What's Current in
Life Sciences
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![A hand hovering over a match](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-05/hand-flame.jpg?itok=2wubz1g-)
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Our perception of pain arises from a complex system connected to many other pathways.
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![Holly Moeller checks on flasks of mixotrophic algae.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-05/Moeller-and-incubator-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=SkAuGt5B)
Photo Credit
Holly Moeller
Holly Moeller hopes these nondescript algae will help her uncover the intriguing lifestyle of mixotrophs and understand how environmental conditions influence their growth.
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![aerial view of wildfire marching across a forest landscape](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-04/wildfire-aerial-istock-uc-santa-barbara1.jpg?itok=WO10HMly)
Where fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, it can create space and opportunities for adaptations and new species
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![Mono Lake with bright sunshine](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-04/Mono-Lake-UC-Santa-Barbara.jpg?itok=w6HSTlII)
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Mono Lake, where brine flies are a key food source for water birds.
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![A sewing machine against a black background.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-03/sewing-machine-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=01HhkUX_)
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
Simply seeing a machine might not convey what it does.
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![A family, made up of a couple and their three children, in the Amazon stands together smiling.](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-03/tsimane-family-uc-santa-barbara3x2.jpg?itok=u3H3P1Im)
Photo Credit
Michael Gurven
The Tsimane are an indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon
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![Man stands shirtless with his arms open towards the ocean](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-04/healthy-aging-istock-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=PvLWXCc8)
Photo Credit
iStock
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![A computer rendering of bacteria and a superbug](/sites/default/files/styles/large_2340x1212/public/2023-03/resistance-is-futile-uc-santa-barbara.jpg?itok=Gb9uOjwg)
Photo Credit
Ryan Allen and Peter Allen, Second Bay Studios
A new antibiotic cured mice infected with bacteria deemed nearly “untreatable” in humans — and resistance to the drug was virtually undetectable.