UC Davis Driven by Curiosity News

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

Andy Fell — July 09, 2025

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 — June 25, 2025

The Center for Space Exploration Research at the ��Ƶ, 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 — June 24, 2025

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 — May 28, 2025

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 ��Ƶ’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 — May 05, 2025

Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists at the ��Ƶ, 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 — April 29, 2025

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 — April 29, 2025

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 ��Ƶ, 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 — April 15, 2025

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 — February 26, 2025

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 ��Ƶ, Davis, who studied how teeth in certain fishes evolved in response to food sources and habitats.

Their work was published Feb. 26 in Nature.