{"id":421551,"date":"2026-08-02T07:59:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421551\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T07:59:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T07:59:15","slug":"cash-strapped-ucla-researchers-turn-to-onlyfans-to-fund-california-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/421551\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash-strapped UCLA researchers turn to OnlyFans to fund California study"},"content":{"rendered":"

Researchers at UCLA<\/a> are turning to OnlyFans<\/a> to fund their marmot research program \u2014 with plans to feature images of the furry rodents rather than sexy models.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be G-rated, and we\u2019re not going to sexualize this,\u201d Dr. Daniel Blumstein, a UCLA professor, told the New York Times<\/a>. \u201cWe\u2019re just going to have fun with sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cOnlyMarms\u201d account mostly features the rodents caught on camera in candid moments. KTLA<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be G-rated, and we\u2019re not going to sexualize this,\u201d a UCLA professor said. Getty Images<\/p>\n

UCLA\u2019s campus. Credit Photo: Reed Hutchinson\/UCLA<\/p>\n

The \u201cOnlyMarms\u201d account, which is free to subscribe to, mostly features the rodents caught on camera in candid moments. The marmot team at UCLA cheekily advertises \u201cuncensored marmot content\u201d on the account.<\/p>\n

The program has lacked federal funding since officials deemed the \u201clab had already collected enough long-term data to answer their research questions,\u201d and denied a new proposal for funding. The lab received federal funding for over a decade from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Long Term Research in Environmental Biology.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be symbolic for a lot of people of the lengths researchers have to go in order to fund really important work,\u201d student, Emily Renkey, told The Daily Bruin.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The researchers decided to turn to the adult content platform to raise money. <\/p>\n

UCLA researchers are turning to OnlyFans to fund their withering Marmot research program. Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The researchers decided to turn to the adult content platform to seek out money. The effort has managed to raise at least $2,800 in tips from fans.<\/p>\n

Blumstein initially went through a humorous predicament when he began the account: He needed to send a picture of his driver\u2019s license, and his photos didn\u2019t match the videos and photos of marmots uploaded to the site.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t look like the marmot,\u201d Blumstein said. \u201cAll the marmots are minors, but we have to do this for science education.\u201d<\/p>\n

But OnlyFans allowed him to continue with the account after he emailed the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the marmots are minors, but we have to do this for science education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Videos of the rodents are taken on camera traps. <\/p>\n

Subscribers will delights in images of marmots named \u201cJamba Juice<\/a>\u201d and \u201cEgg.\u201d<\/p>\n

Videos of the rodents are taken on camera traps. The rodents are seen playing around, chirping and stretching.<\/p>\n

Katie Adler, a doctoral student in ecology and evolutionary biology, told The Daily Bruin that the effort hopes to make science more exciting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a huge part of it \u2013 making science more accessible and making it exciting for people who could never have thought that they\u2019d be interested in something like this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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