DNA evidence has revolutionized forensic science in the past few years, cracking open cold cases and bringing both convictions and exonerations. The same techniques help archaeologists and anthropologists studying remains from ancient peoples or human ancestors. 

But DNA is a relatively fragile molecule that breaks down easily. That’s where proteomics, the new science of analyzing proteins, comes in. By reading the sequence of amino acids from fragments of protein, scientists can work backwards to infer the sequence of DNA that produced the protein. 

What can we learn from a fish that adapts quickly to lethal levels of pollution?

Evolution is working hard to rescue some urban fish from a lethal, human-altered environment, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis, and published Dec. 9 in the journal Science.

UC Davis has a large concentration of air quality experts, including these CA&ES scientists

Qi Zhang
"The atmosphere is like a big reactor that's always cooking stuff," says Qi Zhang, a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology.

Zhang and colleagues study the chemistry and physical properties of aerosols—atmospheric particulate matter and aerial droplets—that cause poor air quality and affect human health. Her research has taken her all over the world to analyze air samples with sophisticated equipment.