Gail Patricelli, a professor within the Department of Evolution and Ecology in the College of Biological Sciences at UC Davis and self-titled “pornothologist,” has developed her own FemBots to gain a better understanding of the sexual selection behaviors of sage-grouse.
Jonathan Eisen, who embraced social media as an early adopter, has amassed more than 41,000 followers on Twitter. He has positioned himself as a national expert on microbiomes and is an outspoken critic of pseudoscience.
It has been 20 years since Dolly the sheep was successfully cloned in Scotland, but cloning mammals remains a challenge. A new study by researchers from the U.S. and France of gene expression in developing clones now shows why most cloned embryos likely fail.
Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief was one of the most prolific bulls in the history of Holstein cattle breeding — but he also introduced a lethal gene into the population, responsible for an estimated half million spontaneous abortions worldwide. Now researchers have identified the mutation responsible, enabling ranchers to test for and avoid it.
Left to its own defenses, a farm field growing a variety of plants tends to attract fewer insect pests than a field growing just one type of crop. While scientists and farmers have noted that difference for years, the reasons behind it have been poorly understood. A study led by the University of California, Davis, and published Oct. 12 in the journal Nature explains that much of the discrepancy may have to do with the nutritional needs of insects.
To encourage spawning in captivity, researchers put the marine snails in a mild hydrogen peroxide solution. This hydrogen peroxide spa treatment tricks the abalone into thinking others are spawning too. The chemical reaction, which creates free radicals, may be the same or at least similar to the chemical reaction that occurs when another abalone is spawning.
Professor Gail Patricelli, Department of Evolution and Ecology, was honored with the 2016 College of Biological Sciences Faculty Teaching Award. This distinction recognizes excellence in teaching through enthusiasm and effectiveness of instruction, application of technology and innovation in the classroom, and mentorship and motivation of students.
World Oceans Day is June 8. It’s a day across the world to celebrate our large expanses of sea and to collaborate for a better future.
And this is just what UC Davis scientists are doing. Our researchers are discovering how climate change and human garbage hurt our oceans and their flora and fauna.
When wildfire ripped through two UC Davis natural reserves last summer, scientists conducting research there first took a pained look to see if their months or years of research just went up in flames. Then they did what one would expect from scientists: They began to study the effects.
The Davis Division of the Academic Senate is honoring its own with annual awards for Distinguished Scholarly Public Service, Distinguished Teaching and Faculty Research Lecture.
