Science & Technology

UC Davis is one of two schools in the country with a nematology department.What’s a nematode,you ask? ProfessorValerie Williamsoncan not only tell youthat a nematode is amicroscopic worm,she can also tellyou its DNA sequencing and the massive impact it has on the agricultural worldtoday.Williamson is a professor of nematology,focusing her research on plant parasitic nematodes– the cause of over$50million of plant damage in the U.S.The California Aggiesat down with her to chat about nematodes,her researchand even her taste in produce.

Although the mosquito season comes to a close as thechill of winterapproaches,fly season is in full swing as autumn’s temperatures ideally foster their abundant breeding. “This time of year is perfect for flies to reproduce,” said UC Davis entomologist Lynn Kimsey,who heads the department of entomology. “And Davis is the perfect place.“

In collaboration with the San Francisco Estuary Institute,UC Davis researchers have made headway in understanding the sources of toxic mercury in the San Francisco Bay and Delta.The findings,revealed in SFEI’s annual report of the Regional Monitoring Program for Water Quality (RMP),indicate that changes in current habitat management techniques could prevent mercury from entering the food web and threatening the health of wildlife and humans.

Today “Biological Control of Greenhouse Pests with Natural Arthropod Enemies“ Urs Wyss 122Briggs,12:10to1p.m. Sponsored by the entomology department

UC Davis research physicist Richard Breedon and dean of mathematical and physical sciences Winston Ko are just acouple names from a group of UC Davis facultyworking on the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator,the Large Hadron Collider. “UC Davis was one of the very few American groups in particular that started in the very beginning,” Ko said.

UC Davis chemistry lecturer Andreas Toupadakis came to America from Greece in1978to get his Ph.D.inchemistry from the University of Michigan.After teaching at several universities around the country,he found a home at UCD several years ago. Toupadakis has more holistic extracurricular interests than your averagechemistry professor – including philosophy,life planning,gardening and making his own soap.

HIV affects new populations inChina WhileChina has a low number of HIV cases– 700,000– for a population of1.3billion,the rising infection rate is cause for concern,according to a study based out ofRockefellerUniversity. Since2005,the number of cases hasrisen by8percent and expanded into all provinces.Transmission is increasing especially rapidly amonggay men and female prostitutes.

Climate change is triggering population booms and declines for certain types of algae in Lake Tahoe,according to a recent study from the UC Davis TahoeEnvironmental Research Center. The shifting makeup of these algae communities could affect biological and physical conditions in the lake,including the food web and water clarity.

Even though UC Davis is safe from a major earthquake,one member of the campus community is preparing for the world’s worst.Ross Boulanger,Ph.D.,is an earthquake specialist in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department.Between teaching classes and overseeing major earthquake,dam and levee studies,he recently co-wrote and published a book on liquefaction,or the damage that happens underground when earthquakes hit.But don’t let that bring you down– this Canadian professor loves every quaking minute of his research and professorship!

A new study tracing the path of many galaxy clusters scattered over a wide span of sky shows that they are all moving toward one point in the universe. The finding was unexpected and contradicts most theories about the state of the universe, said study author Dale Kocevski, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.

Scientists at UC Davis have discovered a rice protein that plays a major role in moderating the resistance to infectious disease,a discovery that may have important medical and agricultural applications around the world. A study led by plant pathology professor Pamela Ronald identified the protein XB15,a major player in the rice plant’s immune system that stops the immune response from overreacting and damaging the plant.

Mars Rover begins long journey to new crater NASA’s Mars rover Opportunity has a new destination:a13.7mile wide crater named Endeavor. Scientists anticipate Opportunity would be able to see deeper layers of rock in the crater,cluing into more information on Mars‘ geological past.