https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2020/019761/warmer-dryer-browner 1052 comments science
- Researchers suggest seaweed farming could be a versatile tool in the effort to mitigate climate change https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019595/charismatic-carbon 94 comments science
- Some of Southern California’s most iconic and popular beaches have lost most of their biodiversity. Cities along the coast have destroyed vegetation and groomed the sand with equipment such that what many of us have come to call “natural beauty” is in fact about as natural as a sand parking lot. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019566/urbanization-beach 82 comments science
- First-of-its-kind study quantifies the effects of political lobbying on likelihood of climate policy enactment, suggesting that lack of climate action may be due to political influences, with lobbying lowering the probability of enacting a bill, representing $60 billion in expected climate damages. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019485/climate-undermined-lobbying 1585 comments science
- Rare hoodwinker sunfish, never before seen in Northern Hemisphere, washes up at Coal Oil Point Reserve, California. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019361/hoodwinked 5 comments science
- A broken neurobiological mechanism might explain why a certain subset of people can’t stop themselves from drinking excessively, even in the face of nausea, dizziness, or even losing control. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019354/tampering-brakes 80 comments science
- Plant-based biofuels are considered as fossil fuel alternatives but they may compete with land for food and offer little greenhouse gas reductions. New research suggests that the use of prairie grass, instead of food crops, with moderate fertilizers, gave better carbon storage and energy yield. https://www.news.ucsb.edu/2019/019333/everything-moderation 611 comments science
- Marianne Mithun, acclaimed for her work with Native Americans, is elected to lead Linguistic Society of America http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/019281/definition-respect 11 comments linguistics
- Researchers develop new models for wind farms that could lead to better performance, which in some cases may not require as many turbines, thereby reducing potential costs. The models also could result in custom solutions that involve the farm sites’ specific terrain, and local weather patterns. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/019207/windier-windfarms 32 comments science
- For people working in gene editing, results are only as good as their ability to efficiently bypass the human cell's “trash disposal” mechanism that breaks down unwanted biomolecules. A new method of in-cell genome editing has been developed that avoids the problems with current methods. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/019150/better-genome-editing 14 comments science
- Pride may not be a bad thing, but was built into human nature by evolution, suggests new research (N=567). Our foraging ancestors lived in small bands and faced frequent life-threatening events. They needed their fellow band members to value them enough during bad times to pull them through. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/019141/value-pride 6 comments science
- A study further reveals that people are more likely to support the same climate policy proposal when they think that their own political party supports it—and that both Democrats and Republicans overestimate how much their peers oppose the ideas of the other party. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/019116/party-over-policy 21 comments science
- The first comprehensive study of China’s STEM research environment based on 731 surveys by STEM faculty at China’s top 25 universities found a system that stifles creativity and critical thinking needed for innovation, hamstrings researchers with bureaucracy, and rewards quantity over quality. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/018878/innovation-nation 722 comments science
- Our facial expressions stem primarily from what we want out of social interactions, not our feelings, new research suggests. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/018839/strategic-expression 50 comments science
- Kelp forests are vital to a diversity of marine species, new research shows, just as Charles Darwin predicted during his initial visit to the Galapagos Islands. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/018791/lesson-darwin 38 comments science
- Cilmatologists render skillful predictions of drought and food insecurity that help avert famine. Last year, 81 million people worldwide experienced severe food insecurity. About 80 percent of them live in Africa. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2018/018805/saving-lives 3 comments science
- Repeated bacterial infections can add up over time, eventually leading to severe inflammatory disease. Infections that go unnoticed and clear the body without treatment—such as occurs in mild food poisoning—can start a chain of events that leads to chronic inflammation and life-threatening colitis. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/018596/gut-reaction 15 comments science
- Researchers demonstrate 3D imaging of objects through walls using ordinary wireless signal involving two drones working in tandem. Technology could have a variety of applications, such as emergency search-and-rescue, archaeological discovery and structural monitoring. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/018068/x-ray-eyes-sky 3 comments science
- Microfibers are one of the biggest contributors to ocean pollution. New research clarifies how washing fleece jackets contributes to the problem. And, as with other microplastics, they are commonly mistaken for food by myriad marine life, disrupting feeding and digestion. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/018046/below-surface 16 comments science
- Pride served an important function in social life that led to its evolution among our foraging ancestors, argue researchers. They believe that the function of pride is to motivate the individual to cultivate traits and pick courses of action that increase others’ tendency to value them. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/017673/pride-sin-or-incentive 2 comments science
- Feminist Major going FA http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/017612/ready-lead 114 comments army
- Mislabeled fish are showing up in lots of sushi. Study uses DNA markers to identify seafood mislabeling over a 4-year period at 26 restaurants and 3 high-end grocery stores in L.A. The results of this study raise new questions about the efficacy of efforts intended to stem seafood fraud. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2017/017550/not-so-fine-kettle-fish 18 comments science
- Study explores the key role that newsletters played in the consumption of media 400 years ago. Today, surveys suggest the public’s news consumption looks a lot like the heyday of the newsletter. According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of Americans get their news online, primarily from social media http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/017497/news-evolution 6 comments science
- The Deepwater Horizon Aftermath - Researchers analyze 125 compounds from oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico to determine their longevity at different contamination levels http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/017495/deepwater-horizon-aftermath 190 comments science
- New research findings suggest that 34.4 million Americans considered overweight by virtue of BMI(body mass index) are actually healthy, as are 19.8 million who are considered obese. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2016/016429/flawed-measure 5 comments science
- UCSB researchers use wifi cards to count the number of people walking http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2015/015492/counting-people-wifi 3 comments science
- Where did all the oil go?: A professor’s analysis traces oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon event to its resting place on the Gulf of Mexico’s deep floor http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014454/where-did-all-oil-go 510 comments science
- Smarter Than a First-Grader: Researcher shows that New Caledonian crows can perform as well as 7- to 10-year-olds on cause-and-effect water displacement tasks http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/014330/smarter-second-grader 4 comments science
- Cocaine and the pleasure principle: UCSB researchers use animal models to demonstrate that the net result of cocaine use is a balance of both positive and negative effects http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2014/013995/cocaine-and-pleasure-principle 73 comments science
- Ancient cranial surgery: Evidence shows that healers in Peru practiced trepanation — a surgical procedure that involves removing a section of the cranial vault using a hand drill or a scraping tool — more than 1,000 years ago to treat a variety of ailments, from head injuries to heartsickness. http://www.news.ucsb.edu/2013/013852/ancient-cranial-surgery 3 comments science