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Features

The Quiet Truth of Circadian Rhythm: Light and Phosphorylation

Jay is a college student at UC Davis studying Biology, but like most college students, he lacks a consistent sleep schedule due to his late-night bouts of studying on his computer. There are many factors that impact his sleep, such as caffeine intake, room temperature, noisy roommates... and the list continues. But surprisingly, light generates the largest impact on our sleep. And from light, phosphorylation occurs, driving cell signaling within the body. Light drives circadian rhythm as it causes phosphate groups to activate many of the necessary proteins within the sleep mechanism.

Bird-watching Around Davis during the Holiday Season

Each fall more than a billion birds transverse California’s Central Valley as they travel south along the Pacific Flyway. As these birds travel down the valley, many stop in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region south of Davis where thousands of bird-watchers come to meet them. The article guides prospective bird-watchers on the plethora of parks, preserves, and roadside stops in the areas surrounding Davis for observing all of the aural and visual wonders birds have to offer.

The Plant With 50,000 Uses

Cannabis, hemp, pot – are these all synonyms for the same plant? Also known as Cannabis sativa L., hemp is a tall, leafy green plant, with an herbaceous stem and palmate, serrated leaves. Each part of the plant has a use, from food products to construction materials to clothing. However, hemp and marijuana are unfortunately frequently conflated as the same plant, despite having significantly different chemical and physical properties and separate historical uses. Hemp is a misunderstood, underutilized plant crop, and its textile use is an untapped source in American markets.

Female and Male Contraceptive Techniques: How We Got Here

Outside of the 16% of male-directed contraceptive techniques, contraception seems to primarily rely on the cooperation of females. As discussed by Medical Anthropologist Emily Martin in her rhetorical analysis, “The Egg and the Sperm”, an apparent history of gender stereotypes has been hidden and unaddressed in scientific research. At first glance, such stereotypes may not seem obvious; however, the disparity of gendered-contraception reveals a clear disproportion of social perspective on sex and responsibility. Both men and women are limited by the options of contraception in different ways, which may be fueled by societal biases in marketing and research.

Listening and learning: noninvasive ecological research with passive acoustics

As the Anthropocene extinction crisis unfolds, effective monitoring of what biodiversity we have left is increasingly imperative. Emerging as an unlikely ally is sound, which, with the help of new technological advances, we can listen to gain clues about the ecology of wildlife with minimal disturbance to the environment. This feature explores the world of this new art of listening–passive acoustics– and how it could revolutionize ecology and conservation.

Retrospective on vulture declines in South Asia and its wider implications for avian populations worldwide

The recent deaths of large groups of vultures in the 2020s via anthropogenic toxins have sparked concern and highlighted the need for urgent action to protect one of the most endangered avian groups in the world. Understanding the underlying reasons why vulture poisonings occur and how the decline of vultures impacts wildlife and human communities helps inform what steps we can take to protect and restore their populations. One of the most well-documented vulture declines is that of the South Asian vulture population in 2012, which primarily impacted three Old-World species of vulture endemic to the region. Understanding the South Asian vulture population collapse and the subsequent conservation efforts can help prevent the same from happening to other vulture populations around the world.