College of Biological Sciences Content

Cell Biologist Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society

Andy Fell — May 20, 2025 - 10:44am

Neil Hunter, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the 51�Թϱ��, Davis, and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in London.

This prestigious appointment, announced May 20, was offered to only 70 scientists across the world.

“I’m thrilled and surprised,” said Hunter. “The acknowledgment means a great deal to me, because it’s an election by some of the best scientists in the world.

Wily Parasite Kills Human Cells and Wears Their Remains as Disguise

Andy Fell — May 12, 2025 - 10:04am

The single-celled parasite Entamoeba histolytica infects 50 million people each year, killing nearly 70,000. Usually, this wily, shape-shifting amoeba causes nothing worse than diarrhea. But sometimes it triggers severe, even fatal disease by chewing ulcers in the colon, liquefying parts of the liver and invading the brain and lungs.

Evolutionary Geneticist Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Andy Fell — May 06, 2025 - 10:06am

Graham Coop, professor of evolution and ecology and director of the Center for Population Biology, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences for his exceptional contribution to his field. Coop is one of nearly 250 new members announced by the academy on April 23.

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

Andy Fell — May 05, 2025 - 5:20pm

Some reef fish have the unexpected ability to move their jaws from side to side, biologists at the 51�Թϱ��, 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.

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

Andy Fell — April 15, 2025 - 4:18pm

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

3D Genome Structure Guides Sperm Development

Andy Fell — March 03, 2025 - 11:22am

How 3D folding of DNA inside germ cells sets them on the path to become sperm.

Restoring Voices and Identity with Neuroengineering

Andy Fell — February 27, 2025 - 1:00pm

Lee Miller vividly recalls the day in 2021 when he met a woman who had lost the function of her vocal cords. In hoarse, whispering tones she explained how her voice had been instrumental to her vocation. Losing it, she said, undercut her life’s purpose. Her words were faint, but the lesson was powerful.

Fish Teeth Show How Ease of Innovation Enables Rapid Evolution

Andy Fell — February 26, 2025 - 8:00am

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

Their work was published Feb. 26 in Nature.

Mussel Bed Surveyed Before World War II Still Thriving

Katherine E Kerlin — January 16, 2025 - 12:22pm

A mussel bed in northern California is as healthy and biodiverse as it was about 80 years ago, when two young students surveyed it shortly before one was sent to fight in World War II, finds a new 51�Թϱ�� study.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Why Zika Virus Hijacks a Protein Needed for Brain Growth

Andy Fell — January 13, 2025 - 11:13am

The mosquito-borne Zika virus is known for causing microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal brain development results in a smaller-than-expected head. A new study published Jan. 13 in mBio shows that the Zika virus hijacks a host protein called ANKLE2, which happens to be important for brain development, to assist its own reproduction. Because Zika, unlike most related viruses, can cross the placenta, this can have disastrous consequences in pregnancy.