College of Biological Sciences Content / College of Biological Sciences Content for șÙșÙÊÓÆ” en Transparent Worms with Glowing Proteins May Help Fertility Treatments /news/transparent-worms-glowing-proteins-may-help-fertility-treatments <p><span>The development of maternal egg cells is pivotal for survival – but also precarious. During meiosis, the DNA-containing chromosomes can easily be broken or lost, causing infertility, miscarriage or genetic disorders like Down syndrome. Scientists have struggled to study these crucial cellular events in humans and other mammals.</span></p> November 21, 2024 - 2:03pm Andy Fell /news/transparent-worms-glowing-proteins-may-help-fertility-treatments Making High-yielding Rice Affordable and Sustainable /news/making-high-yielding-rice-affordable-and-sustainable <p>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.</p> November 20, 2024 - 10:53am Andy Fell /news/making-high-yielding-rice-affordable-and-sustainable What Makes Queen Bees So Smart? /news/what-makes-queen-bees-so-smart <p><span>A bumblebee’s brain is smaller than a sesame seed. But it can still accomplish quite a bit.</span></p><p><span>“You don’t need a big brain to learn well,” said Felicity Muth, an assistant professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior&nbsp;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.”</span></p> November 07, 2024 - 2:22pm Andy Fell /news/what-makes-queen-bees-so-smart Can Corals Be Saved? /blog/can-corals-be-saved <p><span>It takes a strong constitution to be a coral researcher these days. These vibrant underwater ecosystems are beset by all manner of challenges in the 21st century, from bleaching events and pollution to storm surges and overfishing. But there’s good news on the way for coral conservation.</span></p> November 04, 2024 - 4:13pm Andy Fell /blog/can-corals-be-saved Invisible Anatomy in the Fruit Fly Uterus /news/invisible-anatomy-fruit-fly-uterus <p>You have likely not spent much time thinking about the uterus of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. But then, neither have most scientists, even though Drosophila is one of the most thoroughly studied lab animals. Now a team of biologists at the University of California, Davis, has taken the first deep look at the Drosophila uterus and found some surprises, which could have implications not just for understanding insect reproduction and potentially, pest control, but also for understanding fertility in humans.&nbsp;</p> October 25, 2024 - 11:06am Andy Fell /news/invisible-anatomy-fruit-fly-uterus How Plants Become Bushy, or Not /news/how-plants-become-bushy-or-not <p>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.</p><p>The study was published August 1 in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-50928-3">Nature Communications</a><em>.</em></p> August 06, 2024 - 3:50pm Andy Fell /news/how-plants-become-bushy-or-not Plant Biologist Siobhan Brady Named HHMI Investigator /news/plant-biologist-siobhan-brady-named-hhmi-investigator <p>Siobhan Brady, a professor in the <a href="https://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/">Department of Plant Biology</a> and <a href="https://genomecenter.ucdavis.edu/">Genome Center</a> at the University of California, Davis, has been selected as a <a href="https://www.hhmi.org/programs/investigators">Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator</a>. 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.</p> July 23, 2024 - 12:11pm Andy Fell /news/plant-biologist-siobhan-brady-named-hhmi-investigator Plant Biologist Venkatesan Sundaresan Wins 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture /news/plant-biologist-venkatesan-sundaresan-wins-2024-wolf-prize-agriculture <p><a href="https://biology.ucdavis.edu/people/venkatesan-sundaresan">Venkatesan Sundaresan</a>, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of <a href="https://www-plb.ucdavis.edu/">Plant Biology</a> and <a href="https://www.plantsciences.ucdavis.edu/">Plant Sciences</a> at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a <a href="https://wolffund.org.il/venkatesan-sundaresan/">2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture</a> for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.</p> July 17, 2024 - 9:36am Andy Fell /news/plant-biologist-venkatesan-sundaresan-wins-2024-wolf-prize-agriculture ‘Face to Face’: Graduating With Experience /news/podcasts-and-shows/face-to-face/graduating-with-experience <p dir="ltr"><span>It’s the question every college student faces: How do my present actions support my future goals?&nbsp;</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>In the latest episode of&nbsp;</span><em>Face to Face</em><span>, Chancellor Gary S. May speaks with Julia Lee and Dustin Lower about their unique pathways towards graduating and the experiences that helped them make their next steps after graduation more tangible through on-campus resources.</span></p> June 25, 2024 - 10:00am Jose Antonio Vadi /news/podcasts-and-shows/face-to-face/graduating-with-experience șÙșÙÊÓÆ” Students’ Seizure-Predicting Device Wins Top Prize at Big Bang! Business Competition /news/uc-davis-students-seizure-predicting-device-wins-top-prize-big-bang-business-competition <figure role="group" class="caption caption-drupal-media"> <div class="media media--type-sf-image-media-type media--view-mode-default"> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/media/images/Hero%20photo_winners.jpg" width="5308" height="2986" alt="Students who were finalists in Big Bang! stand in a photo together holding an artifical large check." typeof="Image"> </div> <figcaption>Members of the Big Bang! finalist teams surround the winning team, EpiSense.</figcaption></figure> May 23, 2024 - 2:30pm Karen Michele Nikos /news/uc-davis-students-seizure-predicting-device-wins-top-prize-big-bang-business-competition