UC Davis Driven by Curiosity News

Extracting Rare Earth Elements from U.S. Wastewaters

Andy Fell — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 12:10:50 PST

A new federally funded research project at the University of California, Davis, endeavors to extract valuable components for magnets, lasers and other modern technologies from an unlikely source: acidic wastewater from mines and industrial processes.

Looking Inside Icy Moons

Andy Fell — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 10:43:44 PST

The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study published Nov. 24 in Nature Astronomy sheds light on what could be going on beneath the surface of these worlds and provides insights into how their diverse geologic features may have formed.

Rocks on Faults Can Heal Following Seismic Movement

Andy Fell — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 12:05:16 PST

Earthquake faults deep in the Earth can glue themselves back together following a seismic event, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The work, published Nov. 19 in Science Advances and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, adds a new factor to our understanding of the behavior of faults that can give rise to major earthquakes.

What’s at Stake with Federal Research Funding Cuts

Jocelyn C Anderson — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 09:00:35 PDT

Federal research funding cuts threaten UC Davis discoveries in health, agriculture and technology that improve lives worldwide.

Astronomers Find Mystery Dark Object in Distant Universe

Andy Fell — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 14:40:26 PDT

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 work is described in two papers published Oct. 9 in Nature Astronomy and Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

UC Davis Study Reveals Alarming Browser Tracking by GenAI Assistants

Andy Fell — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 12:09:02 PDT

A new study led by computer scientists at the University of California, Davis, reveals that generative AI browser assistants collect and share sensitive data without users’ knowledge. Stronger safeguards, transparency and awareness are needed to protect user privacy online, the researchers said.

A new brand of generative AI, or GenAI, browser extensions act as your personal assistant as you surf the web, making browsing easier and more personalized. They can summarize web pages, answer questions, translate text and take notes.

National Science Foundation Awards UC Davis $5 Million for Artificial Intelligence Hub

Andy Fell — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 13:55:57 PDT

The National Science Foundation has awarded $5 million over five years to the University of California, Davis, to run the Artificial Intelligence Institutes Virtual Organization, a community hub for new and existing AI institutes established by the federal government.

AIVO is part of a $100 million public-private investment in AI announced by NSF July 29.

Molecular Simulations Show Graphite ‘Hijacks’ Diamond Formation Through Unexpected Crystallization Pathways

Andy Fell — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 10:31:34 PDT

The graphite found in your favorite pencil could have instead been the diamond your mother always wears. What made the difference? Researchers are finding out.

How molten carbon crystallizes into either graphite or diamond is relevant to planetary science, materials manufacturing and nuclear fusion research. However, this moment of crystallization is difficult to study experimentally because it happens very rapidly and under extreme conditions.

UC Davis and Proteus Space to Launch First-Ever Dynamic Digital Twin into Space

Andy Fell — Wed, 25 Jun 2025 10:12:36 PDT

The Center for Space Exploration Research at the University of California, Davis, has partnered with Proteus Space to launch a US government-sponsored satellite into space with a custom AI-enabled payload in a brand-new, first-ever rapid design-to-deployment small satellite.

The team will launch the satellite and payload in October 2025 from Vandenberg, CA. From the time the project was fully approved, the design and launch will occur within an unprecedented 13 months. (The normal pace for small satellites is often measured in years.)

Big Bang! Business Competition Celebrates 25 Years of Empowering Entrepreneurs

Jocelyn C Anderson — Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:03:56 PDT

Benjamin Wang ’06, a medical doctor, brought his life-saving innovation to the UC Davis Big Bang! Business Competition in 2014. His team won first place — and Wang credited the experience with helping him launch the venture.

After witnessing a patient die from an antibiotic-resistant infection, he developed NEVAP — a breathing tube designed to prevent bacterial infections in ventilated patients.

"Winning the competition helped to validate the idea that creating a better breathing tube was possible and viable as a business," Wang said.

City-Dwelling Monarch Butterflies Stay Put

Andy Fell — Wed, 28 May 2025 10:00:49 PDT

Monarch butterflies are famous for their annual migrations, but not all migrate. In recent years, more and more monarchs have been living and breeding year-round in California’s Bay Area, thanks in part to the growing presence of non-native milkweeds in urban gardens.

How Are They Biting? High Speed Video Reveals Unexpected Jaw Movements in Reef Fish

Andy Fell — Mon, 05 May 2025 17:20:32 PDT

Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists at the University of California, Davis have discovered. This ability – which is rare among vertebrate animals – allows these fish to feed rapidly and efficiently on algae growing on rocks. The work is published May 5 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

How Aggie Square Is Advancing Innovation in Sacramento

Jocelyn C Anderson — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 08:45:46 PDT

Learn how UC Davis’ Aggie Square is solving pressing challenges through collaborative research and cutting-edge technology.

Study Suggests Dance and Lullabies Aren’t Universal Human Behaviors

Andy Fell — Tue, 29 Apr 2025 08:00:00 PDT

Social singing and dance are often assumed to be hard-wired into the human condition; studies have supported the conclusion that these are common across cultures. But new research from a University of California, Davis, anthropologist challenges the idea that dance and lullabies are universal among humans.

Can Citizen Science Be Trusted? New Study of Birds Shows It Can

Andy Fell — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 16:18:46 PDT

Platforms such as iNaturalist and eBird encourage people to observe and document nature, but how accurate is the ecological data that they collect?

Fish Teeth Show How Ease of Innovation Enables Rapid Evolution

Andy Fell — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:00:10 PST

It’s not what you do, it’s how readily you do it. Rapid evolutionary change might have more to do with how easily a key innovation can be gained or lost rather than with the innovation itself, according to new work by biologists at the University of California, Davis, who studied how teeth in certain fishes evolved in response to food sources and habitats.

Their work was published Feb. 26 in Nature.

Men and Women Equally Attracted to Younger Partners, UC Davis Study Suggests

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 12:35:49 PST

Men and women alike are drawn to younger partners, whether or not they realize it. The conclusion came from a University of California, Davis, study of 4,500 blind dates of people seeking a long-term partner.

International Students Boost Startup Creation, Lifting Local Jobs and Revenue, New Research Shows

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 13:39:01 PST

International graduate students created a disproportionate number of new business startups in the United States in the past decade. They also increased entrepreneurialism among their U.S.-born peers, according to new research from the University of California, Davis.

Genetics of Alternating Sexes in Walnuts

Andy Fell — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 11:52:11 PST

The genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees has been revealed by biologists at the University of California, Davis. The research, published Jan. 3 in Science, reveals a mechanism that has been stable in walnuts and their ancestors going back 40 million years — and which has some parallels to sex determination in humans and other animals.

Your Smart TV is Watching What You Watch

Andy Fell — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:45:15 PST

If you’re thinking of buying a “smart” TV for the holidays, you ought to know that your new device is constantly capturing snapshots of what’s on screen and sending them back to the manufacturer — even if you are using the device as a computer monitor and not watching TV at all. The findings come from a recent study by computer scientists at the University of California, Davis; University College London; and Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, published in Proceedings of the 2024 ACM on Internet Measurement Conference.