Human & Animal Health

As California lawmakers consider legislation that would require “high sugar” warning labels on restaurant menus, a University of California, Davis, study shows that the labels are effective in dissuading diners from ordering sugary items.

A wind-driven brush fire in Simi Valley could push east sending flames and smoke plumes into parts of Los Angeles, less than 18 months after catastrophic wildfires hit the communities of Altadena and Pacific Palisades. 

The lessons from those twin 2025 fires are still being learned as researchers from University of California, Davis, other institutions in the state and the country are working to understand the effect on air quality, human health and the environment. 

Every dollar spent on forest fuel treatments saves about $3.75 in wildfire damages, according to a new study, led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, of nearly 300 fires in the western United States.

Across an expanse of open grassland in Sacramento County, an eight-foot, stream cut bank holds dozens of mud-domed bird nests, where tiny heads peeked out before a colony of cliff swallows took flight. Cliff swallows are small migratory birds that arrive in the Central Valley each spring to breed, and while they now commonly nest on bridges and freeway overpasses, finding their nests built in a natural setting is a striking and special sight, particularly in California’s Central Valley.

A basic income program in Yolo County — one of the first such programs nationwide — lifted unhoused families above the California poverty line for two years. Families could, for a while, spend less time worrying about money and more time being a family, according to new University of California, Davis, research. 

The program provided a monthly stipend to 76 mostly single-parent families between 2022 and 2024, helping them gain housing, food and general wellbeing for two years. 

Packaged foods offer convenience for families and individuals, but they can be a major source of saturated fat, sodium and added sugars, which when consumed in excess contribute to chronic disease. To help people build healthier diets, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed a new front-of-package nutrition label in January 2025 that would inform consumers about the presence of these nutrients.

A major

Teens who are lonely and those who experience conflict in their home life are more likely to act aggressively toward peers or become victims themselves. These are some of the findings in a new University of California, Davis, study that creates a detailed picture of children’s social lives by identifying patterns and predictors of adolescent social health. 

Plants have resources, and bacteria want them. Plants have gates on their leaves to keep the thieves out. But a nasty bug called Salmonella has figured out how to trick plants into opening up their safety gates so it can sneak in and live happily inside.

When people eat those contaminated leaves, they can get sick, sometimes severely. Because the bacteria are actually inside the leaves, they cannot be removed by washing.

Walk down the aisles of many grocery stores and you’re liable to see claims about products that are “good for gut health,” from yogurt and kombucha to supplements and even sodas. But despite its popularity, the phrase can mean different things to different people and lacks a shared scientific definition.