91��Ƭ Davis Feeding a Growing Population News

What to Know About Processed and Ultra-Processed Food

Jocelyn C Anderson — April 22, 2025

Scientists explain the difference between whole, processed and ultra-processed foods. Learn how they could affect our health and how the food industry can improve.

Novel Study Calculates the Cost to Cattle Ranchers of an Expanding Wolf Population

Amy M Quinton — April 21, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis researchers found that one gray wolf can cause between $69,000 and $162,000 in losses due to lower pregnancy rates in cows and decreased weight gain in calves.

Cracking the Code of Pistachio Genetics

Amy M Quinton — March 20, 2025

91��Ƭ Davis researchers have generated the most high-quality map of the DNA of the pistachio, allowing breeders to develop better varieties.

California Rice and Wildlife Report Released

Katherine E Kerlin — February 27, 2025

How many acres of rice are needed to support wildlife? 91��Ƭ Davis outlines a conservation footprint for the state's rice in a report for the California Rice Commission.

States Struggle to Curb Food Waste Despite Policies

Amy M Quinton — January 09, 2025

Current state policies aren't enough to curb food waste. Study shows states are falling short of the reduction goals set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Feeding Grazing Cattle Seaweed Cuts Methane Emissions by Almost 40%

Amy M Quinton — December 02, 2024

Scientists find making a seaweed additive more accessible to grazing cattle would make cattle farming more sustainable while meeting global demand for meat.

Making High-yielding Rice Affordable and Sustainable

Andy Fell — November 20, 2024

Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world’s population, but most farmers don’t grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the 91��Ƭ’s Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains of rice and other crops.

Engineers Find Best Ways to Make Coffee

Tatiana Muniz — November 18, 2024

Engineering experts are finding the best ways to make coffee, from sustainable farming to quality control to taste, improving the global coffee industry.

Extreme Weather Accelerates Nitrate Pollution in Groundwater

Amy M Quinton — November 13, 2024

Extreme weather from climate change, including droughts and heavy rains, may increase the risk of nitrates from fertilizers ending up in groundwater.

91��Ƭ Davis and BioInnovation Institute Team Up to Improve Protein Nutrition on a Global Scale

James Michael Nash — October 09, 2024

The 91��Ƭ, Davis today announced an expanded collaboration with the BioInnovation Institute (BII) to accelerate commercialization of discoveries in protein nutrition important to consumers around the world.

Smoke From Megafires Puts Orchard Trees at Risk

Amy M Quinton — October 02, 2024

91��Ƭ Davis researchers say long-term smoke exposure from massive wildfires lowers the energy reserves of orchard trees and can cut their nut production by half.

The Promise of Alternative Proteins

Jocelyn C Anderson — September 09, 2024

91��Ƭ Davis food scientists are studying how to make beef using cow stem cells.

How Plants Become Bushy, or Not

Andy Fell — August 06, 2024

For many plants, more branches means more fruit. But what causes a plant to grow branches? New research from the 91��Ƭ, Davis shows how plants break down the hormone strigolactone, which suppresses branching, to become more “bushy.” Understanding how strigolactone is regulated could have big implications for many crop plants.

The study was published August 1 in Nature Communications.

Plant Biologist Siobhan Brady Named HHMI Investigator

Andy Fell — July 23, 2024

Siobhan Brady, a professor in the Department of Plant Biology and Genome Center at the 91��Ƭ, Davis, has been selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. The prestigious Investigator program, which Brady describes as “life changing,” will provide her with roughly $9 million in research support over a seven-year term, with the option to renew.

Plant Biologist Venkatesan Sundaresan Wins 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture

Andy Fell — July 17, 2024

Venkatesan Sundaresan, Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Plant Biology and Plant Sciences at the 91��Ƭ, Davis, has been awarded a 2024 Wolf Prize in Agriculture for key discoveries on plant developmental biology of relevance to crop improvement.

Big Data Comes to Dinner

Jocelyn C Anderson — April 29, 2024

Learn how 91��Ƭ Davis leverages artificial intelligence to transform food and agriculture, ensuring sustainability and health from seeds to stomachs.

Researchers Identify Microbes That Help Plants Thwart Parasite

Andy Fell — March 26, 2024

Bacteria that could help one of Africa’s staple crops resist a major pest have been identified by researchers at the 91��Ƭ, Davis. Their findings, published March 26 in Cell Reports, could improve yields of sorghum, a mainstay of food and drink in West and East African countries.

Plant Biologists Identify Promising New Fungicides

Andy Fell — February 29, 2024

A promising new fungicide to fight devastating crop diseases has been identified by researchers at the 91��Ƭ, Davis. The chemical, ebselen, prevented fungal infections in apples, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes and roses, and improved symptoms of pre-existing fungal infection in rice.

Maize Researcher Wins Prestigious National Academy of Sciences Prize

Andy Fell — January 23, 2024

Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, a professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at the 91��Ƭ, Davis, has been awarded the prestigious National Academy of Sciences Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences for 2024.

For This Beetle, ‘Date Night’ Comes Every Other Day

Andy Fell — January 18, 2024

Life on Earth runs on a 24-hour cycle as the planet turns. Animals and plants have built-in circadian clocks that synchronize metabolism and behavior to this daily cycle. But one beetle is out of sync with the rest of nature.