Egghead Content

The Singular Mathematics of Daily Life

Andy Fell — June 02, 2025 - 3:56pm

On a Sunday morning in September 2023, UC Davis mathematician Roger Casals Gutiérrez was entranced by a beautiful pattern of intersecting lines, curves and points thrown on the kitchen wall by sunlight filtered through the window.

New Two-photon Microscopy System Aims to See Into 'Impossible' Spaces

Andy Fell — April 28, 2025 - 3:20pm

Researchers at UC Davis have developed a fast and cost-effective two-photon microscopy system capable of imaging depths previously impossible to reach in scattering tissues, such as bone and the brain.

Combining Signals Could Make for Better Control of Prosthetics

Andy Fell — April 23, 2025 - 2:17pm

Combining two different kinds of signals could help engineers build prosthetic limbs that better reproduce natural movements, according to a new study from the ��Ƶ, Davis. The work, published April 10 in PLOS One, shows that a combination of electromyography and force myography is more accurate at predicting hand movements than either method by itself.

Map of Genetic Regulation in Chickens Could Help Fight Against Bird Flu

Andy Fell — April 09, 2025 - 10:38am

An international team of researchers led by Professor Huaijun Zhou from the UC Davis Department of Animal Science has created the first-ever detailed map of how genes are regulated in chickens — a breakthrough that could help scientists breed birds that are more resistant to diseases like avian influenza.

��Ƶ Rice and Conservation

Andy Fell — April 07, 2025 - 4:12pm

In 1991, the state of ��Ƶ largely banned burning of rice straw after harvest, and farmers turned instead to winter flooding of fields to break down straw. As a result, wildlife has flourished in rice fields which reproduce, to some extent, the wetland habitat that once covered most of ��Ƶ Central Valley. Rice fields now support some 200 species including fish, birds and reptiles.

The Rise of Pseudocannabinoids

Andy Fell — April 02, 2025 - 11:07am

Developing pseudocannabinoids, synthetic molecules that mimic the activity of molecules found in cannabis plants, is the goal of research by Professor Mark Mascal in the UC Davis Department of Chemistry. Mascal recently received a $30,000, one-year seed grant, the Dr. Mohsen Najafi Research Award in Medicinal Chemistry, to advance his work.

Play Dives into the Life of Famed Mathematician Emmy Noether

Andy Fell — March 27, 2025 - 9:33am

Mathematics and theatrics combine this April in Diving into Math with Emmy Noether, a play about the pioneering and influential mathematician who is often referred to as the “mother of modern algebra.”

Holographic 3D Printing With Soundwaves

Andy Fell — March 26, 2025 - 2:50pm

In an operating room, doctors and technicians work on repairing a broken bone. There are no scalpels, no incisions — the skin is not broken.

No, this is not science fiction, but a potential application of a groundbreaking 3D printing method developed by Mohsen Habibi, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the ��Ƶ, Davis.

Functional Flows and Native Fish

Andy Fell — February 25, 2025 - 3:44pm

There are many demands on ��Ƶ water, and one of them is how much water to leave in streams to protect native fish and ecosystems. A recent approach to this question is to look at "functional flows:" not so much the total amount of water, but when it is flowing and what it is doing.

NIH Renews Support for Lab Mouse Repository for Fifth Time

Andy Fell — February 13, 2025 - 3:59pm

The National Institutes of Health has renewed its grant to support the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the ��Ƶ, Davis. This is the 26th year of operation for the MMRRC and the fifth consecutive competitive renewal of the grant, now $7.2 million in total costs over the next five years.