Human Ecology

Gene Can Help Fend off Devastating Strain of Stem Rust  

UC Davis wheat geneticist Jorge Dubcovsky and his team have identified a gene that enables resistance to a new devastating strain of stem rust, a fungal disease that is hampering wheat production throughout Africa and Asia and threatening food security worldwide.

Measuring parental stress and child development in Mexican-origin families   A UC Davis expert in human development is weighing the unique, daily challenges and stresses that affect young parents and babies of Mexican origin in California.

The novel research, funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, could improve the well-being of thousands of families in this growing yet underserved population.

UC Davis Team Chosen as Part of Resilient by Design’s Bay Area Challenge  

UC Davis faculty are part of a multidisciplinary design team chosen to develop solutions to strengthen the San Francisco’s Bay Area’s resilience to the impact of climate change, such as sea-level rise, severe storms and flooding.

Problem-solving skills may improve, too

Editor’s note: As the school year begins, this story is one in a series on UC Davis’ role in researching K-12 education.

Early adolescents’ grades were higher when they socialized with peers from other ethnicities, according to the findings of a University of California, Davis, study that looked at the lunching habits of more than 800 sixth-graders in three states.

‘Putting Youth on the Map’ wins IT Sautter Award

An interactive website called “Putting Youth on the Map” has landed UC Davis on a different map, as a top winner in the UC system’s annual Larry L. Sautter Award Program for Innovation in Information Technology. 

UC Davis researchers find the connection

Research on depression in adolescents in recent years has focused on how the physical brain and social experiences interact. A new University of California, Davis, study, however, shows that adolescents with large hippocampal volume were more, or less, susceptible to feelings of depression depending on how unsafe — or conversely — protected they felt in their home and community environments.

Ron Tjeerdema named to NAS committee on dispersants for oil spills

Ronald Tjeerdema, CA&ES Associate Dean for Environmental Sciences, has been named to a select committee for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that will evaluate the use of dispersants in future oil spills.

 “I am looking forward to contributing my 30 years of experience in oil spill research,” said Tjeerdema, who is a professor in the Department of Environmental Toxicology and also holds the Donald G. Crosby Endowed Chair in Environmental Chemistry.

Our genes can influence how we respond to stress. Science shows that some people are more genetically predisposed than others to develop depression and anxiety in response to stressful situations.

What’s more, researchers say that chronic exposure to stressful conditions—such as poverty, family discord, and poor nutrition—can alter the way genes behave in children and adolescents, making them more susceptible to depression, anxiety, and other negative effects of stress.   

Student Farm director receives namesake award from Sustainable Agriculture Education Association

Mark Van Horn, director of the UC Davis Student Farm, was awarded the inaugural Mark Van Horn On-Farm Educator Award, established by the Sustainable Agriculture Education Association and presented during the association’s recent biennial conference. 

 

Two CA&ES graduates among six UC Davis recipients

Two graduates of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are among six UC Davis students and alumni to be awarded a grant under the Fulbright U.S. Student Program to study and work abroad as cultural ambassadors.

Courtney Jallo

 

Courtney Jallo is both an alumna and employee of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. She plans to research land management practices and agroforestry important to the Kandy area of Sri Lanka.