What's Current in

Science + Technology

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

Read Article

winners of business plan competition with large first-place check
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image
NVC Finals judge Jason Rollman (left, in blue shirt) congratulates EyeClimate, the 2024 New Venture Competition Finals champions (from second to left) Bowen Zhang, PhD student; Max Gordon, undergraduate student; and Satish Kumar, PhD student

An entrepreneurial eye for solving climate change
Theo world map fading into blue water.
Photo Credit
Philip Hoeppli via iStock

UC Santa Barbara leads $9 million research project on ocean cycles
Icebergs float of Greenland in the arctic sea.
Photo Credit
Explora_2005 via iStock
Legions of icebergs brought the Atlantic circulation to its knees during the last glacial period.

Historic iceberg surges offer insights on modern climate change
concept illustration of chemical reactions using light
Photo Credit
Courtesy Image

Shining a light on new chemical reactions
In Focus placeholder

Understanding aging on a cellular level
a barnacle in a jar
Photo Credit
Sonia Fernandez
Sessile creatures like this barnacle were the key to determining when the oil pipeline was compromised, an event that eventually led to the oil spill

How Marine Science Institute researchers helped solve the 2021 Huntington Beach oil spill
eye with circuitry blue tint

AI learns to pay covert attention
concept illustration of an active nematic fluid

Controlling the chaos of active fluids
In Focus placeholder

Investigating the changing disease ecology of California
A mantis shrimp emerges from its burrow to confront a rival.
Photo Credit
Roy Caldwell
These territorial crustaceans use their tails as shields to defend against the explosive punches of their rivals.

Rolling with the punches: How mantis shrimp defend against high-speed strikes
young woman smiling
Photo Credit
Courtesy
College of Creative Studies biology student Ashley Yeh '24

Creative Studies student earns coveted Knight-Hennessy Scholarship for neuroscience
Two workers in white coveralls and masks examine solar cells in a cleanroom.
Photo Credit
Gorodenkoff via iStock
Alternatives to silicon-based solar cells could allow solar panel production to move out of cleanrooms like this.

UCSB pioneers a low-energy process for high-performance solar cells
Subscribe to Science + Technology