Futurity.org » University of California at Santa Barbara

Progesterone says ‘stop’ to female sex drive

Andrea Estrada-UCSB — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:28:24 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Scientists have long suspected a correlation between women’s hormone levels and libido, but new research reveals hormonal predictors for sexual desire.

“We found two hormonal signals that had opposite effects on sexual motivation,” says lead author James Roney, professor in the psychological and brain sciences department at University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Estrogen was having a positive effect, but with a two-day lag. Progesterone was having a persistent negative effect, both for current day, day before, and two days earlier.”

No more droop: LED future looks bright

Melissa Van De Werfhorst-UC Santa Barbara — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:06:56 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Researchers have conclusively identified what causes light emitting diodes (LEDs) to dim and be less efficient at high drive currents.

Until now, scientists had only theorized the cause behind the phenomenon known as LED “droop”—a mysterious drop in the light produced when a higher current is applied. The cost per lumen of LEDs has held the technology back as a viable replacement for incandescent bulbs for all-purpose commercial and residential lighting.

This could all change now that the cause of LED efficiency droop has been explained, according to researchers James Speck and Claude Weisbuch of the Center for Energy Efficient Materials at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Plant builds bigger shells in acidic water

Erin Lennon-UC Santa Barbara — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:47:06 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — The future of ocean life for its shelled creatures may not be so bleak, marine scientists say.

As fossil fuel emissions increase, so does the amount of carbon dioxide oceans absorb and dissolve, lowering pH levels.

Bacteria armed with toxic tips kill rivals

Julie Cohen-UC Santa Barbara — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:43:04 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A mysterious type of protein found in bacteria and other organisms, including humans, appears to act as a delivery system for toxins.

While these proteins, called rearrangement hotspots (Rhs), have been recognized for more 30 years, their function has been enigmatic.

Genetic ‘roulette’ gives tiny cells their sex

Shelly Leachman-UCSB — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:08:01 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A single-celled organism ends up with one of seven possible “mating types,” or sexes, in a process that scientists call “random.”

By identifying the long-unknown mating-type genes of Tetrahymena thermophila, biologists also uncovered the unusual process of DNA rearrangements required for sex determination in this organism.

Lost sea slug sighted in California waters

Sonia Fernandez-UCSB — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:48:06 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — A bright blue sea slug thought to be extinct in Southern California appears to be making a comeback.

In the 1970′s, the abundant nudibranch Felimare californiensis—also known as the California chromodorid—started to disappear from Southern California, and by 1984 was extinct in the region. Its disappearance from the mainland is unique among the 130 species of sea slugs known to inhabit California waters, says Jeff Goddard, project scientist with the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Marine Science Institute

Nanorods 10,000x better at targeting cancer

Melissa Van De Werfhorst-UC Santa Barbara — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 16:12:30 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Changing the shape of chemotherapy drug nanoparticles makes them up to 10,000 times more effective, new research shows.

By changing nanoparticles from spherical to rod-shaped, bioengineers made them better able to specifically target and deliver anti-cancer drugs to breast cancer cells.

Rancher mindset key to saving Amazon

Andrea Estrada-UCSB — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 20:05:47 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — Debates about saving the Amazon rain forest often portray cattle ranchers as “bad guys,” but an anthropologist says it’s important to understand their perspectives, too.

For over a century, the rubber tappers of Acre, Brazil collected the valuable sap of the rubber trees from the forests of the western Amazon. As the demand for natural rubber declined, however, the Brazilian government sought to stimulate the economy in the 1970′s by encouraging southern ranchers to bring their cattle to the isolated state and convert the forests to pastureland.

During the dramatic land conflicts that ensued, rubber tappers captured international media attention by arguing that their harvesting of rubber and other products from the standing forest gave them a livelihood, while at the same time contributing to the preservation of the Amazonian rain forest.

Defense system uses sun to vaporize asteroids

Shelly Leachman-UCSB — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 19:00:30 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA (US) — As an asteroid roughly half as large as a football field readies for a fly-by of Earth on Friday, February 15, two scientists are unveiling a system that could—in one hour—eliminate a threat of this size.

The same system could destroy asteroids 10 times larger than the one known as 2012 DA14 in about a year, with evaporation starting at a distance as far away as the Sun.

Autism therapy activates brain’s social side

George Foulsham-UC Santa Barbara — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:21:05 +0000

UC SANTA BARBARA / YALE (US) — Researchers have documented positive changes in brain activity in children with autism after they received a type of behavioral therapy.

The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure the effect of Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) on both lower- and higher-functioning children with autism receiving the therapy for the first time.