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Letters and Science

two ucsb students and the manager of the campus bike shop with a pile of old bike tires
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Environmental studies undergrads Sophia Long (left) and Virginia Such with A.S. Bike Shop Manager Adam Jahnke, April 2026

UCSB environmental studies team launches tire recycling program at A.S. Bike Shop

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A mountain made of multicolored pill capsules
Photo Credit
Ryan Allen and Peter Allen, Second Bay Studios
A new antibiotic susceptibility test revealed that existing FDA-approved antibiotics can effectively treat multidrug-resistant infections.

New test reveals existing antibiotics, hiding in plain sight on pharmacy shelves, can cure superbugs
Hillside daisy blankets hills in yellow, with splashes of pink, orange and blue.
Photo Credit
Joan Dudney
California’s wildflowers have painted parts of the state in a dazzling array of colors.

Tending to our superblooms requires developing plans for people to enjoy them
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Anti-hate event draws local and national AAPI activists to Multicultural Center
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Conference on the Americas features Chilean leader and activist Elisa Loncón Antileo
Ceramic reproduction of a meat market store front.
Photo Credit
Ruben Diaz
Christopher Suarez, La Gaviota Meat Market, detail, 2022, ceramic

To lionize his Long Beach barrio, Christopher Suarez turns to clay
Mono Lake with bright sunshine
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Mono Lake, where brine flies are a key food source for water birds.

The productivity of brine flies is tied to the overall health of salt lake ecosystems; both are in decline
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Documentary screening features Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa
Tsimané fishing with bows and arrows
Photo Credit
Michael Gurven
Compared to industrialized counterparts Tsimané people of lowland Bolivia have less food availability and must expend more effort to get it

Greater fat stores and blood cholesterol increase with brain volume, but beyond a certain point they are associated with faster brain aging
a close-eyed statue with brain exposed, coming into focus
Photo Credit
Photo illustration by Matt Perko. Original image by David Matos on Unsplash.

Researchers use artificial intelligence to hunt for human intelligence
Stressed pines on a hill in southwestern Colorado.
Photo Credit
A climate-stressed forest in southwestern Colorado near Wolf Creek Pass.
A climate-stressed forest in southwestern Colorado near Wolf Creek Pass.

US forests face an unclear future with climate change
A snorkeler with camera and note pad investigates a nearly bleached coral.
Photo Credit
Jeff Liang
Professor Deron Burkepile observes coral in the process of bleaching in the reefs around Moorea.

Stripped to the Bone: Research in Moorea shows the presence of coral skeletons influences reef recovery after bleaching
A couple dances to cumbia in the film Yo Soy No Guapo
“Yo No Soy Guapo,” 2018, directed by Joyce Garcia

Cumbia connects nations and generations through music and dance
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