@ucdavis.bsky.social Professor of Religious Studies, Archana Venkatesan, weighs in for the Los Angeles Times on Diwali becoming California’s 12th state-recognized holiday. Read more:

Los Angeles Times@latimes.com · yesterday

A local group filed a petition to stop a law that would make Diwali a state holiday in California. Here’s why https://www.latimes.com/california/newsletter/2026-08-04/diwali-state-holiday-is-on-hold-after-court-challenge-here-why?utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_ 

Real-time #brain mapping in motion: New #UCDavis research uses seizure-prevention implants, GPS, and eye tracking to reveal how individual neurons guide human navigation as we move. ucdav.is/4wclBaL

Forty years after the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity, scientists are still exploring one of physics' biggest mysteries. In a new article, UC Davis physicists Inna Vishik and Warren Pickett look back at the breakthrough — and what's still left to discover. @ucdavis.bsky.social

A Look Back at 40 Years of High-Temperature Superconductivity

It's been 40 years since the first demonstration of high-temperature superconductivity. A new article published in Nature written by UC Davis physicists Inna Vishik and Warren Pickett takes a retrospective look at “this strange state of matter.”

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Seven early career faculty members at UC Davis are being recognized with awards from the university and the UC Office of the President that highlight their research and creative exploration. Read more: https://ucdav.is/3TCmdIS

🧠 New UC Davis research explores how the adolescent brain shapes social development. A study found that activity in the amygdala while viewing emotional faces was linked to social health two years later, with different patterns for boys and girls. @ucdavis.bsky.social

How an Adolescent's Brain Reacts to Faces May Predict Their Social Future

It's been said that eyes are a window to the soul, but new research has found that an adolescent's brain response to a face might open a window to their social future. The UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain found that high activity It's been said that e...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

🌊 New UC Davis research challenges what scientists thought they knew about Earth's oceans. A study in Nature Communications found that melting Pacific icebergs can weaken the Atlantic's massive AMOC current system — revealing surprising connections across the global ocean. @ucdavis.bsky.social

Melting Icebergs Can Weaken a Massive, Far-Off Ocean Current System

Melting and breaking icebergs in the far-off, northeastern region of the Pacific Ocean can weaken a massive current system in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a University of California, Davis study published in Nature Communications.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

What happens when two major earthquakes strike just seconds apart? Following the devastating Venezuela earthquakes, seismologist Amanda Thomas explains what caused these rare events — and why earthquake science is essential for understanding and preparing for future hazards. @ucdavis.bsky.social

Where did the universe come from? What is it made of? What about the elements? UC Davis Professor Lloyd Knox joins us to discuss some 'minor' questions about the Cosmos. Watch the episode now: YouTube: https://bit.ly/4yoXN5O Apple: https://apple.co/4gCbuI4 Spotify: https://bit.ly/44tjaoF

What does it mean to be American? A new UC Davis feature brings together experts in history, law, political science and psychology to explore citizenship, belonging and the evolving idea of American identity. @ucdavis.bsky.social @ucdavislaw.bsky.social @ucdavispsych.bsky.social

How to Be American

The ways of being American since then have been as various as everyone who has built a life here. Learn about the legal and cultural definitions of what it means to be American in the year the nation celebrates its 250th birthday.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

The universe keeps surprising us. Every new discovery has the potential to reshape what we know about space, time, and the origins of everything. In our latest episode, cosmologist Lloyd Knox explores the mysteries of the cosmos — and why the biggest questions in science are far from settled.

🌊 Surf webcams are doing more than showing the waves 🌊 they’re helping researchers uncover Oregon’s summer fog patterns. A new study finds coastal fog isn’t a uniform blanket and can vary dramatically from beach to beach, shifting over short distances. caes.ucdavis.edu/news/surfing...

