Latest Blog Posts

How Earth’s Greatest Extinction Really Happened

Andy Fell — November 21, 2025

Around 252 million years ago, the Earth experienced its largest mass extinction. Known as the “Great Dying,” this cataclysmic event wiped out more than 81% of marine species and 70% of life on land.

Weekender: New Dance Performance; 'Paradise Lost' Concert; More Concerts

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 20, 2025

Catch 'Control/Shift' this week

Center for the Performing Arts, continuing Nov. 20, 21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

My Journey as a Clinical Nutrition Major at UC Davis

Anila Mary Lijo — November 19, 2025

As a fourth-year nutrition major at UC Davis, I often reflect on how much I’ve grown, both academically and personally since starting this program. My journey began by choosing the Clinical Nutrition major at UC Davis.

What Can I Expect as a Nutrition Science Major?

Anila Mary Lijo — November 19, 2025

Before college, I knew very little about nutrition and its significance. Over time, I came to see nutrition as the foundation of health, more than just what we eat but a powerful factor influencing our well-being and the prevention of long-term disease. Food is deeply connected to holistic health, which is something I am passionate about.

How Does a Parasitic Nematode Infect a Wide Variety of Plants?

Andy Fell — November 19, 2025

Nematologists at the University of California, Davis, including Valerie Williamson, professor emerita in the Department of Plant Pathology and associate professor Shahid Siddique, Department of Entomology and Nematology, have long wondered how the the Northern root-knot nematode (Me

How California’s State and Federal Water Projects Can Better Protect Fish

Katherine E Kerlin — November 14, 2025

At least two thirds of California's population and more than 4 million acres of California farmland rely on water delivered by the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project, two of the largest multipurpose water management projects in the world.

Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions Hit Record High in 2025

Katherine E Kerlin — November 13, 2025

Global carbon emissions from fossil fuels are projected to rise by 1.1% in 2025 – reaching a record high, according to new research by the Global Carbon Project.

Weekender: See New Choregraphies; Catch Last Weeks of Manetti Shrem Exhibition

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 12, 2025

UC Davis dancers explore new choreographies at Mondavi Center next week; get tickets now

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Nov. 19,20,21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

Living Life More Fully: U.S. Poet Laureate Arthur Sze Connects with UC Davis Students

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 05, 2025

Just weeks after being named U.S. Poet Laureate by the Library of Congress, Arthur Sze visited UC Davis, sharing his love of poetry and translation with students, faculty and community members.

Sze is the author of 12 books of poetry and the recipient of numerous poetry prizes, including the Bollingen Prize for American Poetry in 2025 for his lifetime achievement in the field. He was the first Poet Laureate for the City of Santa Fe, where he’s lived for more than 50 years.

How Did Scholars and Teachers Build LGBTQ-Plus K-12 Curriculum?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 05, 2025

Geraldine Portica might have known the risks every day when she wore a dress. In a 1917 portrait, she wears a dress and a wide-brimmed hat. She stands with one hand on her hip as her other hand extends the loose fabric of her skirt as if to show its cut.

A handwritten note on the photo's bottom margin explains that she had lived her whole life as female since her birth in Mexico.

Weekender: Taproot New Music Continues; Art Lectures; Native Art Market

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 05, 2025

Beginning today, you can catch some new music at Taproot, attend an art lecture, and then go to a museum and the Native Art Market at the Gorman.

New Bone Research Gives Hope to Kids and Dogs With Osteosarcoma

Tatiana Muniz — November 04, 2025

UC Davis researchers built engineered bone marrow to study osteosarcoma, speeding safer treatments for children and canine bone cancer patients.

Deep-Water Sediments Reveal Patterns of Extraterrestrial Influence on Earth’s Ancient Climate

Andy Fell — October 31, 2025

Roughly 34 million years ago, the Earth started transitioning from a greenhouse to an icehouse state — defined by long-term cooling trends that resulted in ice sheets in the planet’s polar regions. During this time, continental carbon reservoirs expanded as carbon dioxide decreased in the atmosphere.

But that trend has reversed. Fossil fuel consumption, among other sources of pollution, have resulted in increasing atmospheric and oceanic temperatures, leading to ice sheet melt and unprecedented shifts in our environments.

Weekender: Día de Los Muertos, Halloween Inspire Events

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 30, 2025

Halloween and Día De Los Muertos weekend at UC Davis offer events at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts and Pitzer Center on the UC Davis campus and TANA in Woodland. Catch all of them. Most events are free.

Weekender: Taproot Festival Begins; More Music; Celebrate Día de Los Muertos

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 23, 2025

Listen to new music; start celebrating Día de Los Muertos. Get ready for Halloween.

Population Decline of Franklin’s Bumble Bee Wasn’t Due to Pathogens, Museum Genomic Research Shows

Andy Fell — October 20, 2025

Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) once inhabited a remote area spanning northern California and southern Oregon. But the bee’s numbers declined sharply after 1998 and it hasn’t been seen at all since 2006. A new study of the DNA of museum specimens, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests this decline was most likely due to population bottlenecks and environmental issues such as fire and drought rather than infectious diseases.

Catch Ongoing Fall 2025 Art Exhibitions at UC Davis

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 17, 2025

Manetti Shrem fall exhibitions offer 'OJO' and 'Breathe'

Two exhibitions that invite visitors to reflect on the present by considering the past and shared future are on view this fall at the

Weekender: Poet Laureate Reads; Stamping at TANA; Philharmonia Orchestra

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — October 16, 2025

Poetry, Gorman art talk, concerts, TANA stamping and much more on tap this weekend.

Where's Our CRISPR? New Treatments Promise Hope for Rare Diseases, But Wait May be Long

Andy Fell — October 14, 2025

As the parent of a child with a rare genetic disease, Celena Lozano saw the hope that reports of a breakthrough treatment bring. As a graduate student in neuroscience at UC Davis, she knows that the road to effective treatments, let alone 'cures' for most such diseases, will be long and frustrating. Clear and nuanced communication about what research and clinical studies actually mean for patients is needed, she writes in an article for STAT.

A Stretchy Protein Senses Forces in Cells

Andy Fell — October 10, 2025

How does skin hold you in? How do heart cells beat together? Researchers at the University of California, Davis, Department of Biomedical Engineering, are exploring how structures called desmosomes, which stick cells together, function and react to mechanical stress.

New work from Professor Sanjeevi Sivasankar’s lab, published Oct. 10 in Nature Communications, shows how a desmosome protein can respond to mechanical stress and potentially send signals within the cell.