Science & Technology

When non-native ants reached California in the 1800’s, co-operation between groups of ants led to a destructive “super-colony.” Today, scientists are searching for a solution.

The Greeks believed Poseidon caused earthquakes when he hit the ground with his trident. Legends in Siberia held that the earth shook when mythical dogs scratched at fleas. In Mexico, it was El Diablo who ripped the earth open from the inside. The lesson: earthquakes are beyond mortal control.

It started with a daring escape.

Cassandra Swett never expected that a field of corn would be her undoing. But there it was, her cornfield, ransacked by hungry crows. Her project destroyed.

A recent UC Davis Human Performance Laboratory study found that landing on the toes after a forward jump cuts forces on the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in half, potentially preventing the ACL from snapping.

Deep in the fleshly, pink center of the human brain is an odd structure. It’s a sort of bent-over “Y” shape that fires into action to form new memories. The structure is called a hippocampus, and without it, you’d have amnesia.

Back in the 1500s, chocolate wasn’t the stuff of Hershey’s, it was medicine. The Spanish colonists believed cocoa drinks could cure ailments from dirty teeth to excessive flatulence. But the Spanish also claimed cocoa could help with heart problems – and they were right.

According to a 2006 Centers for Disease Control report on HIV prevalence, more than a million people live with HIV in the United States. One in every five Americans with HIV is unaware of having the infection.

Many of the of the olive oils sold as top-grade “extra virgin” are not what their labels claim, according to a new study from the UC Davis Olive Center. Authentic extra virgin oil has more complex flavors and is milled without heat or chemical solvents. As the top grade of olive oil, extra virgin also commands the highest price.

When the non-native Asian clam species was spotted in Lake Tahoe back in 2002, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Boaters reported seeing strange, golden-colored shells, but it wasn’t an Asian clam invasion – not yet.

“Is your veggie burger killing you?” asked Slate.com. I’ve been a vegetarian for eight years, so this headline freaked me out. Quickly, I clicked on the article to find out if I was dying. There must be some risk if they were asking the “Killing You” question, right?

The immense variation in cetacean size has arisen as a popular question among scientists in recent years, only to be answered by a group of researchers from the UC system.