College of Letters and Science Content

Taking the Earth’s Temperature Over the Past 485 Million Years

Andy Fell — September 19, 2024 - 10:36am

Palm trees in Alaska, crocodiles in Wyoming: Fossils show that Earth’s temperature has changed over hundreds of millions of years. Now a new study co-led by the Smithsonian and the University of Arizona, with Professor Isabel Montañez of the �� Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, has produced a curve of global mean surface temperatures over the past 485 million years. The new curve, published Sept. 19 in Science, reveals that Earth’s temperature has varied more than previously thought as life has diversified, populated land and endured multiple mass extinctions.

Researchers Identify Tooth Enamel Proteins That Offer Window into Human Health

Karen Michele Nikos — September 19, 2024 - 8:47am

Native Americans living in coastal Northern California during the Mission era were presumed to experience high rates of disease and stress.

Not until now, however, did scientists have hard evidence of their health issues, according to new research conducted in cooperation with Native descendants. A new way of looking at tooth enamel could give scientists a path to deeper understanding of the health of human populations — from the ancient to the modern. It is believed to be the first research of its kind.

Rohde Awarded Commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation in the Library of Congress

Jamie Sara Gelfond — September 18, 2024 - 7:41am

A �� professor recently received a 2024 commission from the Serge Koussevitzky Foundation ) to write a new work for Brightwork New Music

Supported Youth Become Supportive Adults, Researchers Find

Karen Michele Nikos — September 12, 2024 - 9:01am

Adolescents who had emotional support from friends and relatives, and who were biologically prepared to respond well to others, were more likely to exhibit prosocial behavior and empathy for others as they entered young adulthood, compared to adolescents without that kind of backing. The findings came from a recent University of California, Davis, study of Mexican-origin teens living in the United States.

What Does it Mean To Own Something?

Karen Michele Nikos — September 06, 2024 - 3:30pm

For most of his adolescence, Gerardo Con Diaz viewed the world through the prism of mathematics. He excelled at numbers and computation, winning mathematics competitions while growing up in Costa Rica and later majoring in the subject while studying at Harvard University. He was enroute to a mathematics career, but something was off.

“There was this nagging sensation that there might be a path I hadn’t considered,” Diaz recalled.

Recent Volcanoes on the Moon?

Andy Fell — September 04, 2024 - 3:09pm

New results from China’s Chang’e 5 lunar samples returned to Earth provide evidence for active volcanoes on the Moon as recently as 120 million years ago. Previously, scientists had thought that any activity with magma (molten rock) rising to the Moon’s surface ended billions of years ago.

LZ Experiment Sets New Record in Search for Dark Matter

Andy Fell — August 26, 2024 - 3:43pm

Figuring out the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector, LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), have narrowed down possibilities for one of the leading dark matter candidates: weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs.

Physicist Receives $1.25 Million Grant to Investigate Superconductivity

Andy Fell — August 22, 2024 - 2:09pm

�� physicist Inna Vishik is among the third annual cohort of Experimental Physics Investigators supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Vishik, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, joins 18 other researchers nationwide who will each receive a five-year, $1.25 million grant to pursue new research goals and explore uncharted, innovative ideas.

Media Experts on Economic Issues

Karen Michele Nikos — August 22, 2024 - 10:07am

The following University of California, Davis, sources are available to share expertise with media on various aspects of the economy, including climbing gas prices. Specific lists on trade (including supply chain), poverty and minimum wage are linked at the bottom. This list updated in 2024.

No Evidence of a Common Set of Regeneration Genes

Andy Fell — August 19, 2024 - 2:57pm

Some animals, especially those that have been around for a long time in evolutionary terms, possess extraordinary abilities to regenerate lost limbs or organs. These animals, such as flatworms, salamanders and zebrafish, are not at all closely related, suggesting that the ability to regenerate goes far back in evolutionary time. Is it possible to find a common set of genes for regeneration, that could unlock a new understanding of this process?