The growing popularity of microdosing — taking tiny amounts of psychedelic drugs to boost mood and mental acuity — is based on anecdotal reports of its benefits. Now, a study in rats by researchers at the University of California, Davis, suggests microdosing can provide relief for symptoms of depression and anxiety, but also found potential negative effects.
The UC Office of the President has awarded more than $9 million in grants to 16 collaborative research projects across the system. UC Davis College of Letters and Science researchers lead two of the projects and will participate in three others.
Jellyfish undergo an amazing metamorphosis, from tiny polyps growing on the seafloor to swimming medusae with stinging tentacles. The first in-depth look at the genome of a jellyfish — the moon jelly Aurelia aurita — reveals the origins of this successful survival strategy.
Katia Vega, an assistant professor of design, is breaking ground in creating the “interactive body.” Her recent research has included bio-sensitive tattoos that give information about body chemistry, conductive makeup that allows one to turn lights on and off with the blink of an eye, and paying for purchases though microchips attached to fingernails.
“I’m interested in creating seamless technology; the goal is to make it indistinguishable from our body,” she says.
Graduate Students Bring Research and Action to Communities
Through the Mellon Public Scholars program, UC Davis graduate students combine their scholarship and passions to make a tangible difference in communities across the region, nation, and world. Working with community organizations and individuals, the scholars examine real-world problems and offer creative solutions.
The Earth has been through a lot of changes in its 4.5 billion year history, including a shift to incorporating and retaining volatile compounds such as water, nitrogen and carbon from the atmosphere in the mantle before spewing them out again through volcanic eruptions.
UC Davis economist Giovanni Peri has spent close to two decades researching the impacts of immigration on local labor markets. His findings: local economies grow with an influx of immigrants and decline when they leave.
Elisa Joy White, associate professor in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science’s Department of African and African American Studies, is part of a team providing input on the report “Being Black in Europe” at the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna, Austria.
Recognized for excellence by their peers, three faculty in the College of Letters and Science have received service and teaching awards: Nolan Zane, Matthew Stratton and Colin Milburn.
