Advancing Health Worldwide Content

Total-Body PET Imaging Takes a Look at Long COVID

Andy Fell — August 28, 2025 - 9:59am

Using total-body PET imaging to get a better understanding of long COVID disease is the goal of a new project at the University of California, Davis, in collaboration with UC San Francisco. The project is funded by a grant of $3.2 million over four years from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

New Cancer Drug Could Help Cats and People

Amy M Quinton — August 28, 2025 - 8:00am

A new cancer treatment for cats could help humans too. New UC Davis cat clinical trial using UCSF developed drug shows the disease was controlled in 35% of cats, with minimal side effects.

Chromium-6, Nanosilver Detected in LA Fire Cleanup Zones

Katherine E Kerlin — August 27, 2025 - 9:53am

Air quality scientists have detected elevated levels of hexavalent chromium and silver in air samples collected from the debris cleanup zones for the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, which occurred January 2025 in Los Angeles County.

This Snail’s Eyes Grow Back: Could They Help Humans do the Same?

Andy Fell — August 06, 2025 - 12:30pm

Human eyes are complex and irreparable, yet they are structurally like those of the freshwater apple snail, which can completely regenerate its eyes. Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, studies how these snails regrow their eyes — with the goal of eventually helping to restore vision in people with eye injuries.

Psychedelics and Non-hallucinogenic Analogs Work Through the Same Receptor, Up to a Point

Andy Fell — August 04, 2025 - 2:00am

Understanding exactly how psychedelics promote new connections in the brain is critical to developing targeted, non-hallucinogenic therapeutics that can treat neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases. To achieve this, researchers are mapping the biochemical pathways involved in both neuroplasticity and hallucinations.

The Color Lab Uncovers the Soothing Effects of Light

Jocelyn C Anderson — July 28, 2025 - 9:15am

Veronica Then wore an electroencephalogram, or EEG, cap and stood in front of a black curtain with a white square placed behind her like a target. Studio lights beamed down from the ceiling as a panel of judges watched. The judges were anonymous, clad in white lab coats and white facemasks.

Finding Human Brain Genes in Duplicated DNA

Andy Fell — July 21, 2025 - 11:04am

What makes the human brain distinctive? A new study published July 21 in Cell identifies two genes linked to human brain features and provides a road map to discover many more. The research could lead to insights into the functioning and evolution of the human brain, as well as the roots of language disorders and autism.

What Cats May Teach Us About Long COVID

Amy M Quinton — July 14, 2025 - 5:00pm

UC Davis researchers find cats could help us learn about long COVID. They've found a new cell therapy boosts immune systems in cats with severe coronavirus.

Health Professions Students From Disadvantaged Backgrounds Often Faced Childhood Adversity

Amy M Quinton — June 25, 2025 - 10:36am

UC Davis graduate health professions students from socially disadvantaged groups are more likely to have had encountered adversity in their childhood.

Disposable E-Cigarettes More Toxic Than Traditional Cigarettes

Katherine E Kerlin — June 25, 2025 - 5:00am

They may look like travel shampoo bottles and smell like bubblegum, but after a few hundred puffs, some disposable, electronic cigarettes and vape pods release higher amounts of toxic metals than older e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes, according to a study from the University of California, Davis. For example, one of the disposable e-cigarettes studied released more lead during a day’s use than nearly 20 packs of traditional cigarettes.