A new study by UC Davis shows how cells work together to avoid a sudden drop in blood sugar. Understanding these feedback loops could improve the lives of people with diabetes and help them avoid dangerous hypoglycemia.

Researchers have completed the first clinical trial of a new cancer drug in pet cats, offering hope for a disease that has long been nearly impossible to treat. The study found 35 percent of the cats with squamous cell carcinoma who received treatment had their disease controlled with minimal side effects.

An economic study found that during droughts, surface water prices triple while groundwater prices remain stable over time. The authors suggests that managing groundwater and surface water together could keep water prices steady and support the state’s economy.

A new study suggests that when older couples experience positive emotions together in everyday life, they have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol that can cause health problems over time when elevated.

When a woman becomes pregnant, the outcome of that pregnancy depends on many things - including a crucial event that happened while she was still growing inside her own mother's womb. A team of researchers pieced together the choreography of proteins that connect matching chromosome pairs — ensuring that they are sorted correctly as egg and sperm cells develop and divide.

A major safety study led by UC Davis Health tested an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered electrocardiogram (ECG) model to see how well it could detect severe heart attacks. The findings showed that the Queen of Hearts AI-based ECG platform outperformed standard triage in the emergency department and two other locations. It identified ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attacks more accurately and with far fewer false alarms.

Using a global network of telescopes, astronomers have detected the lowest-mass dark object yet found in the universe. Finding more such objects and understanding their nature could rule out some theories about the nature of dark matter, the mystery substance that makes up about a quarter of the universe.

The team developed an experimental engine that can generate mechanical power from the temperature difference between the Earth and deep space when placed outdoors at night. The device, a type of machine called a Stirling engine, could be used for example to ventilate buildings or run fans in a greenhouse at night.

Leaf Monitor, a new mobile tool backed by artificial intelligence and predictive modeling, could revolutionize how farmers monitor crops and make decisions by providing real-time nutrition and leaf trait information in the field.

In a world first, a team of engineers, neuroscientists and neurosurgeons at UC Davis and UC Davis Health has demonstrated that brain-computer interfaces for translating brain signals into speech can also enable control of a computer cursor.

UC Davis researchers have created a miniaturized microscope for real-time, high-resolution imaging of brain activity in mice. The device is a significant step toward revolutionizing how neuroscientists study behavior and perception in the brain.

UC Davis scientists have developed wheat plants that produce their own fertilizer, opening the door for less air and water pollution and lower costs for farmers. The team used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to get wheat plants to produce more of one of their own naturally occurring chemicals. When the plant releases the excess chemical into the soil, the chemical helps certain bacteria in the soil convert nitrogen from the air into a form the nearby plants can use to grow.

For decades, the federal government has relied on top-tier research universities like UC Davis to carry out laboratory research, clinical trials and fundamental science that advance human, animal and planetary health, make the food supply safer and healthier and improve our understanding of the world. Learn about how proposed cuts endanger this model and the United States’ leadership as the global scientific powerhouse.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA‑E) awarded UC Davis researchers a $3 million grant to develop a bio‑based process that selectively captures rare earth elements from acidic mine‑influenced and industrial wastewater streams.

When a public building catches fire, its built-in systems automatically respond: Smoke alarms blare, sprinklers kick on, and occupants quickly evacuate. But what if the life-threatening danger isn't fire but invisible airborne contaminants that can make occupants sick? Could a similar smart-building system monitor and improve the quality of the air indoors, where Americans spend 90 percent of their time?

The Bezos Earth Fund has announced a $2 million grant intended to advance "Swap it Smart" as part of its AI for Climate & Nature Grand Challenge. The funding will support research that could help redesign foods, for example optimizing for flavor profile, nutritional properties and lower costs and environmental impact.

Researchers at UC Davis have been awarded a $3 million National Science Foundation grant to develop new technologies and workforce training programs to grow plants in low-resource environments both on Earth and in space. The project will use engineered plant cells, plant embryos and fast-growing aquatic plants as novel bioproduction platforms, grown in simple contained systems such as bioreactors. These will utilize inexpensive, readily available growth media or, in some cases, only sunlight and carbon dioxide.

UC Davis researchers are leading a major five-year study to better understand how children with Down syndrome develop expressive communication — the skills used to share what we want, think or feel.

The Office of Research at UC Davis is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrea C. Alfaro as the new director of the UC Davis Coastal and Marine Sciences Institute (CMSI) and professor in the Department of Animal Science, effective January 1, 2026.

Alissa Kendall, the Ray B. Krone Endowed Professor of Environmental Engineering, has been appointed as the new director of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies. Kendall succeeds founding director Dan Sperling, who has led the institute since its establishment in 1991.

The Office of Research announced the appointment of Clare Cannon as the interim director of the Institute of the Environment, effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. Cannon is an associate professor in the Department of Human Ecology at UC Davis, where she, as an interdisciplinary scholar, studies the intersections of social and environmental justice.