College of Letters and Science Content

Tiny Earthquakes Reveal Hidden Faults Under Northern California

Andy Fell — January 15, 2026 - 11:54am

By tracking swarms of very small earthquakes, seismologists are getting a new picture of the complex region where the San Andreas fault meets the Cascadia subduction zone, an area that could give rise to devastating major earthquakes. The work, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Colorado Boulder, is published Jan. 15 in Science.

How is the Poverty Rate Determined?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — January 09, 2026 - 3:09pm

The U.S. is the world’s wealthiest nation and yet, year after year, a significant share of the population lives in poverty.

Creating Hallucination-free, Psychedelic-like Molecules by Shining Light on Life’s Basic Building Blocks

Andy Fell — January 07, 2026 - 4:17pm

�鶹��ý researchers have developed a new method that uses light to transform amino acids — the building blocks of proteins — into molecules that are similar in structure to psychedelics and mimic their interaction with the brain. Like psychedelics, these molecules activate the brain’s serotonin 5-HT_2A receptors, which promote cortical neuron growth, and could be candidates to treat a host of brain disorders, such as depression, substance-use disorder and PTSD. However, they don’t trigger hallmark hallucinogenic behavior in animal models.

�鶹��ý Degree To Be First for Family, Birthday Gift

Julia Ann Easley — December 09, 2025 - 10:47am

Editor’s note: Tickets are required for admission to commencement; to cover the ceremony, email jaeasley@ucdavis.edu or text 530-219-4545.

Trading smiles, Melissa Segura and her mother, Monica Segura, playfully warn each other not to start crying — either will set the other off.

New Study Charts How Cartel Violence Increases Risks for Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 08, 2025 - 11:25am

As the U.S. government turns its attention to drug cartels in Mexico, new research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that violent competition among criminal organizations increases the risks migrants face at the northern border.

“Migrants face significant dangers across all border regions where criminal organizations operate, but when rival groups fight for territorial control, those dangers escalate sharply,” said Oscar Contreras-Velasco, the study’s author and an assistant professor of sociology in the College of Letters and Science at �鶹��ý.

The Carbon Dioxide Climate Debt

Katherine E Kerlin — December 04, 2025 - 2:26pm

�鶹��ý experts describe the human barriers and opportunities for meaningful action to reduce global emissions and the world's staggering climate debt.

Weekender: Choir Concert; Recitals; Get Tickets for ‘Tentet’

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 04, 2025 - 8:50am

Gift guide, concerts, human library and more

How Do Personal Beliefs Influence Beliefs in Pseudoscience, Supernatural?

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — December 02, 2025 - 10:15am

The human mind doesn’t always seem to work rationally. Why do beliefs in pseudoscience, supernatural entities and conspiracy theories thrive even when they seem implausible or lack evidence?

For years, this question has puzzled cognitive and evolutionary scientists. Often, such extraordinary beliefs are explained as byproducts of cognitive biases that make the belief compelling and/or by social dynamics, like the pressure to fit in with a group.

Weekender: Last Weekend for Manetti Shrem; Art Gift Guide; Concerts

Karen Michele Nikos-Rose — November 25, 2025 - 9:46am

Today, in light of the Thanksgiving weekend, the Arts Blog is publishing on Tuesday to give you a head start on the holiday. And look for another Weekender next Thursday. Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor

Looking Inside Icy Moons

Andy Fell — November 24, 2025 - 10:43am

The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study published Nov. 24 in Nature Astronomy sheds light on what could be going on beneath the surface of these worlds and provides insights into how their diverse geologic features may have formed.