What Shells Tell

White abalone shells ​are​ magnificent structures. Translucent during the marine snail’s juvenile days, the extremely durable shell increases in opacity as the organism ages, gaining its paint-splatter-esque red, brown and white coloring from the algae it eats. But abalone, along with other marine organisms, are facing a crisis, one that affects the integrity of their shells.

UC Davis, Mars Researchers Discover Scalable Production Technique for Low-Calorie Sugar Substitute

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, in partnership with the Mars Advanced Research Institute, have announced a significant breakthrough in the production of low-calorie sugar substitutes, such as allulose. This discovery could help address one of the primary obstacles to the widespread adoption of these alternatives: production costs.

Geerat Vermeij Discusses New Book ‘The Evolution of Power: A New Understanding of the History of Life’

Geerat Vermeij wasn’t sure he had another book in him. The 77-year-old paleobiologist and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Earth and Planetary Sciences already had six books and hundreds of academic publications to his name. But Vermeij, if anything, is a constant student, and writing, for him, is still one of the best ways to learn.

Sarah Stewart Named American Physical Society Fellow for Research on Evolution of Planetary Systems

For her landmark work in the development and application of shock physics techniques to explain the origin and evolution of planetary systems, Stewart has been selected as an American Physical Society Fellow, a prestigious honor that no more than half of one percent of the society’s membership (excluding student members) are nominated for each year.

Study Reveals How Genetic Uniformity Affects Offspring Fertility for Generations

When it comes to the architecture of the human genome, it’s only a matter of time before harmful genes arise in a population. These mutations accumulate in the gene pool, primarily affected by a population’s size and practices like marrying within a small community. New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal provides rare direct evidence showing that increased homozygosity leads to negative effects on fertility in a human population.

Simulations Explain Abundance of Bright Galaxies Observed at Cosmic Dawn

When researchers glimpsed the first images and data from the James Webb Space Telescope, humanity’s largest and most powerful space telescope, they noticed something peculiar. A large number of bright galaxies deep in the universe formed during a period called “Cosmic Dawn." New research published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters shows that a theoretical model produced roughly five years ago predicted these very observations and credits them to bursty star formation.

Secrets of the Universe with Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez

This week, Manuel Calderón de la Barca Sánchez returned to his alma mater in Mexico to host screenings of ‘Secrets of the Universe,’ an IMAX film that explores the formation of the universe through the eyes of Aggie researchers. Calderón de la Barca Sánchez, a UC Davis physics professor, hopes the film will inspire students to pursue STEM education and careers.

The Universality of Song: Humans Can Recognize a Song’s Intent Regardless of Language

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that there is an association between how songs sound and their place in our emotional lives. Sourcing songs from across the globe, Manvir Singh and his fellow researchers found that people from different types of societies can successfully identify a song’s type by how it sounds, regardless of the language of its words.