Egghead Content

Taking Dark Energy Out of the Equation

Katherine E Kerlin — May 27, 2026 - 2:24pm

Mathematicians are challenging the idea that dark energy is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the universe.

A DNA-Organizing Protein Offers New Insight into Infertility, IVF and Generational Health

Andy Fell — May 19, 2026 - 2:08pm

The causes of male infertility can be hard to diagnose, with many tests failing to detect genetic defects. Sometimes, infertility doesn’t even involve the genes themselves. It can arise from improper folding of the father’s DNA in the sperm. If a couple conceives, this mispackaged DNA can damage the lifelong health of the child.

Egghead Weekend Basket for May 8

Andy Fell — May 08, 2026 - 10:24am

This week in 51�ԹϺ�� Davis science news, we go from the far reaches of the Universe to the human heart, survey western wildfires and take a trip to Alcatraz.

Cold Hands, Warm Heart — Researchers Solve Medical Mystery

Andy Fell — May 04, 2026 - 10:40am

The saying “cold hands, warm heart” is usually meant metaphorically — but new research from 51�ԹϺ�� Davis School of Medicine and collaborating institutions suggests it has a striking biological parallel.

Egghead Weekend Basket for April 24

Andy Fell — April 24, 2026 - 12:22pm

This week's round up of research ranges from plant clones to wildfires with a detour into helping families in poverty. Also, geese.

Propagating plants without mutations

A cool thing about plants is that you can generally grown an entire new copy of a plant from any small piece of it. People have been doing this for centuries by growing plants from cuttings.

Not All Clones Are Created Equal

Andy Fell — April 24, 2026 - 11:12am

Plant scientists use clones for their research, but they’re different from the kind people grow from cuttings. Scientists grow these clones in Petri dishes by the thousands, along with a potential headache: The resulting little plants can carry loads of mutations that must be culled out for research to continue.

Egghead Weekend Basket for April 17

Andy Fell — April 17, 2026 - 2:56pm

It's the 112th 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Picnic Day tomorrow (April 18) and whether your tastes run to cockroach races or fashion, there's something for every taste on campus. A rundown from Dateline and highlights of arts activities here.

And in research news from the past couple of weeks:

Discovery of Addison's Disease Gene in Dogs Could Help Humans, Too

Andy Fell — April 14, 2026 - 3:45pm

Among dog breeds, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers (tollers) have an unusually high rate of Addison's disease, a condition in which the adrenal glands do not produce enough hormones, notably cortisol and aldosterone. In humans, Addison's disease is thought to occur when the body's immune system attacks the adrenal glands, making it a type of autoimmune disease.

Good News for Pasta Lovers: Durum Wheat Resistant to Deadly Stripe Rust Developed

Andy Fell — April 13, 2026 - 4:10pm

On a sunny day in early April, young wheat plants stood waist-high in test fields near the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis campus, their heads full of still-green grain. A walk along some furrows left pants and boots covered with a fine, orange dust. These plants were bred to fight a stubborn pathogen that threatens the world’s wheat: stripe rust.

New Visual Analysis Tool Calms the Climate Data Storm

Andy Fell — April 10, 2026 - 11:28am

Climate models generate billions of data points, but traditional analysis methods can't keep up. 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Ph.D. student Yuya Kawakami developed ClimateSOM, an interactive visualization tool that helps scientists explore thousands of climate futures and uncover patterns that current methods can miss.