Human & Animal Health

Eric Chu, assistant professor in human ecology, has spent years studying how local governments and communities plan for and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Chu was recently chosen by the U.S. Global Change Research Program to help prepare the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), a congressionally mandated report on the science of climate change and its impacts on the country.

Humans acknowledge that personality goes a long way, at least for our species. But scientists have been more hesitant to ascribe personality — defined as consistent behavior over time — to other animals. 

From art to religion to land use, much of what is deemed valuable in the United States was shaped centuries ago by the white male perspective. Fish, it turns out, are no exception.

By Edwin Garcia

Sara Guevara-Plunkett knows what it’s like to rely on handouts during tough times.

At the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the UC Davis premed student looked forward to Tuesdays, the day when several “moms and pops” in Davis and Woodland take to the sidewalks where they set up tables and load them with groceries, clothes and toiletries. Guevara-Plunkett could take as much as she wanted. Free. No questions asked.

Farmers and agricultural employers can protect their business and their employees by supporting workers’ access to COVID-19 vaccines. It’s now faster and easier for farmers to help their workers get vaccinated, thanks to a new partnership program sponsored by the California Department of Public Health.

Teacher Patty Yeung kneels down with a container of ladybugs, and six tiny children encircle her like a hug. She gently lifts the lid, releasing a cloud of ladybugs into the spring garden at the Early Childhood Lab School.

“Open your palm and let them come to you,” Yeung says as the ladybugs flit amid the lavender and fava beans and the toddlers’ outstretched arms.

Testing employees with and without COVID-19 symptoms is an important part of California’s pandemic control strategy, even as more people become vaccinated. To make testing easier, employers, schools and community groups can team up with the California Department of Public Health to provide fast, on-site testing with little or no cost to local groups.

An estimated 334,000 COVID-19 cases are attributable to meatpacking plants, resulting in $11.2 billion in economic damage, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of California, Davis. The study was published in the journal Food Policy.

By UC Davis News and Media Relations

Young women today may face increased health risks linked to breast cancer due to effects from a banned toxic pesticide lasting over three generations, according to a new study from the Public Health Institute’s Child Health and Development Studies, or CHDS, and the University of California, Davis.

Waiting for your turn can be frustrating, especially when it comes to COVID-19 vaccinations. But prioritizing who receives the limited supply of vaccines available saves lives and reduces spread of infection, according to a study published today in the journal PNAS from the University of California, Davis.