Driven by Curiosity Content

AI: A Tectonic Shift in Human Society

Andy Fell — October 08, 2024 - 3:59pm

The first time most people could communicate with a computer that responded like a real person was in 2022 when OpenAI publicly launched ChatGPT. Just two months later, the app set the record for the fastest-growing user base with 100 million monthly active users.

From Viruses to Galaxies, How Machine Learning Helps Scientific Discovery

Andy Fell — October 03, 2024 - 3:52pm

Peruse any news media outlet and you’ll probably find an article touting or warning about the potential impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on society. With the advent of publicly accessible generative AI models like ChatGPT, the field is having its moment in the sun like never before.

Sharks and Rays Leap Out of the Water for Many Reasons, Including Feeding, Courtship and Communication

Andy Fell — September 23, 2024 - 12:15pm

Many sharks and rays are known to breach, leaping fully or partly out of the water. In a recent study, colleagues and I reviewed research on breaching and ranked the most commonly hypothesized functions for it.

Researchers Identify Tooth Enamel Proteins That Offer Window into Human Health

Karen Michele Nikos — September 19, 2024 - 8:47am

Native Americans living in coastal Northern California during the Mission era were presumed to experience high rates of disease and stress.

Not until now, however, did scientists have hard evidence of their health issues, according to new research conducted in cooperation with Native descendants. A new way of looking at tooth enamel could give scientists a path to deeper understanding of the health of human populations — from the ancient to the modern. It is believed to be the first research of its kind.

Enrollment of Undocumented Students at California Universities Dropped from 2016 to 2023

Karen Michele Nikos — September 19, 2024 - 1:02am

Enrollment of low-income, undocumented students declined by half at ��ϲ�ͼ�� and California State University campuses from 2016 through the 2022-23 academic year, according to a new study by the ��ϲ�ͼ�� Civil Rights Project at UCLA and ��ϲ�ͼ�� School of Law.

��ϲ�ͼ�� Exceeds $1 Billion in Research Awards for Third Consecutive Year

Andy Fell — September 09, 2024 - 3:17pm

The ��ϲ�ͼ��, Davis, once again exceeded $1 billion in new external research awards in the fiscal year 2023-24, surpassing the amount received in the previous year by $33 million. The funding, which totaled $1.039 billion, will enable scientific discoveries and innovations addressing a wide range of global needs.

Recent Volcanoes on the Moon?

Andy Fell — September 04, 2024 - 3:09pm

New results from China’s Chang’e 5 lunar samples returned to Earth provide evidence for active volcanoes on the Moon as recently as 120 million years ago. Previously, scientists had thought that any activity with magma (molten rock) rising to the Moon’s surface ended billions of years ago.

LZ Experiment Sets New Record in Search for Dark Matter

Andy Fell — August 26, 2024 - 3:43pm

Figuring out the nature of dark matter, the invisible substance that makes up most of the mass in our universe, is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. New results from the world’s most sensitive dark matter detector, LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ), have narrowed down possibilities for one of the leading dark matter candidates: weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs.

Physicist Receives $1.25 Million Grant to Investigate Superconductivity

Andy Fell — August 22, 2024 - 2:09pm

��ϲ�ͼ�� physicist Inna Vishik is among the third annual cohort of Experimental Physics Investigators supported by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Vishik, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, joins 18 other researchers nationwide who will each receive a five-year, $1.25 million grant to pursue new research goals and explore uncharted, innovative ideas.

No Evidence of a Common Set of Regeneration Genes

Andy Fell — August 19, 2024 - 2:57pm

Some animals, especially those that have been around for a long time in evolutionary terms, possess extraordinary abilities to regenerate lost limbs or organs. These animals, such as flatworms, salamanders and zebrafish, are not at all closely related, suggesting that the ability to regenerate goes far back in evolutionary time. Is it possible to find a common set of genes for regeneration, that could unlock a new understanding of this process?