Taking advantage of advances in genetic technologies, researchers led by Alex Nord, assistant professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior with the Center for Neuroscience at the University of California, Davis, are gaining a better understanding of the role played by a specific gene involved in autism. The collaborative work appears June 26 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.
A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and the University of New Hampshire, published April 18 in Scientific Reports, shows surprisingly big differences in tissue gene expression between male and female rock doves. The work is part of an attempt to make science more gender-inclusive and aware of physiological and other differences between the sexes.
In people with type I diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas die and are not replaced. Without these cells, the body loses the ability to control blood glucose. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have now discovered a possible new route to regenerating beta cells, giving insight into the basic mechanisms behind healthy metabolism and diabetes. Eventually, such research could lead to better treatment or cures for diabetes.
The world is a better place because of the work of our Chancellor’s Fellows — early-career faculty members working to improve health, understand the challenges facing endangered species, cut greenhouse gas emissions and more. This year’s class of Chancellor’s Fellows comprises 11 associate professors, including Associate Professor Aldrin Gomes, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior.
The National Institutes of Health today (Dec. 13) announced a six-year, $170 million nationwide project to dig deep into the molecular changes that come from physical activity, and how they influence health. Two professors in the University of California, Davis, College of Biological Sciences, Sue Bodine and Keith Baar, are taking part in the effort.
If it smells like food, and looks like food, it must be food, right?
It turns out that marine plastic debris emits the scent of a sulfurous compound that some seabirds have relied upon for thousands of years to tell them where to find food, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. This olfactory cue essentially tricks the birds into confusing marine plastic with food.
For most of us, pigeons are not significant animals, even though we encounter them daily. The only time I think about pigeons is when they are waiting for crumbs from my meal, or decorating my car after a fresh wash.
UC Davis Assistant Professor of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior Rebecca Calisi has a different perspective.
Supported by a five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health, Corina and Lee Miller, associate professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior at UC Davis, are working to understand why some children respond better to the implants than others.
Zebra stripes have fascinated people for millennia, and there are a number of different theories to explain why these wild horses should be so brightly marked. A handful of laboratories around the world – including one lead by UC Davis wildlife biologist Tim Caro – have been putting these theories to the test. A new paper from Caro’s group, led by Ken Britten at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience, puts a hole in one idea: that the stripes confuse biting flies by breaking up polarized light.
Researchers have known for more than a decade that the risk of heart disease and stroke increases when people take pain relievers like ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. Now, scientists from the University of California, Davis, have uncovered some of the reasons why these drugs can harm heart tissue.
