Feeding a Growing Population Content

Animal and Veterinary Innovation Center Established at �ٺ��Ƶ

Andy Fell — November 22, 2024 - 11:31am

�ٺ��Ƶ is one of four institutions nationwide selected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to establish Animal and Veterinary Innovation centers to help spur innovation and advance regulatory decisions.

The �ٺ��Ƶ Intentional Genomic Alteration Innovation Center will focus on genome editing of livestock like pigs, sheep and cattle to support science-based regulations that demonstrate the safety of the technology and pave the way for human consumption of edited animals.

Making High-yielding Rice Affordable and Sustainable

Andy Fell — November 20, 2024 - 10:53am

Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world’s population, but most farmers don’t grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the University of California’s Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains of rice and other crops.

New Center Developing Best Ways to Farm, Roast, Brew Coffee

Tatiana Muniz — November 18, 2024 - 9:10am

�ٺ��Ƶ researchers are discovering ways to make coffee more delicious and sustainable in the only university coffee center and lab in the country.

Checking In With Chancellor May: At the Forefront of Feeding the World

Cody Kitaura — November 15, 2024 - 12:30pm

To the �ٺ��Ƶ Community:

No matter our background or belief systems, every human being deserves to have access to healthy and adequate food. This is one of the key Grand Challenges �ٺ��Ƶ is undertaking to create a healthier tomorrow. These are among the global “wicked problems” for which we seek solutions through a cross-disciplinary approach.

Extreme Weather Accelerates Nitrate Pollution in Groundwater

Amy M Quinton — November 13, 2024 - 1:53pm

Extreme weather from climate change, including droughts and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers ending up in groundwater.

What Makes Queen Bees So Smart?

Andy Fell — November 07, 2024 - 2:22pm

A bumblebee’s brain is smaller than a sesame seed. But it can still accomplish quite a bit.

“You don’t need a big brain to learn well,” said Felicity Muth, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and a National Geographic Explorer who studies cognition in bees and other animals. “Bumblebees are capable of many of the same cognitive feats as many vertebrates.”

�ٺ��Ƶ and BioInnovation Institute Team Up to Improve Protein Nutrition on a Global Scale

James Michael Nash — October 09, 2024 - 4:41pm

The University of California, Davis today announced an expanded collaboration with the BioInnovation Institute (BII) to accelerate commercialization of discoveries in protein nutrition important to consumers around the world.

Smoke From Megafires Puts Orchard Trees at Risk

Amy M Quinton — October 02, 2024 - 2:00pm

�ٺ��Ƶ researchers say long-term smoke exposure from massive wildfires lowers the energy reserves of orchard trees and can cut their nut production by half.

The Promise of Alternative Proteins

Jocelyn C Anderson — September 09, 2024 - 3:28pm

�ٺ��Ƶ food scientists are studying how to make beef using cow stem cells.

How Plants Become Bushy, or Not

Andy Fell — August 06, 2024 - 3:50pm

For many plants, more branches means more fruit. But what causes a plant to grow branches? New research from the University of California, Davis shows how plants break down the hormone strigolactone, which suppresses branching, to become more “bushy.” Understanding how strigolactone is regulated could have big implications for many crop plants.

The study was published August 1 in Nature Communications.