Yolo County may soon become a model for a new means of voting. Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada is sponsoring AB1228,a bill that would establish a pilot project of all-mail ballot voting in Yolo County,with the hopes of spreading it throughout California.

One in every2,000infantsisborn with skull abnormalities that can lead to sutures in their skulls fusing together prematurely.UC Davis researcher Kent Leach received a$300,000grant from the Hartwell Foundation to work on creatingasynthetic bone matrix that could facilitate corrective surgery. The occurrence of skull fusion could mean an abnormally shaped head or brain damage.

UC Davis researchers have received a two year$2million grant from the NationalInstitutesof Health to pioneer the world’s first electron microscope capable of recording biological processes in real time. The revolutionary technology will allow scientists to image living specimens at greater resolutions that could reveal nano-scale details underlying many cellular mechanisms.

This morning I was watching aPussycatDolls music video and– no,don‘t leave! Wait! I promise,this is not the intellectual capacity of this column! So I was watching this video with what appears to consist of five strippers telling me to“loosen up their buttons,“ and I was thinking to myself,are you coming on to me?

Editor’s Note:For this edition of Ten Questions,The California Aggie spoke with senior communication major Kyle Dubs to get a feel for day-to-day life as a UC Davisstudentresidentfirefighter.The program,which began in1955,teaches firefighting skills to a select group of UC Davis students.

Research that found users of Facebook tend to have lower grades got a lot of attention last month,but a new study from a different research team is calling that conclusion into question. The initial study,in the form of a draft manuscript from researchers at Ohio State University,found that Facebook users‘ grade point averages were in the3.0to3.5range,compared to3.5to4.0for non-users.Aryn Karpinski,education researcher,told the Chronicle of Higher Education that this suggested a relationship but did not prove causation.

Researchers discover47-million-year-old fossil A remarkably complete47-million-year-old skeleton of a creature the size of a small cat found in Germany was unveiled yesterday at New York’s Museum of Natural History.

Students might just be a bit safer this Memorial Day weekend when houseboating on Lake Shasta thanks to a program called Safeboats. The Safeboatsprogram,headed by ASUCD Senator Erin Lebe,will provide a dedicated boat with medical aid through EMTsand willpass out water,condoms and sunscreen to students during the weekend’s festivities.This will be the second consecutive year that a Safeboat will be present on the lake.

Some people may call themselves students of the world,but James Ragan truly is one.He is an internationally recognized poet who has performed at worldwide venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall,the United Nations and the First International Poetry Festival in Moscow with Bob Dylan and Robert Bly.He served as the director of the University of Southern California’s Professional Writing Program for25years andiscurrently teaching as a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Oklahoma.

TODAY East Quad Farmers Market 10a.m.to2:30p.m. East Quad Support local farmers and buy some fresh produce,nuts,flowers and more! Pick up some tasty treats for a fun springtime dinner or a nice afternoon snack. Real Bodies are Fashionable Noon to1p.m. MU Patio Listen to a talk on body image and eating disorders by former male model Ron Saxen,followed by an alternative fashion show.This event is hosted by Campus Unions and the WRRC. Aggie Idol 7p.m. Freeborn Hall Come to the third annual intercollegiate student-athlete charity variety show.Proceeds will benefit the nonprofit humanitarian organization Invisible Children.Tickets are available at the Freeborn Hall Ticket Office for$8.

Tonight the UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center and the student chapter for the Institute of Transportation Engineers will hold “Preparing for the New Paradigm: Implementing California’s Climate Change Goals,” a career panel for students interested in pursuing careers in climate change.

Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef spoke in his final brownbag chat on Monday in the Silo’s cabernet room where conversation focused primarily on the university’s looming budget challenges and transition to a new chancellor in the upcoming school year. Vanderhoef began his talk with a brief discussion about the origins and purpose of the chancellor’s quarterly brownbag chat.