Science & Technology

UC Davis students build improved social bot Currently, most chatbots are task-oriented. They can answer questions or complete a task, but they can’t necessarily hold a long conversation. Team Gunrock, a team of UC Davis students selected to compete in Amazon’s 2018 Alexa Prize Challenge, wants to change that. “We are hoping to build a […]

A UC Davis study found regulations for keeping, maintaining chickens are lacking in many areas A recent UC Davis study showed that, while more people are getting backyard chickens, there are very few structures in place to protect them as well as a shortage of resources for flock owners. “Very few of the cities required […]

Despite challenges, mothers in academia continue to thrive A recent article in “The Scientific American” by professor Rebecca Calisi in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior at UC Davis brought to light many of the challenges mothers face while pursuing careers in academia. This article lead to a paper about resources that should be […]

Disruption of koala microbes raise questions for microbial biologists A recent study from the Jonathan Eisen Lab at UC Davis looked at how the gut biomes of koalas are being disrupted by antibiotic treatment. Katherine Dahlhausen, a graduate student of biophysics and the lead researcher, came upon the project almost by happenstance. “I was on […]

Class for aspiring entrepreneurs can help students create small businesses Creating a business venture from the ground up seems like a daunting task. So how does one go about forming a startup? “Just start,” said Liz Tang. Tang is the director of the Student Startup Center at UC Davis and is a part-time lecturer for […]

Critical region for emotion and social cues shows decline in cell numbers in autism, increase in cell numbers in neurotypical brains Researchers at the UC Davis Mind Institute have discovered a key difference in the way the amygdala develops in people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. While typical brains steadily gain neurons in the amygdala […]

Large-scale genomic survey of S. cerevisiae genome provides new information on evolution, origin of yeast For thousands of years we have relied on yeast to make bread and alcohol, and, more recently, for industrial products like enzymes, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. In biology, yeast is a popular medium for genetic experiments; it’s easy to grow and […]

UC Davis study shows the long-term benefits of meditation training on sustained attention, age-related cognitive decline No matter how hard one concentrates, staring at one point for a long period of time is difficult. Your eyes will flicker to the side or shift perspective ever so slightly. You might not even notice. Eventually, you lose […]

Studying groundwater to protect health, water needs of the future Water has been a precious resource in California’s modern history. Many conflicts have been waged over surface water usage from lakes and dam construction on rivers, but the future of California’s water availability may be in the vast groundwater reserves found in the rocks below […]

Entrepreneurship program culminated 12-week program with event for companies, investors Curing breast cancer, keeping Unitrans buses clean and coaching athletes online — all of these services have a few things in common. Namely, they are startups created by UC Davis alumni and are supported by PLASMA. PLASMA at UC Davis is a new accelerated program […]

Historic wildfires in Northern California inspire public health research 2017 is the most destructive year on record in terms of fire damage to structures, with at least 10,000 structures affected overall. Many structures were razed by fire, as in both the Tubbs and Nuns fires of Northern California. Both fires rank in the top ten […]

Freshwater turtles face deadly threat of rising sea levels The threat of sea level rise is concerning for many animals and plant species, as an untold number of organisms could be affected. One particularly vulnerable group is freshwater turtles, since many of them live near oceans or in areas where saltwater and fresh water meet. […]