Surfing Webcams Help Demystify Oregon’s Coastal Fog

A summer beach day in Oregon often involves a cool, gray blanket of fog that not only shapes the experience of beachgoers, but also the coastal and inland environment. Now, commercially available surf...

caes.ucdavis.edu

How do we protect one of the world's largest freshwater wetlands? UC Davis alumna Goabaone Jaqueline Ramatlapeng combines water quality research, Indigenous knowledge and community engagement to help safeguard Botswana's Okavango Delta. @ucdavis.bsky.social

Protecting Botswana's Okavango Delta Through Water Conservation

Goabaone Jaqueline Ramatlapeng vividly remembers when she would go without water from domestic pipes for days. For the last eight years, those experiences drove her desire to help Botswana preserve its water resources as the country's first female hydro...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

🌌 A new chapter in astronomy has begun. The Vera Rubin Observatory has launched its 10-year Legacy Survey of Space and Time, creating what will become the most comprehensive time-lapse record of the Universe ever made.

Rubin Observatory Begins Capturing the Greatest Cosmic Movie Ever Made

From a mountaintop in Chile, under clear dark skies, NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory has begun the revolutionary Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST). The ten-year survey is Rubin's signature campaign to create the most comprehensive, cinematic reco...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Our faculty are shaping conversations far beyond campus. 🌎 From the future of the universe to immigration, psychology, politics, and public health, Letters and Science researchers were featured in news outlets around the world this June. @ucdavis.bsky.social Read more:

June Media Mentions

Every day faculty and students from the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis are highlighted in the news media, having their research featured and commenting on the most pressing issues facing the world. Check out some of these news media highligh...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

This month's Books of the Month highlight essay collections and interviews from Letters and Science authors exploring identity, migration, history, culture and belonging — including the newly released Freedom by English professor Zinzi Clemmons. @ucdavis.bsky.social @ucdavislibrary.bsky.social

American Essays and Interviews

Welcome to Books of the Month: The list kicks off with a newly published collection by Zinzi Clemmons, associate professor of English and director of creative writing at UC Davis. "Freedom: Essays" was published on June 9, 2026, just a month ahead of th...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Are you in charge of your social media algorithm? Where do you normally get your news? Check out Letters and Science Professor Amber Boydstun on Minds Over Matters. @ucdavis.bsky.social

Minds Over Matters@mindsovermatters.bsky.social · 3w ago

Where do you normally get your news? Political media expert Amber Boydstun has some thoughts. She shares her opinions on social media and news, as well as some advice on training your algorithm. YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QoDhAU Spotify: https://bit.ly/4gnpGEJ Apple: https://bit.ly/44jZTpH

Social future is different for boys and girls. A new study @ucdavis.bsky.social Center for Mind & Brain found that high activity in the amygdala when an adolescent looks at a face showing emotions predicts their social health 2 years later. www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/... @ucdavismind.bsky.social

How an Adolescent’s Brain Reacts to Faces May Predict Their Social Future

UC Davis researchers have found how an adolescent's brain responds to a face might predict how well they socialize in the future.

ucdavis.edu

Scientists @ucdavis found that melting icebergs in the Pacific Ocean can weaken a massive ocean current system in the Atlantic Ocean. @natcomms.nature.com @ucdlands.bsky.social www.ucdavis.edu/news/melting...

Melting Icebergs Can Weaken a Massive, Far-Off Ocean Current System

Melting and breaking icebergs in the far-off, northeastern region of the Pacific Ocean can weaken a massive current system in the Atlantic Ocean, according to a University of California, Davis study p...

ucdavis.edu

How do people learn about AI? UC Davis researcher Tina Law is analyzing 50,000+ YouTube videos to better understand how artificial intelligence is explained online — and how that influences AI governance and public oversight. @ucdavis.bsky.social Read more at the Letters and Science Magazine:

Study of YouTube Videos to Lay Foundation for Increasing Public AI Governance

With support from a UCOP Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award, sociologist Tina Law expands is constructing and analyzing a database of more than 50,000 YouTube videos to learn how they contribute to the general public's understanding of AI an...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Scroll break 😌 For today's break, we bring you yet another beautiful sunny day on campus, complete with the sounds of UC Davis. •••••• Video description: People are walking and talking on campus. The frame focuses on a portion of the walkway with a full bike rack and a large tree overhead.

