Health & Medicine

An Engineering Approach to Solving Zika Virus 

Priya Shah, who holds appointments in the Departments of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, and the Department of Chemical Engineering, is deciphering the behavior of the Zika virus on animal cells to delve into the possibilities for mitigating the sickness in humans.  

"My lab is really interested in how viruses hijack cells and turn them into little, tiny viral factories," said Shah.   

Center for Neuroscience Researcher Studies the Transience of Memory

Why does memory fade? Why does it stay?

These questions, among others, occupy the mind of Charan Ranganath, a UC Davis psychology professor in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science and a core faculty member with the Center for Neuroscience. But the transient nature of memory isn’t just a focal point of Ranganath’s research. It’s something that he, like the rest of us, deals with daily. 

“As a memory researcher, the most common question that I get in my everyday life is, ‘Why am I so forgetful?’” Ranganath said. 

Understanding Why BRCA2 Is Linked to Cancer Risk

A new study shows exactly how the gene BRCA2, linked to susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer, functions to repair damaged DNA. By studying BRCA2 at the level of single molecules, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have generated new insights into the mechanisms of DNA repair and the origins of cancer. The work was published the week of March 27 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using Hydra to Understand Tissue Regeneration

The Greek hero Heracles fought a monster called the Hydra, which grew two new heads for each one he lopped off. Heracles was lucky he wasn’t fighting something with the regenerative ability of the real Hydra, which can re-grow its entire body from a few hundred cells. This simple water animal is helping scientists explore how some animals can regrow missing body parts.

Breaking the Loop Leading to Muscular Fibrosis

A team of UC Davis researchers is on a mission to solve a key mystery in the formation of muscular fibrosis. The researchers are studying why special stem cells known as fibro-adipogenic progenitors (FAPs) get derailed from normal muscle regeneration following injury, and instead produce excess material that can lead to fibrosis. The team may have unlocked a way to prevent these cells from getting stuck in an endless loop of collagen production, causing fibrotic muscles. 

Making Prosthetics More Lifelike

David Brockman, a retired CalFire captain and avid outdoorsman, built a deck in the backyard of his home last year, without the use of his dominant right hand, which he lost in an accident. The prosthetic hand he used instead was a crude but functional steel hook-and-harness device.

Brockman has tried other artificial limbs, including a high-tech prosthesis called a myoelectric. It looks like a hand and works by using electrical signals from muscles in the forearm. But that one just didn’t work for him.

Understanding Healthy Function of Tau, Protein Associated with Dementia

In Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative dementias, proteins that normally play a role in healthy brain tissue turn bad, clumping together to form insoluble plaques and tangles as neurons wither and die. Exactly how these proteins are connected to disease — and whether they can be targeted in some way to slow, stop or reverse its progression — remains a challenging problem.

Study Reveals How the Ovarian Reserve is Established

Fertility is finite for mammalian females. From birth, females possess a limited number of primordial follicles that are collectively called the ovarian reserve. Within each follicle is an oocyte that eventually becomes an egg. But with age, the viability of the ovarian reserve decreases.

“Despite its fundamental importance, our understanding how the ovarian reserve is established and maintained remains poor,” said UC Davis Professor Satoshi Namekawa, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.

Tenuous Tethers: Study Provides Live View into Interchromosomal Dynamics During Meiosis

In the choreography of meiosis—the process responsible for sex cell division in all eukaryotic life—the pairing of homologous chromosomes (homologs) is essential. Errors in this process can lead to an incorrect number of chromosomes in sex cells, which can result in birth defects and miscarriages. Despite being studied for more than 100 years, mysteries about the process still abound.