Feeding a Growing Population Content

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.

�ٺ��Ƶ Study Highlights Factors Associated with Higher Tuberculosis Risk in South Africa

Karen Michele Nikos — August 01, 2024 - 1:51pm

Tuberculosis is the world’s top infectious killer. About 10 million people fall ill with the disease every year, and roughly 1.5 million people die because of it, according to the World Health Organization. Additionally, about one-quarter of the world’s population is infected with the disease’s causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Plant Biologist Siobhan Brady Named HHMI Investigator

Andy Fell — July 23, 2024 - 12:11pm

Siobhan Brady, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center at the University of California, Davis, has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. The prestigious Investigator program, which Brady describes as “life changing,” will provide her with roughly $9 million in research support over a seven-year term, with the option to renew.

Plant Biologist Venkatesan Sundaresan Wins 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture

Andy Fell — July 17, 2024 - 9:36am

Venkatesan Sundaresan, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Plant Biology and Plant Sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.

Researchers Examine How Early Harvest, Storage Affect Tomatoes

Emily C Dooley — June 28, 2024 - 10:04am

New research out of �ٺ��Ƶ looked at what happened at the molecular level when tomatoes were harvested before ripening and stored at certain temperatures. The findings could improve postharvest handling methods and reduce food loss and waste.