Science & Technology

Professors at the UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center provide some useful tips to better select and preserve grapes By YASH RATHI — science@theaggie.org    Researchers at the UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center recently discussed improving the quality of post-harvest produce and how to prevent it from rotting. Specifically, two professors from the UC Davis College […]

The procedure marks the first time paralysis has been successfully cured in utero By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org For the first time in the world, UC Davis Health successfully cured paralysis and predicted associated neurological defects with spina bifida for babies in utero during fetal surgery. According to UC Davis Health’s website, spina bifida, also […]

Understanding the process of chromosome pairing in meiosis is important to prevent biological defects in genetics By YASH RATHI — science@theaggie.org    In meiosis — the process through which all the sex cells multiply in eukaryotes — homologous chromosomes pair with each other through recombination. If during this process, there is an incorrect pairing of […]

Skin forms differently at certain body sites, which are predisposed to specific dermatologic diseases By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org   The skin is an organ that functions beyond cosmetic fashion and biological protection. Its composition and layers differ in different areas of the body for specialized functions, which can in turn predispose individuals to location-specific […]

UC Davis collaborative study looks to poplars to understand trees’ growth-regulation process By YASH RATHI — science@theaggie.org    The UC Davis College of Biological Sciences has started a new project that studies the function of the genes that regulate growth and wood formation in poplar trees. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is funding the […]

A UC Davis retrospective study highlights the importance of preventing ecosystem disruptions to safeguard animal and human health   By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org    From the 1980s to early 2000s, populations of amphibians, including frogs and salamanders, vanished from Costa Rica and Panama. The public did not notice their mysterious disappearance except for small […]

Tetrahymena thermophila is a unicellular organism that relies on a cellular respiration that is slightly different from other eukaryotes like plants and animals   By YASH RATHI — science@theaggie.org    Dr. James A. Lett is a UC Davis principal investigator in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology whose lab focuses on the electron transport […]

Researchers are attempting to use brain-computer interface technology to read and convert neurological signs   By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org   Anarthria is a severe motor speech condition that prevents an individual from entirely articulating speech, usually a result of a neurological injury or progressive disorder, such as a spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral […]

Analyzing S100A8 expression can indicate early evolution of melanoma in the surrounding cells of the skin tumor microenvironment By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org According to the National Cancer Institute, melanomas, a type of skin cancer that occurs in cells that produce melanin, are the fifth most common cancer type in the United States and cause […]

Scientists weigh in on how many microbes we should eat, how many most people are eating in everyday diet   By MONICA MANMADKAR — science@theaggie.org   Nutrients in food and beverages are essential to ensuring that bodies are equipped with the building blocks necessary to stay healthy and fight disease. UC Davis researchers have measured […]

Sucrose, sugar’s more natural form, found to be “as harmful” as high-fructose corn syrup   By MONICA MANMADKAR — science@theaggie.org   According to a study published by UC Davis researchers in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, consumption of sweetened beverages has been linked to increased risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Participants between the […]

Increased rates of overdose and mental health crises spur closer monitoring of patients undergoing opioid tapering   By BRANDON NGUYEN — science@theaggie.org   The opioid epidemic or crisis began in the 1990s when pharmaceutical companies marketed opioids as non-addictive and encouraged physicians and clinicians to prescribe the medication at a higher rate for patients with […]