Student Articles

The SciCom program focuses on assigning dozens of real stories to each student, edited by professional journalists. Our students publish local, regional, and national news articles, press releases, and radio reports throughout the school year at part-time internships and during the summer at full-time internships. Many course assignments, freelance pitches, or stories from national conferences also lead to publications. These rich portfolios help our graduates land jobs quickly. Here are selected student stories from the last 12 months.

"Absent for More Than a Century, California Condors Soar Above the Redwoods Again" by Elyse De Franco (Audubon) May 17, 2022

"Elephant seal pups learn to adapt to life at sea" by Guananí Gómez-Van Cortright (KQED) May 13, 2022

"Just 14 cases: Guinea worm disease nears eradication" by Freda Kreier (Nature) Feb. 11, 2022

"New artificial tooth enamel is harder and more durable than the real thing" by Graycen Wheeler (Science) Feb. 3, 2022

"Popular '80s party drug slowly gains respect as PTSD treatment" by McKenzie Prillaman (San Jose Mercury News) Jan. 30, 2022

"Volunteers Save Thousands of Newts from Becoming Roadkill — But 'We Can’t Just Keep Going Out There Every Year and Picking Up the Newts for Three Months'" by Emily Moskal (Bay Nature) Jan 26, 2022

"The Truth Behind Pseudoscience: Ghost hunting" by Brittney Miller (Good Times) Jan. 5, 2022 (Part of a class cover story on Psuedoscience)

"Here's how spider geckos survive on Earth's hottest landscape" by Jude Coleman (Science News) Jan. 4, 2022

"Meet the mosquitofish: California scientists debate whether it’s menace or messiah" by Zack Savitsky (San Jose Mercury News) Jan. 4, 2022

"California engaged in groundbreaking COVID antibody study" by Megan Kalomiris (San Jose Mercury News) Jan. 3 2022

"New computer program rapidly detects homes, buildings damaged by wildfires" by McKenzie Prillaman (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Dec. 25, 2021

"‘Sea unicorns’ are especially sensitive to human noise" by Megan Kalomiris (Science) Dec. 22, 2021

"Bright Lights, Big Cities Attract Migratory Birds" by Brian Phan (Eos) Dec. 14, 2021

"Data from Satellites Help Uncover Exploding Meteors" by Emily Moskal (Eos) Dec. 13, 2021

"A Good Virus Comes to the Rescue of California's Abalone" by Elyse DeFranco (San Jose Mercury News) Dec. 8, 2021

"How birds keep the Pajaro River levees safe without poison"  by Elyse DeFranco (Bay Nature) Dec. 6, 2021

"Geneticists have identified new groups of tiger sharks to protect" by Graycen Wheeler (Mongabay) Nov. 30, 2021

"Jaguars in Mexico are growing in number, a promising sign that national conservation strategies are working" by Guananí Gómez Van Cortright (Mongabay) Nov. 22, 2021

"Chilean rocks aid the search for life on Mars" by Zack Savitsky (Inside Science) Nov. 6, 2021

"Conservation ethics allow Monterey Bay farmers to thrive during drought" by Jude Coleman (Santa Cruz Sentinel) Nov. 8, 2021

"We Urgently Need More Information about Spiders, as Climate Change Means New Risks for Them" by Brittney Miller (Bay Nature) Dec. 15, 2021

"Traffic noise is a silent killer" by Cypress Hansen (The Atlantic, republished from Knowable Magazine, Feb. 21, 2021)

"Toxic algae blooms are killing sea otters in their prime, study finds" by Emily Harwitz (San Jose Mercury News, Feb. 7, 2021)

"Santa Clara County to open vaccination site at Levi's stadium" by Carolina Cuellar (KQED, Feb. 5, 2021)

"Marmosets eavesdrop on their neighbors — and judge them accordingly" by Tess Joosse (Science, Feb. 3, 2021)

"Acidic volcanic lakes may have harbored early life" by Nikk Ogasa (ABC news republished from Inside Science, Jan. 31, 2021)

"The Natural Laboratory" podcast produced for Pt. Reyes National Seashore by Jerimiah Oetting (January 2021)

"Scientists worry that California's 'fossil water' is vanishing" by Allison Gasparini (San Jose Mercury News, Jan. 17, 2021)

"Beaver dams protect land from wildfire" by Carolina Cuellar (KQED, January 2021) (audio accessible via Carolina's website)

"ATLAS releases 'full orchestra' of analysis instruments" by Stephanie Melchor (Symmetry Magazine, Jan. 14, 2021)

Cover story: "Everything you wanted to know about wildfire and its aftermath" a collaborative project by all class of '21 students (Good Times, Jan. 5, 2021)

