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News Archive - Environment

Scientists Complete First EPA-Approved Outdoor Field Trial for Genetically Engineered Algae

May 4, 2017

Scientists have successfully completed the first outdoor field trial sanctioned by the EPA for genetically engineered algae. Algae tested under real-world conditions in outdoor ponds demonstrated that genetically engineered strains can be successfully cultivated outdoors without adversely impacting native algae populations.

Researchers Receive $7.5 Million Grant to Study Memory Capacity and Energy Efficiency in the Brain

May 1, 2017

A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego and Stanford University has received a $7.5 million, five-year grant to try to answer two fundamental questions: what is the memory capacity of a brain; and how does the brain process information with maximum energy efficiency. The grant was awarded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research through a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI).

UC President Briefed on UC San Diego, QI Commercialization and Startups

April 27, 2017

UC President Janet Napolitano visited the UC San Diego campus and the Qualcomm Institute on Friday, April 21, for briefings on local activities aimed at commercializing academic research and supporting student entrepreneurship.

Engineers Investigate a Simple, No-Bake Recipe to Make Bricks from Martian Soil

April 27, 2017

Explorers planning to settle on Mars might be able to turn the planet’s red soil into bricks without needing to use an oven or additional ingredients. Instead, they would just need to apply pressure to compact the soil—the equivalent of a blow from a hammer. These are the findings of a study published in Nature Scientific Reports on April 27, 2017. The study was authored by a team of engineers at the University of California San Diego and funded by NASA.

Common Pesticide Damages Honey Bee’s Ability to Fly

April 26, 2017

Biologists at UC San Diego have provided the first evidence that a widely used pesticide can significantly impair the ability of otherwise healthy honey bees to fly. The study, which employed a specially constructed bee “flight mill,” raises concerns about how pesticides affect the honey bees’ capacity to pollinate and long-term effects on the health of honey bee colonies.

New Study Suggests Overfishing in One of World’s Most Productive Fishing Regions

April 25, 2017

A new study suggests that more small-scale fishing boats are operating in the Gulf of California than is economically and ecologically sustainable, suggesting that local fishermen are spending more time and money to catch fewer fish.

Economists Price BP Oil Spill Damage to Natural Resources at $17.2 Billion

April 21, 2017

The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest maritime oil spill in U.S. history. Almost seven years to the day after the start of the environmental disaster, researchers have published a price tag of the damage done to natural resources: $17.2 billion.

A Scientific Advance for Cool Clothing: Temperature-wise, That Is

April 19, 2017

By applying a novel computer algorithm to closely mimic how the brain learns, a team of researchers – with the aid of the Comet supercomputer based at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego – has identified and replicated neural circuitry that resembles the way an unimpaired brain controls limb movement.

Calling High School Students for UC San Diego’s Mentor Assistance Program

April 18, 2017

San Diego-area high school students interested in pursuing a career in scientifically-based research are invited to apply to UC San Diego’s Mentor Assistance Program (MAP), a campus-wide initiative designed to engage students in a mentoring relationship with an expert from a vast array of disciplines.

Pinning Down Abuse on Google Maps

April 18, 2017

A partnership between computer scientists at the University of California San Diego and Google has allowed the search giant to reduce by 70 percent fraudulent business listings in Google Maps. The researchers worked together to analyze more than 100,000 fraudulent listings to determine how scammers had been able to avoid detection—albeit for a limited amount of time—and how they made money.
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