Science & Technology

Coal trains give off more fine particulate matter than other trains, disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations   By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org  Lea este artículo en español.    A study from researchers at UC Davis’s Air Quality Research Center (AQRC) has quantified the pollution from coal trains running through Richmond, California, a city in the San […]

How the new Plant Optics Lab machine “TSWIFT” could help isolate climate-resilient crops   By SONORA SLATER — science@theaggie.org   Taylor Swift isn’t a stranger to things being named after her — from the millipede species dubbed Nannaria swiftae in 2022, to the entire city of Glendale, Arizona being temporarily renamed Swift City in honor […]

Knowing what makes up a galaxy can tell us about how it first formed   By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org    A new study from researchers in UC Davis’s Department of Physics and Astronomy measured the composition of oxygen in the Markarian 71 galaxy, which is about 11 light-years from Earth.  The researchers looked to […]

Fresh gas flow rates and more eco-friendly anesthetics are allowing medical staff to reduce their impact on climate change   By KATIE HELLMAN — science@theaggie.org    University of California medical facilities, including UC Davis, have been making multiple changes to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted during surgical procedures, according to a recent study […]

CRISPR, a powerful gene-editing tool, can be used to improve environmental and human health   By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org  Lea este artículo en español.    Researchers at UC Davis, in collaboration with others at UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley, have been granted $70 million for a project that aims to reduce methane emissions […]

Gene expression has been found to correlate with the severity of strokes and can be used as biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment   By KATIE HELLMAN — science@theaggie.org    According to a recent UC Davis study published in the journal BMC Medicine, analyzing an individual’s genes following a stroke may improve the efficiency of diagnosis […]

The use of robotic technology decreases scarring, blood loss and hospitalization time   By KATIE HELLMAN — science@theaggie.org  Lea este artículo en español.    The first fully robotic nephrectomy was performed on a living donor in Sacramento through UC Davis Health, which offers robotic-assisted technology for transplants. A living-donor nephrectomy is a surgery where a […]

Lake water clarity is expected to continue improving as long as zooplankton populations remain high   By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org    From August to December of 2022, Lake Tahoe’s clarity was the best it has been since the 1980s, according to the 2022 annual clarity report from the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center […]

Understanding its function helps explain how mutations in BRCA2 can lead to cancer   By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org    A new study from researchers at UC Davis illustrates how the Breast Cancer Gene 2 (BRCA2) protein, crucial for DNA repair, functions and how BRCA2 mutations are linked to increased rates of breast and ovarian […]

A parasitic strain of Toxoplasma gondii called the COUG strain has killed four California sea otters   By KATIE HELLMAN — science@theaggie.org  A recent news release reported that four California sea otters have died from a severe form of toxoplasmosis, an infection that comes from the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The initial research is published […]

The study analyzes disease progression to provide a foundation for new treatments   By KATIE HELLMAN — science@theaggie.org    The UC Davis Health Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is launching an international study on the history of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) in collaboration with the Cooperative International Neuromuscular Research Group (CINRG) and the Therapeutic […]

Negative health implications go beyond just a lost hour of sleep    By LILLY ACKERMAN — science@theaggie.org    Every year, the clocks “spring forward” in March for most of the United States, giving us later sunsets until we “fall backward” in November. However, this comes at the price of one hour of sleep and misalignment […]