"Even as adults, male chimps are 'mama's boys'" by Isabella Backman (Science, Dec. 21, 2020)

"UCSC botanists assess how plants coped with California's wildfires" by Cypress Hansen (Santa Cruz Sentinel, Dec. 14, 2020)

"Will warming temperatures make rice too toxic?" by Nikk Ogasa (EOS, Dec. 9, 2020)

"The last (plastic) straw: How one woman launched a movement to save us from an ocean of plastic" by Freda Kreier (San Jose Mercury News, Dec. 28, 2020)

"Why did the woolly rhino go extinct?" by Carolina Cuellar (Mongabay, Nov. 30, 2020)

"The sardine war hits a lull, but the tides are rising" by Nikk Ogasa (Monterey Herald, Nov. 3, 2020)

"Local startup shifts from fuel to masks" by Ashleigh Papp (KSQD, May 15, 2020)

"Coronavirus: Some California farmers prosper, while others struggle" by Jesse Kathan (San Jose Mercury News, May 11, 2020)

"Santa Cruz startup pivots in a time of need: COVID-19" by Ashleigh Papp (San Jose Mercury News, May 10, 2020)

"Coronavirus: Inside the Bay Area's growing army of disease detectives" by Lisa Krieger and Jack Lee (San Jose Mercury News, May 6, 2020)

"Bizarre bevahior shows - for the first time - how wild koalas drink" by Amanda Heidt (Science, May 5, 2020)

"Why coronavirus antibody testing isn't so simple" by Jonathan Wosen (San Diego Union Tribune, May 3, 2020)

"Coronavirus Q&A Part 4: Is air-conditioning a risk? Elevators? Poop?" by Jesse Kathan and Lisa Krieger (San Jose Mercury News, April 27, 2020)

"Coronavirus: In a race against time, vaccine testing expands" by Jack Lee and Lisa Krieger (San Jose Mercury News, April 25, 2020)

"Podcast: Santa Cruz Local answers: How can UCSC help with COVID testing?" by Jerimiah Oetting (Santa Cruz Local, April 22, 2020)

"Coronavirus car clinics: Drive-through health care in the Bay Area" by Lara Streiff (San Jose Mercury News, April 19, 2020)

"Coronavirus: Can survivors’ blood help others too weak to fight?" by Lisa Krieger and Ashleigh Papp (San Jose Mercury News, April 13, 2020)

"Coronavirus: How to tell if your misery really was COVID-19" by Lisa Krieger and Jerimiah Oetting (San Jose Mercury News, April 12, 2020)

"Coronavirus: Shelter in place opens spaces for wildlife to reclaim" by Lara Streiff (The Monterey Herald, April 11, 2020)

"Podcast: Santa Cruz Local answers: Your questions on COVID testing" by Jerimiah Oetting (Santa Cruz Local, April 9, 2020)

"Coronavirus: How many Californians are really infected?"  by Lisa Krieger and Amanda Heidt (San Jose Mercury News, April 2, 2020)

"An old problem: How immune responses weaken with age" by Jonathan Wosen (Knowable, April 1, 2020)

"Here are the public health orders and recommendations for each Bay Area county" by KQED staff, including Ariana Remmel (KQED, March 11, 2020; updated March 18, 2020)

"Union says 124 hospital workers sent home because of UC Davis coronavirus patient" by Ariana Remmel (KQED, Ferbruary 28, 2020)

"A public insurance group bans transgender coverage. A Seaside teen is fighting back" by Jesse Kathan (Monterey County Weekly, February 13, 2020)

"California scrambles to increase hunting to help protect public lands" by Ari Remmel (Santa Cruz Sentinel, February 13, 2020)

"Out of the mouths of babes" (Q&A with psycholinguist Evan Kidd) by Jonathan Wosen (Knowable, February 13, 2020)

"Samples from famed 19th century voyage reveal 'shocking' effects of ocean acidification" by Erin Malsbury (Science, February 3, 2020)

"Newfound desert soil community lives on sips of fog" by Jack J. Lee (ScienceNews for Students, January 27, 2020)

"New water recycling projects will help battle Central Coast's seawater invastion" by Lara Streiff (Monterey Herald, January 26, 2020)

"Environmentalists to California restaurants: Drop lawsuit over Berkeley gas ban" by Ari Remmel (KQED, January 24, 2020)

"Emerging field of 'forensic genealogy' links DNA testing and family histories to solve cold cases" by Amanda Heidt (Monterey Herald, January 18, 2020)

"Mysterious little red jellies: A case of mistaken identity" by Lara Streiff (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, January 16, 2020)

