UC Davis Driven by Curiosity News

Surprising Benefits of Using Sheep as Lawn Mowers

Jocelyn C Anderson — February 21, 2023

Discover how UC Davis is using its sheep mowers to not only cut grass on campus, but also to boost sustainability and relieve stress and anxiety for students.

Heavy Necking: New Insights Into the Sex Life of Giraffes

Katherine E Kerlin — February 08, 2023

A UC Davis study provides new insight into the unique sex life of giraffes and other behaviors.

To the Moon and Back: UC Davis Plays Role in Historic Artemis I Mission

Andy Fell — December 16, 2022

On Dec. 11, Artemis I’s Orion capsule made a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean after nearly 26 days in space and orbiting the moon. Orion is NASA’s new exploration spacecraft designed to carry humans into deep space.

Closing the Digital Divide

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 14, 2022

A new community-engaged learning course offered by UC Davis is teaching UC Davis students about intergenerational learning and helping combat age segregation and digital exclusion among older adults.

What Happens With Twitter Now?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 07, 2022

Two UC Davis researchers who are experts in social media talk about the changes in Twitter ownership and what that means for consumers.

California Families Project: Resilience and Community

Jocelyn C Anderson — October 31, 2022

Landmark UC Davis study of Mexican-origin families looks at vast range of influences on human development from infancy to old age.

Nano-Sized Islands Open Possibilities for Application of Single-Atom Catalysts

Andy Fell — October 26, 2022

A new method to anchor single atoms of platinum-group metals on nanometer-sized islands allows for efficient use of these expensive metals as catalysts for a wide variety of applications.

UC Davis-Led Team Awarded $3 Million Grant to Assess Pandemic Recovery Efforts by Community Colleges

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 05, 2022

The U.S. Department of Education’s Institute for Education Sciences has awarded a $3 million research grant to a University of California, Davis-led research team to assess pandemic recovery efforts undertaken by the California Community Colleges.

Newly Discovered Gravitational Lenses Could Reveal Ancient Galaxies and the Nature of Dark Matter

Andy Fell — September 29, 2022

An international team of astronomers has discovered dozens of strong gravitational lenses that will allow astronomers to look deep into the universe, revealing ancient structures and giving insight into the nature of dark matter.

Revealing the Genome of the Common Ancestor of All Mammals

Andy Fell — September 27, 2022

Every modern mammal, from a platypus to a blue whale, is descended from a common ancestor that lived about 180 million years ago. We don’t know a great deal about this animal, but the organization of its genome has now been computationally reconstructed by an international team of researchers. The work is published Sept. 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Discovering Sirtuin Longevity Proteins in Early Branches of Animal Life

Andy Fell — September 22, 2022

Animals on the early branches of the tree of life, such as jellyfish and sea sponges, defy the usual conventions of aging.

Has Social Media Discourse Affected People’s Hesitancy to Get Vaccinated Against COVID?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — September 21, 2022

Researchers from UC Davis looked at how the politically polarized nature of COVID-19 information, and misinformation, on social media has given rise to anxiety, sadness, anger and hostility that feeds incivility.

Engineers Study Bird Flight

Andy Fell — September 06, 2022

With a combination of wind tunnel studies and modeling of inertial forces, aerospace engineer Christina Harvey shows how gulls maintain stable, controllable flight with wrist movements.

Reef Fish Evolution Driven by Biting

Andy Fell — July 27, 2022

Coral reefs are home to a spectacular variety of fish. A new study by biologists at the University of California, Davis, shows that much of this diversity is driven by a relatively recent innovation among bony fish — feeding by biting prey from surfaces. The work is published the week of July 25 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Scientists Pinpoint 1 Reason Why Women May Not Respond to Depression Treatments the Same as Men

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — July 13, 2022

Although treatments for depression exist, sometimes these treatments don’t work for many who use them: Women. It's in the brain, UC Davis scientists say.

Global Food Supply-Chain Issues Call for Solutions

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — June 27, 2022

Global supply issues related to the pandemic and war in Ukraine have highlighted yet another global vulnerability — food availability.

While international trade allows countries to buffer against domestic food shortfalls and gain access to larger markets, what happens when supplies run short, or the global supply chain slows or even breaks down like it did during the pandemic?

Martian Meteorite Upsets Planet Formation Theory

Andy Fell — June 16, 2022

A new study of an old meteorite contradicts current thinking about how rocky planets like the Earth and Mars acquire volatile elements such as hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and noble gases as they form. The work is published June 16 in Science.

Understanding Learning by Inference

Andy Fell — June 16, 2022

Both humans and other animals are good at learning by inference, using information we do have to figure out things we cannot observe directly. New research from the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis, shows how our brains achieve this by constructing cognitive maps.

Underachievers No More

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — June 15, 2022

One in five students in the United States will not earn a high school diploma — and young adolescents who fall behind in school risk never catching up, leading to unemployment, poor health and poverty, research has shown.

Young Adults Turn Crushes Into Love, UC Davis Study Suggests

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — June 01, 2022

The image of young adults living in a hookup culture with emotionally meaningless relationships might be a common theme in movies and daytime talk shows. But it does not seem to be the norm in real college life, suggests a new study from University of California, Davis, researchers.