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Congratulations to Tessa for receiving a Paleontological Society Research Grant! This will fund field work in the Wheeler Shale. So excited to see the results!

Many marine animals build their shells and skeletons out of calcium carbonate. When ocean water becomes more acidic–as happens when the climate warms–calcium carbonate should be harder to extract. This has many scientists worries about the fate of corals, molluscs, and other important marine life. Indeed, many studies have shown that certain species have trouble building their shells when their water is more acidic, but many other studies do not. What could explain this variation? Dr. Gold explores this question with Geerat Vermeij in a new paper, “Deep resilience: An evolutionary perspective on calcification in an age of ocean acidification.” It is available for free at Frontiers in Physiology. DOI link: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1092321

We are thrilled to learn that our lab has received a COVID-19 Research Accelerator Funding Track (CRAFT 2.0) award. The UC Davis Office of Research launched this competitive program to support research that was negatively affected by the pandemic. The funds will provide a valuable opportunity to continue our research on moon jellyfish.

The work Hannah presented at the Geological Society of America continues to get more and more attention! Two new articles interview Hannah, as well as our collaborator Tsim Schneider, and dive into our research on clams. Links to the articles are below: Hakai Magazine: Clamshells Face the Acid Test The Atlantic: Some Indigenous People Crushed Up Dead Clams. Maybe We Should Too?

Congratulations to Tessa and Hannah, who both gave excellent presentations at this year’s Geological Society of America (GSA) conference. There was lots of good questions and feedback from the audience. This was the first time that Dr. Gold got to watch his students present at a national conference, and he couldn’t be prouder of them!

Congratulations to Tessa for passing her qualifying exam! It’s an ambitious project combining the rock fieldwork and molecular biology. We can’t wait to see what comes out of it.

Dr. Gold’s latest paper is now out. This is the first project in a partnership with Dr. David Sinclair at Harvard Medical School (check out our feature on Veritasium to learn more about our work). The paper is accessible for free at Molecular Biology and Evolution.