"Marijuana researchers shackled by federal laws and regulations" by Ashleigh Papp (The San Jose Mercury News, January 2, 2020)

"The birds and bees of Santa Cruz" by Jesse Kathan (Good Times, December 31, 2019)

"Bikini seafloor hides evidence of nuclear explosions" by Amanda Heidt (Eos, December 27 2019)

"How hunters might protect the world's rarest turtle" by Amanda Heidt (Inside Science News Service, December 19, 2019)

"Rapid genetic test traces fungus that kills frogs, reveals new strain in Southeast Asia" by Jonathan Wosen (Mongabay, November 25, 2019)

"Female gorillas recognize and respond to contagious disease" by Lara Streiff (Mongabay, November 25, 2019)

"Pangolins are a victim of political instability in South Sudan" by Ashleigh Papp (Mongabay, November 21, 2019)

"Local schools battling vaping dangers" by Ariana Remmel (Monterey Herald, November 16, 2019)

"PG&E's power shutoff in Monterey County hit people with disabilities especially hard" by Jesse Kathan (Monterey County Weekly, November 4, 2019)

"Frog eggs rise from the dead" by Jack Lee (Stanford Medicine, October 31, 2019)

"Whales are being killed by shipping traffic at alarming rates. A new initiative aims to help" by Jerimiah Oetting (Monterey County Weekly, October 31, 2019)

"Scientists discover that deep-sea octopus 'gardens' are nurseries" by Jonathan Wosen (Santa Cruz Sentinel, October 27, 2019)

"Bacterial bullet takes aim at red tides" by Amanda Heidt (Inside Science News Service, October 25, 2019)

"Scientists piece together plastics problem in Monterey Bay" by Erin Malsbury (Monterey Herald, October 3, 2019)

"Diseases are spreading with climate change. Panic doesn't have to" by Helen Santoro (High Country News, October 16, 2019)

"Illinois Solar Booms Under New Program, but Developers Fear Bust Ahead" with interactive maps by Priyanka Runwal (Climate Central, October 16, 2019)

"Trump's trade war is draining profits for Montana wheat farmers" by Helen Santoro (High Country News, August 30, 2019)

"To make two black holes collide, try three" by Erika Carlson (Quanta, August 25, 2019)

"West Coast fishermen have few options against sea lions" by Katie Brown and Helen Santoro (High Country News, August 22, 2019)

"‘Es un desastre ecológico’: la crisis del sargazo en México" by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, Nelly Toche y Myriam Vidal (New York Times, August 16, 2019)

"How Siobhan Starrs' harrowing hike shaped the new fossil hall" by Erin I. Garcia de Jesus (Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, August 6 2019)

"Bay Area vintage computer fest takes tech-enthusiasts back in time" by Hannah Hagemann (KQED, August 4, 2019)

"Strawberry poison frogs can take the heat — up to a point" by Sofie Bates (Inside Science News Service, August 2, 2019)

"A world in a bottle of water" by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega (Knowable Magazine, August 2, 2019)

"One minute with Karen Kosky" by Bailey Bedford (Fermilab, August 2, 2019)

"Climate change research threatened by University of Alaska budget cuts" by Helen Santoro (High Country News, July 30 2019)

"Police say 2 children, 1 man killed in shooting at Gilroy Garlic Festival" by Hannah Hagemann (KQED, July 29, 2019)

"Sun's puzzling plasma recreated in a laboratory" by Erika Carlson (Quanta, July 29, 2019)

"Video: Safe or out? The umpire is probably right" by Sofie Bates (Inside Science News Service, July 24, 2019)

"This is definitely a local Standing Rock: Sargent Ranch" by Katie Brown (San Jose Mercury News, July 9, 2019)

"Tweeting while flying kills migratory birds" by Helen Santoro (Science, April 2, 2019)

"Researchers Discover that Sea Otters Leave Behind Archaeological Records" by Thomas Garlinghouse (Inside Science News Service, March 14, 2019)

"Where did all these golf balls come from?" by Priyanka Runwal (San Jose Mercury News, March 10, 2019)

"The Importance of Fat in Early Human Evolution" by Thomas Garlinghouse (Inside Science News Service, March 8, 2019)

"Drink your beets" by Rodrigo Pérez Ortega (Knowable Magazine, March 7, 2019) (Republished in The Washington Post and Discover Magazine)

"Condor egg destroyed by 'bachelor' bird" by Sofie Bates (Monterey Herald, March 7, 2019)

"Big gaps in transgender research: A team at UCSF is working to change that" by Helen Santoro (San Jose Mercury News, March 3, 2019)