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Letters and Science

two white men with yellow and blue lines on background
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Courtesy
Recent UCSB graduates Matthieu Huy and Enri Lala were selected from 3,400 applicants for a fully funded year of graduate study in France.

Two UC Santa Barbara graduates receive inaugural Lafayette Fellowship

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Coconut palms stretch into the distance framed by tropical blue waters.
Photo Credit
PeaceMan via iStock
Coconut palms account for more than one third of forested areas on Fakarava Atoll, French Polynesia, which falls far short of the region’s most heavily impacted atolls.

After decades of plantation agriculture, coconut palms dominate over half of Pacific atoll forests
blue whale tail
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Courtesy Image

Researchers paint a global picture of whale-ship collision risk
Meghan Morrissey uses a micropipette in her lab.
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Matt Perko
Morrissey’s group is working to harness macrophage immune cells for novel cancer therapies.

Prof. Meghan Morrissey honored by the American Cancer Society for her work on cancer immunotherapy
three-panel photographic image of a woman holding a picture of her son, the cover of a new book on Guatemala and the dry riverbed below a dam
"The Fourth Invasion" argues that present-day hydroelectric projects are a continuation of Guatemala's long history of colonialism and resource exploitation and includes the state-sponsored genocide of the late 20th century

Guatemala’s history of colonialism, from genocide to extractionist industries
Portrait of Leah Bleich
Photo Credit
Taylor Finlay
Director Leah Bleich brings her first feature to the campus where she got her start in filmmaking.

‘Back’ to the future: Alum Leah Bleich returns to campus with her first feature film
illustration of two women, one of whom is pregnant, standing in front of a balancing scale

Abortion access linked to future economic and educational success
dolphin swimming with plastic bag on fin
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Joao Vianna/Getty Images

A new study in Science maps out a comprehensive plan to eliminate plastic pollution by 2050
Three mountain yellow-legged frogs perched on a rock.
Photo Credit
Roland Knapp
The Sierra Nevada yellow-legged frog is recovering in Yosemite, a beacon of hope for amphibian conservation.

Frog populations once decimated by disease mount a major comeback
printed materials of assorted sizes and styles
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Courtesy

Santa Barbara’s Off Register art book and print fair brings art, prints and interactive exhibits
Three actors on a stage in colorful makeup and costumes for The Threepenny Opera
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Jeff Liang
UC Santa Santa Barbara Department of Theater and Dance is mounting a new production of 1928 play “The Threepenny Opera”

A bracingly contemporary century-old masterpiece
A line of clouts stretches from the tropical Pacific to western North America where it becomes a massive storm.
Photo Credit
Stuart Rankin via Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Pineapple Express — an atmospheric river originating in the tropical Pacific — walloped western North America in February 2017. These systems are becoming more frequent at higher latitudes, leaving mid latitudes drier.

Atmospheric rivers are shifting toward the poles, possibly following a long-term cycle

Bridging divided views to strengthen communities
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