News Archive - Brittany Hook

Oyster Virus Detected in San Diego Bay Likely Worsened by Warmer Waters

New research led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography reveals how rising water temperatures influence a deadly herpes virus in juvenile Pacific oysters in San Diego Bay. While the ostreid herpesvirus (OsHV-1) does not pose a threat to humans, it is capable of causing mass mortality events among oysters, potentially hindering oyster aquaculture operations.

3D Models Provide Unprecedented Look at Corals’ Response to Bleaching Events

In a new study, marine biologists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and Arizona State University are providing a first-of-its-kind glimpse into coral “bleaching” responses to stress, using imaging technology to pinpoint coral survival rates following multiple bleaching events off the island of Maui.

Study Pinpoints Cellular Response to Pressure in Sea Star Embryos

An international team of scientists has discovered a new cellular mechanism that explains how cells can adapt to pressure changes during tissue growth by packing themselves into a unique shape. Researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station, and the Institute of Biomedicine in Seville (IBiS) in Spain led the research, which is novel for its use of sea star embryos as model organisms in this context.

Impacts of 2020 Red Tide Event Highlighted in New Study

In the spring of 2020, a historic red tide event occurred in waters off Southern California. Marine scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA, and other organizations seized the opportunity to study the unprecedented event and its impacts on marine life, both in the wild and in aquariums. In a recent study, this multi-institutional team identified deteriorating water quality — notably prolonged low oxygen conditions — as a significant factor in the mass mortality of fish and other marine organisms.

Study Illuminates the Protective Role of Fluorescence in Neon-Colored Sea Anemones

For the first time, a team of researchers at Stanford University and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has uncovered a direct genetic link between fluorescence and color in sea anemones — those soft and tentacled tide pool creatures often encountered by beachgoers.

New Paper Pinpoints Key Role of NASA Satellites in Monitoring Earth’s Vital Signs

In a new paper, scientists from five different institutions present an anthology of key findings unearthed by satellite technology over the last two decades. The all-women group of authors includes Helen Amanda Fricker, a glaciologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Scientists Publish 37-Year Record of Ocean Acidification off Southern California

For the first time, scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have published nearly four decades’ worth of dissolved carbon dioxide measurements from waters off Southern California.

Diving Sector Could Hold the Key to Advancing UN Sustainable Development Goals

A new review paper by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego highlights the untapped potential of the diving community in advancing global marine conservation and sustainability efforts.

Antarctica’s Floating Boundary Moves up to Nine Miles with the Tide

An international study co-authored by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has created a detailed record of the grounding line location of the southern Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica, showing that it moves up to 15 kilometers (nine miles) with the changing tide.

Historic Red Tide Event of 2020 Fueled by Plankton Super Swimmers

A new study led by scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Jacobs School of Engineering has pinpointed how a dinoflagellate plankton species created the major red tide event off Southern California in 2020.