Why does one bad experience have the power to overshadow an otherwise good day? UC Davis Psychologist Alison Ledgerwood recently joined Shankar Vedantam to discuss why our minds are drawn to losses and threats, and what it takes to rebalance our attention. @ucdavis.bsky.social Listen in:

Stepping Out of the Shadows - Hidden Brain Media

Why does one bad experience have the power to overshadow an otherwise good day? We explore the negativity bias, and ways to rebalance our attention.

hiddenbrain.org

From mycelium bricks to protein engineering, the UC Davis BioInnovation Lab gives undergraduate students hands-on experience tackling real-world research questions. It's experiential learning with real scientific impact. @ucdavis.bsky.social Read more at the Letters and Science Magazine:

BioInnovation Lab Connects UC Davis Undergraduate Students to Real-World Research

A maker space for undergraduate research, the BioInnovation Lab provides a place for students to learn basic lab skills, experiment, innovate and contribute to research while also providing access to technologies they might not otherwise have. Explore h...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Professor David E. Olson has been named editor-in-chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience. A leader in chemical neuroscience and psychoplastogen research, Olson will help guide one of the field's premier journals while continuing groundbreaking neuroscience research. @ucdavis.bsky.social Read more:

David E. Olson Appointed Editor-in-Chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience

David E. Olson, a professor of chemistry, and biochemistry and molecular medicine at the University of California, Davis, was recently appointed editor-in-chief of ACS Chemical Neuroscience, a transdisciplinary publication of the American Chemical Socie...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

Is there anything we can really do about climate change? This week, we're joined by sedimentary geochemist and paleoclimatologist Isabel Montañez, whose research suggests the guide to our future may lie in climates of the past. YouTube: https://bit.ly/4fbVJW2 Apple: https://apple.co/4pb2U5e

What makes a city thrive? At this month’s Davis Science Café, UC Davis professor Catherine Brinkley discussed how city planning, environmental justice, and community engagement shape healthier communities — and why residents should help guide that process. @ucdavis.bsky.social Learn more:

The Science of City Planning: Catherine Brinkley on Building Healthier Communities

How do cities plan for the future? UC Davis Professor Catherine Brinkley discusses urban planning, environmental justice and community development at a recent June Davis Science Café.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

UC Davis psychology Ph.D. student Emily Noyer is studying how personality traits and social support shape recovery outcomes. Inspired by her own experience overcoming chronic pain, her research explores the science of resilience. Read more at the Letters and Science Magazine: @ucdavis.bsky.social

How Personality and Social Support Can Help Us Recover when Life Goes Wrong

Emily Noyer, a Ph.D. student in psychology at UC Davis, is testing how our personalities and the people around us affect our chances of recovery when illness or injury turn life upside down.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

How do you study something you can't see? UC Davis physicist Nancy Aggarwal is developing new technologies to detect gravitational waves and improve the search for dark matter, potentially revealing some of the universe's biggest mysteries. @ucdavis.bsky.social

In a Quiet Room: A UC Davis Physicist's Search for Gravitational Waves and Dark Matter

An expert in quantum precision measurements, Nancy Aggarwal creates technologies to detect the universe's unseen phenomena. In her lab, she's developing two major experimental platforms: a first-of-its-kind gravitational-wave observatory and precision m...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

The Supreme Court ruled yesterday to uphold the 14th Amendment, but what is Birthright Citizenship? Has it been challenged before? We sat down with an expert from UC Davis to dive into the history of citizenship in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Read more: @ucdavis.bsky.social

A Brief History of Citizenship in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Historian Gregory Downs explains the complicated history of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, including subsequent laws that undermined equal protections it guaranteed, as well as the court case...

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu

The Associated Press@apnews.com · last mo.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump’s proposed limits.

Andreas Albrecht, professor emeritus in the UC Davis Department of Physics and Astronomy, is featured in the latest installment of #AmongTheAcademies. Read more about Albrecht's journey from being the first cosmologist hired at UC Davis and beyond: https://ucdav.is/3QsKOio

What role do metal micronutrients play in human health? UC Davis chemist Marie Heffern is studying how metals like copper, iron, and zinc influence hormones, disease biomarkers, and conditions such as diabetes, advancing the emerging field of metalloendocrinology. @ucdavis.bsky.social

What Metal Micronutrients Can Tell Us About Health, Disease and Diabetes

UC Davis chemist Marie Heffern is studying how metal micronutrients like copper, iron and zinc influence diabetes, hormone function and human health.

lettersandsciencemag.ucdavis.edu