UC San Diego has highlighted a range of scientific research projects with eerie or unsettling themes in a feature coinciding with Halloween. The university’s work spans fields from biology to astrophysics, revealing the science behind phenomena that often inspire fear or fascination.
One focus is on bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria. Researchers at UC San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences have found that these viruses can use protective cloaks and “freeloader” genes to outcompete rival viruses within the same bacterial cell. The Center for Innovative Phage Applications and Therapeutics at UC San Diego, which is the first dedicated phage therapy center in North America, is working to develop these microscopic predators as tools against antibiotic-resistant infections.
Another study examines deep-sea dragonfish, whose transparent teeth help them ambush prey in darkness. In 2019, researchers at the Jacobs School of Engineering discovered that these teeth are made from tiny structures that prevent light from scattering or reflecting, effectively making their jaws nearly invisible.
The role of sound in horror films is explored in “The Sound of Horror,” a course taught by Michelle Lou, associate professor in the Department of Music. Lou says: “Horror movies really lean into sound and musical scoring. It activates your imagination. There’s so much art that goes into them to carefully craft fear and anxiety through sound design.”
UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography has also investigated an event believed to have inspired Alfred Hitchcock’s film “The Birds.” Scientists determined that domoic acid—a neurotoxin produced during harmful algal blooms—was responsible for disorienting seabirds along California’s coast in 1961. Marine ecologist Tammy Russell explains how toxins move up the food chain and affect marine wildlife.
Research into Naegleria fowleri, known as the brain-eating amoeba, is being led by Anjan Debnath at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. His lab screens thousands of compounds seeking better treatments for this rare but almost always fatal infection.
Scripps Institution’s Marine Vertebrate Collection contains about two million preserved fish specimens representing more than 5,600 species. Recent genomic research by master’s student Solomon Chang doubled the number of recognized families within Stomiiformes using samples from this collection.
In astrophysics, Shelley Wright leads PANOSETI (Panoramic SETI), a project searching for signs of extraterrestrial intelligence by detecting brief flashes of visible light across large portions of the sky using technology capable of capturing images at nanosecond speeds. PANOSETI operates out of the University of California’s Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton.
These diverse projects reflect UC San Diego’s commitment to exploring scientific questions with real-world implications—even when those questions seem drawn from science fiction or horror stories.
