Rainy Tropics Could Face Unprecedented Droughts as an Atlantic Current Slows

Some of the rainiest places on Earth could see their annual precipitation nearly halved if climate change continues to alter the way ocean water moves around the globe. In a new study, scientists revealed that even a modest slowdown of a major Atlantic Ocean current could dry out rainforests, threaten vulnerable ecosystems and upend livelihoods across the tropics.

Molecular Simulations Show Graphite ‘Hijacks’ Diamond Formation Through Unexpected Crystallization Pathways

In a new study published July 9 in Nature Communications, researchers from the University of California, Davis, and George Washington University use computer simulations to study how molten carbon crystallizes into either graphite or diamond at temperatures and pressures similar to Earth’s interior. The team’s findings challenge conventional understanding of diamond formation and reveal why experimental results studying carbon's phase behavior have been so inconsistent.

What Was the American Dream?

The American Dream as both idea and ideal, for all its complications, has had an undeniably powerful role in shaping values and aspirations in the U.S. and far beyond its borders. We spoke with faculty and students in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis who represent a wealth of knowledge and perspectives that help us think about American society’s past, present and continuing potential. 

Study Suggests Remembrances of Dead Played Role in Rise of Architecture in Andean Region

Archaeologists have long thought that monumental architecture were products of societies with power structures, including social hierarchy, inequality and controlled labor forces. In new research, researchers report evidence of monumental structures built by hunter-gatherer groups at Kaillachuro, a collection of burial mounds located in the Titicaca Basin of the Peruvian Andes.