Research

The Curious Life of California Oak Gall Wasps

Using long fruit pickers, a UC Davis research team fans out along Putah Creek, plucking the tiny homes of gall wasps from the branches of oak trees. These small, round growths, created by California oak gall wasps, protect their larvae. In the lab, researchers are raising the insects and searching for clues about this cryptic species that’s all around yet rarely noticed.

USDA's New Research Center Set to Advance Innovation in Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, broke ground this week on its new Agricultural Research and Technology Center – a facility located in Davis that will feature specialized labs, greenhouses and research space to tackle key issues in agriculture. In this new center, UC Davis and the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) will continue its long-standing collaboration to advance projects in sustainable agriculture, invasive species, water management, soil health and more.

UC Davis Researchers Are Highly Cited

Sixteen UC Davis researchers have been named in the annual Highly Cited Researchers 2019 list released by the Web of Science Group, which compiles statistics on scientific publishing. The list identifies scientists and social scientists who have published multiple papers ranking in the top 1 percent by citations in a particular field and year, over a 10-year period. 

Citation counts represent how often a particular paper has been cited in other scientific publications. 

UC Davis researchers included in this year’s list are:

Grasslands More Reliable Carbon Sink Than Trees

In Wildfire-Prone California, Grasslands a Less Vulnerable Carbon Offset Than Forests

Forests have long served as a critical carbon sink, consuming about a quarter of the carbon dioxide pollution produced by humans worldwide. But decades of fire suppression, warming temperatures and drought have increased wildfire risks — turning California’s forests from carbon sinks to carbon sources.

New insight into why Pierce’s disease is so deadly to grapevines

Research could help diagnose disease early and increase plant health

Scientists are gaining a better understanding of Pierce’s disease and how it affects grapevines. The disease, which annually costs California more than $100 million, comes from a bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa. While the bacterium has been present in the state for more than 100 years, Pierce’s disease became a more serious threat to agriculture with the arrival of the glassy-winged sharpshooter insect, which can carry the bacterium from plant to plant.

Even better for baby

Bifidobacteria supplement colonizes gut of breastfed infants

Supplementing breastfed infants with activated Bifidobacterium infantis (B. infantis) bacteria had a positive impact on babies’ gut microbes for up to a year, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Evolve BioSystems Inc.