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Life Sciences

sunlight shines through a swimming jellyfish
Photo Credit
iStock

Adaptive molecular convergence more common than previously thought

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Elephant bones lay scattered around a bare patch on the African savanna with mountains in the background.
Photo Credit
Courtney Reed
An elephant transforms the spot where it dies, with a legacy that lasts long after the body is gone and the bones are scattered.

Elephants continue to shape the savanna even after death
a hand cradles a lit lightbulb against a sunset sky
Photo Credit
iStock

Six UCSB junior faculty members selected for 2026 NSF CAREER awards
A young scientist holds a pipette over a flask with orange liquid as another looks on.
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Undergraduate Collin Vergel de Dios inoculates a culture to purify optogenetic proteins under the guidance of graduate student Alex Maynard.

UCSB professor lands DARPA award to develop mini DNA factories
an image of a glioblastoma tumor in the brain
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iStock
Glioblastoma tumors are aggressive and difficult to access for treatment

Light-triggered stress response suppresses glioblastoma spread in 3D models
Two Caribbean reef sharks swim past a coral-encrusted rock on a flat, sandy bottom in clear blue water.
Photo Credit
Photo by Alex Rose on Unsplash
Caribbean reef sharks are frequent denizens of Caribbean coral reefs, and their scales certainly find their way into the region’s sand.

Two oceans, one country, 20 times the number of sharks
A collection of dark green lines and small dots on a pale green background
Photo Credit
Courtesy UCSB Engineering
A close-up view of anaerobic gut fungi under the microscope. Armed with powerful plant-degrading enzymes and a dense network of hyphae, these specialized microbes break down tough lignocellulosic plant matter in the absence of oxygen.

Two UCSB-led projects selected for DOE’s Genesis Mission
giant kelp in the water

Disturbance has a greater effect on giant kelp productivity than does resource availability
An illustration of two fishes with the skin unwrapped to reveal the internal anatomy: skeleton on the left and organs on the right.
Photo Credit
Jessica Eggers
With its fantastical illustrations and offbeat humor, "Gonzo Ichthyology" leads readers through topics in fish biology and other flights of fancy.

Ichthyology meets ‘Through the Looking Glass,’ in pen and ink
A forest smothered in vines.
Photo Credit
Jonathan Hammond via iStock
Kudzu got a foothold in North America in 1876 and has since gotten a stranglehold on the forests of the Southeast.

Vast botanical data help solve Darwin’s puzzle of why some exotic plants become pests
Sunbeams filter down on a algae-covered rocks on a shallow seafloor.
Photo Credit
Johan Holmdahl via iStock
Oxygenated seafloors were likely the cradle of eukaryotic life.

Early complex life clung to oxygenated seafloors for hundreds of millions of years
closeup of a black bird called a grackle

Grackle research reveals behavioral flexibility and adaptation in action
a close up image of a fruit fly

Newly discovered neural connections reveal that inhibitory neurons can also drive movement
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