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Science + Technology

hand holding a pair of prosthetic glasses
Photo Credit
Matt Perko
UCSB’s Michael Beyeler is using AI to improve visual cortical prostheses, or “bionic eyes.”

Deep learning refines how bionic eyes communicate with the brain

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a charging cable into an electric vehicle at sunset.
Photo Credit
Michael Fousert, Unsplash
Accounting for the emissions over a vehicle’s entire lifecycle overturns the sunk-cost thinking that keeps gasoline vehicles on the roads.

Thinking about trading your car in for an EV? There’s a compelling new reason to do it now
aerial photo of fractal shape on landscape created by erosion
Vegetation highlights a self-similar repeating pattern created in the landscape by erosion

UC President’s Postdoctoral Fellow uses fractals to study erosion
two men stand in front of a tri-fold scientific presentation
Photo Credit
Courtesy
UCSB Professor Haewon Jeong's PhD student Neel Sankaran (left) with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist Min Sang Cho (right).

UCSB, Lawrence Livermore collaborate to accelerate fusion plasma simulations with AI
A shark fin sticks out of the ice at a fish market.
Photo Credit
enginakyurt11 via iStock
Small and easily stored, shark fins can be far more valuable than the rest of the animal’s carcass.

Combining fishing regulations and trade data reveals the complex global market for shark products
woman with red hair in blue lab coat with purple gloves at work at counter in laboratory
Photo Credit
Courtesy
BioPACIFIC MIP lab assistant Marissa Beyer

UCSB to lead national cloud laboratory for advanced materials
sunset photo of Grand Canyon Lodge
The Grand Canyon Lodge before it burned down in 2025

Thousands of America's historic landmarks face significant wildfire risk
a view of the Black Sea

UCSB-led international team evaluates anoxic marine basins as potential sites for carbon sequestration
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
An oil palm plantation at edge of rainforest with a boarder of trees that were logged to clear land for agricultural expansion.
Photo Credit
Richcarey via iStock
Crafting strategies to stop deforestation will require understanding the factors that accelerate and arrest it.

Declines in deforestation aren’t driven by corporate sustainability pledges
giant kelp in the water

Disturbance has a greater effect on giant kelp productivity than does resource availability
A spherical 3D structure made of bright blue lines is dotted with bright blue balls on a dark background
Photo Credit
iStock / Rost-9D

Matthew Helgeson takes neutron scattering to the next level
A group of elephants prepare to cross a road as oncoming headlights can be seen in the distance.
Photo Credit
Davide Antoniani via iStock
Elephants and humans could be headed for a collision in Southern Africa as climate change and bears down and more land comes under cultivation.

Human expansion will fuel more conflict with elephants without careful planning
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