Today UC Davis Master of Public Health (MPH) Admissions Information Night Stephen A. McCurdy, Director of UC Davis MPH Program 7 to 8:30 p.m., MU II, Memorial Union Sponsored by Public Health Services

A long-standing method for determining tannin levels in wine developed at UC Davis is being challenged by an outside research group. Larry Brooks of LM Brooks Consulting published a study that claims to invalidate the Adams-Harbertson tannin assay, developed at UC Davis by Dr. Doug Adams and Dr. Jim Harbertson. The assay is a scientific method for tracking tannin concentration in wine.

Two UC Davis School of Medicine researchers received funding for stem cell research from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) earlier last month. Kit Lam, professor of medicine and chief of the division of oncology and hematology, and Alice Tarantal, professor of pediatrics and director of the Center of Excellence in Translational Human Stem Cell Research, were among two dozen scientists to receive research funding under the new CIRM Tools and Technologies Awards. Both were awarded $835,540 and $842,149 respectively to fund investigation for the next two years looking into new techniques and capabilities for stem cells or improve already existing techniques.

ur Davis apartments and dorm rooms are not immune to invasions of various non-human creatures. So why do we hate them so much? Artist Catherine Chalmers will explore humans’ hatred of such creatures with the lecture “Sex, Food Chains and Cockroaches” tonight at 6:30 in Wyatt Pavilion Theater.

I am a big fan of Tupac Shakur. I like his music and I like his style. Don’t stop reading this just because you don’t like rap music or think Tupac was overrated. Hear me out:

Mike Genest, director of the California Department of Finance, calls this the most challenging fiscal crisis California has ever faced. The California State Controller is projecting that California will be out of cash by February and the California Department of Finance is estimating a $40 billion budget deficit through the fiscal year of 2009-2010.

With Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef’s time as leader of UC Davis approaching an end in June, the search for his replacement continues. An advisory committee consisting of 18 regents, students, alumni, staff and community members has been leading the search since their first meeting on Oct. 23, 2008 and will continue to meet every month until they make their final decision in February. The next meeting will be in January; however, university policy forbids the disclosure of the exact date.

“Third-hand smoke” is also a threa Experts have identified a new health threat from cigarettes: an invisible and toxic combination of gasses and particles labeled as “third-hand smoke” that persist long after second-hand smoke has cleared. The toxins cling on smokers’ hair and clothes, as well as in carpeting and furniture.

A toxic mix of pesticides and industrial chemicals polluting the San Francisco Estuary is contributing to a downward spiral in fish populations by affecting the earliest stages of growth and development, according to a recent UC Davis study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Thin is beautiful – and nowadays it seems thin is healthy, too. We’re told an “obesity epidemic” of massive proportions is gripping the nation, and doctors are warning worried citizens about the dangers of being overweight – arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. More and more, the idea that thin equals healthy is being sold as by the media as common knowledge and established fact.

If you’ve ever wondered if a certain drug would make that biology lab class a little more bearable, you’re not alone. Evolutionary biologist and UCD professor Jonathan Eisen found the prospect all too entertaining, producing a fake study on the issue as an April fool’s joke. But when he’s not pulling pranks on the science community he manages to delve into the microscopic world of evolution and ecology offering both the community and his students a diverse and broad width of knowledge.

Fundraisers such as the Dollar-A-Day campaign and Schoolapalooza, as well as the passage of PropositionW in November (a parcel tax specifically aimed at maintaining school programs), have helped to maintain funding for teachers, librarians and science programs.