Egghead Content

Map of Genetic Regulation in Chickens Could Help Fight Against Bird Flu

Andy Fell — April 09, 2025 - 10:38am

An international team of researchers led by Professor Huaijun Zhou from the ��о�� Department of Animal Science has created the first-ever detailed map of how genes are regulated in chickens — a breakthrough that could help scientists breed birds that are more resistant to diseases like avian influenza.

California Rice and Conservation

Andy Fell — April 07, 2025 - 4:12pm

In 1991, the state of California largely banned burning of rice straw after harvest, and farmers turned instead to winter flooding of fields to break down straw. As a result, wildlife has flourished in rice fields which reproduce, to some extent, the wetland habitat that once covered most of California's Central Valley. Rice fields now support some 200 species including fish, birds and reptiles.

The Rise of Pseudocannabinoids

Andy Fell — April 02, 2025 - 11:07am

Developing pseudocannabinoids, synthetic molecules that mimic the activity of molecules found in cannabis plants, is the goal of research by Professor Mark Mascal in the ��о�� Department of Chemistry. Mascal recently received a $30,000, one-year seed grant, the Dr. Mohsen Najafi Research Award in Medicinal Chemistry, to advance his work.

Play Dives into the Life of Famed Mathematician Emmy Noether

Andy Fell — March 27, 2025 - 9:33am

Mathematics and theatrics combine this April in Diving into Math with Emmy Noether, a play about the pioneering and influential mathematician who is often referred to as the “mother of modern algebra.”

Holographic 3D Printing With Soundwaves

Andy Fell — March 26, 2025 - 2:50pm

In an operating room, doctors and technicians work on repairing a broken bone. There are no scalpels, no incisions — the skin is not broken.

No, this is not science fiction, but a potential application of a groundbreaking 3D printing method developed by Mohsen Habibi, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the ��о��.

Functional Flows and Native Fish

Andy Fell — February 25, 2025 - 3:44pm

There are many demands on California water, and one of them is how much water to leave in streams to protect native fish and ecosystems. A recent approach to this question is to look at "functional flows:" not so much the total amount of water, but when it is flowing and what it is doing.

NIH Renews Support for Lab Mouse Repository for Fifth Time

Andy Fell — February 13, 2025 - 3:59pm

The National Institutes of Health has renewed its grant to support the Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center at the ��о��. This is the 26th year of operation for the MMRRC and the fifth consecutive competitive renewal of the grant, now $7.2 million in total costs over the next five years.

Diving in Antarctica

Andy Fell — February 11, 2025 - 2:06pm

The McMurdo Dry Valleys don’t look like they belong in Antarctica. Largely devoid of snow, the landscape is mostly dirt and rock. When explorer Robert Falcon Scott trekked the area in 1903, he referred to it as “the valley of the dead.”

But that name is a misnomer. While life may not be evident to the naked eye, beneath the icy surface of Lake Fryxell, microscopic communities teem with life. Microbes, nematode worms and tardigrades thrive in this environment.

Tony Tyson: Sifting Through the Cosmic Noise

Andy Fell — February 07, 2025 - 9:51am

In a dark, light-tight room on the fifth floor of the ��о�� Physics Building, researchers recreate the night sky. But the simulated sky isn’t projected onto a wall or ceiling. Instead, a large, tube-like device, housed in a transparent cage, uses a reticle mask, also known as a photomask, to achieve the simulation. Wires crisscross the instrument — known as an optical simulator — and liquid nitrogen cools it when it’s in use.

Creating Nanoislands for Better Platinum Catalysts

Andy Fell — January 28, 2025 - 4:27pm

Noble metals such as platinum can make useful catalysts to accelerate chemical reactions, particularly hydrogenation (adding hydrogen atoms to a molecule). The research team led by Professor Bruce Gates at the ��о�� Department of Chemical Engineering is interested in making platinum catalysts that are highly efficient and stable during chemical reactions.