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Student Following in Her Grandfather’s Artistic and Academic Footprints 

At the recent reopening of the UC Davis Gorman Museum of Native American Art, student Jada McCovey sat at a table in the redwoods next to the museum. On the table before her were finely carved bones and antlers with dark incised lines, all meticulously handcrafted by her grandfather George Blake. 

Harnessing Aliphatic Hydrocarbons: Researchers Step Closer to Mimicking Nature’s Mastery of Chemistry

In nature, organic molecules are either left- or right-handed, but synthesizing molecules with a specific handedness in a lab is hard to do. Make a drug or enzyme with the wrong “handedness” and it just won’t work. Now chemists at the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis are getting closer to mimicking nature’s chemical efficiency through computational modeling and physical experimentation.

Aggie Alum and Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson to Travel to Space for Third Time

This March, Tracy C. Dyson, who graduated from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis with a doctorate in chemistry in 1997, will travel to the ISS as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 70/71 crew. The journey marks her third trip to space where she has seen our planet from both inside the International Space Station (ISS) and outside of it during spacewalks.

A View Inside: How Psychedelics Promote Neuroplasticity

Earlier this year, a team of researchers from the UC Davis Institute for Psychedelic and Neurotherapeutics revealed in Science that psychedelics spur cortical neuron growth by activating intracellular pools of 5-HT2A receptors. This neuroplasticity combats withering dendritic spines, a characteristic of several neuropsychiatric disorders.

Books on Climate Change From UC Davis

You don't have to be a student at UC Davis to learn from these professors. Their knowledge about Earth and its environment is woven throughout these new books, including two from College of Letters and Science faculty, that came out in 2023 or are about to be published.

Building a Space for Academic Rigor and Empathy: Tracing the Origin of a Chemist with Jesús Velázquez

As a UC Davis associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at the College of Letters and Science, Jesús Velázquez employs his chemistry expertise to synthesize materials useful for environmental remediation, transforming carbon dioxide-based waste streams, and energy conversion and storage. With his sights set on transforming the world for the better through chemistry, Velázquez, ever humble, never fails to thank the family members and academic mentors who guided his life path. Their imprint echoes into today, informing how he mentors and teaches.

Molecular Fossils Shed Light on Ancient Life

Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. Research published Dec. 1 in Nature Communications combines geology and genetics, showing how changes in the early Earth prompted a shift in how animals eat.

Wearables Collective Symposium: Call for Papers and Exhibition Proposals

The call is open for paper and exhibition proposals for the forthcoming Wearables Collective Symposium, a two-day event at UC Davis focused on weaving innovation into all stages of life through e-textiles, smart clothing and other forms of wearable technology for health and well-being. Paper and exhibition proposals are due by January 1 and January 15, respectively.

Higher Conscientiousness Linked to Less Risk of Dementia Diagnosis

People with personality traits such as conscientiousness, extraversion and positive affect are less likely to be diagnosed with dementia than those with neuroticism and negative affect, according to a new analysis by researchers at the University of California, Davis and Northwestern University