This week's round up of research ranges from plant clones to wildfires with a detour into helping families in poverty. Also, geese.
Propagating plants without mutations
A cool thing about plants is that you can generally grown an entire new copy of a plant from any small piece of it. People have been doing this for centuries by growing plants from cuttings.
Plant scientists make use of this by growing clones of plants in tissue culture for research. In some cases, plants have been propagated in tissue culture for decades. A new UC Davis study, though, shows that plants grown in this way gather mutations in their DNA at an extremely high rate compared to a tree grown from a cutting. The results have implications for research, plant breeding and biotechnology.
Leading the world in...deforestation?
Speaking of plant propagation, we could do with some more of it in the Sierra Nevada, specifically in conifer forests. California leads the world in deforestation due to wildfires, according to a new UC Davis study. And while forests have been burning at an accelerating rate in the 21st century, the rate at which we are replanting them is not keeping up.
Basic income helped families, just not enough
From 2022 to 2024, Yolo County ran a basic income program for poor, unhoused families that helped lift them above the poverty line. A UC Davis study of the program shows that it did ease the pressure on the families, reducing stress and improving mental health. But it did not put the recipients on a path to financial independence. The initiative has lessons for communities nationwide still considering such programs, said Christine Brinkley, associate professor of Human Ecology and Regional Development at UC Davis who led the study.
Airliners might fly like geese
Geese save energy by flying in a "V" formation. Airplane manufacturer Airbus is experimenting with flying airliners in pairs, saving energy in the same way. UC Davis aeronautical engineer and bird flight expert Christina Harvey told Condé Naste Traveler magazine that while airplanes and birds aren't directly comparable, we can still get useful ideas inspired by biology.