Research

Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the U.S. New work from the Center for Immunology and Infectious Diseases at UC Davis shows that it may be feasible to create a vaccine against the bacterial infection.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis, have found a link between traffic-related air pollution and an increased risk for age-related dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease in a rodent model study.

There are many similarities between the usage, and consequent injury, in knee joints and the jaw’s temporomandibular joint (TMJ). However, knee orthopedics are better researched and funded, resulting in tissue-engineered products and other ways to improve the lives of those affected. Dr. Boaz Arzi, professor and dentist/maxillofacial surgeon with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, joined biomedical engineers and orthopedic surgeons from UC Irvine, orthopedic surgeons from Harvard University, oral/maxillofacial surgeons from the University of Texas, and oral/maxillofacial radiologists to research the subject further.

Genomic surveillance programs have let scientists track the coronavirus over the course of the pandemic. By testing patient samples, researchers are able to diagnose COVID-19. But they’re also able to use genetic changes in the virus to recreate its travel routes and identify the emergence of new viral variants.

Genome sequencing of thousands of SARS-CoV-2 samples shows that surges of COVID-19 cases are driven by the appearance of new coronavirus variants, according to new UC Davis research.

The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has topped Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research’s ranking of U.S. Schools of Veterinary Medicine, handily capturing the top spot for the twelfth year in a row.

A new study led by UC Davis shows how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and SARS-CoV-1, which caused the 2003 SARS outbreak, are related to each other.

New research has reported the warmblood fragile foal syndrome (WFFS) allele in 21 breeds. The study, an international collaboration led by UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory Director Rebecca Bellone, screened more than 4,000 horses from 38 different horse breeds in the United States and Europe.

Heart disease is a killer threat for southern sea otters feasting on domoic acid in their food web, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis.

In a promising result for the success of vaccines against COVID-19, rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the human coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 developed protective immune responses that might be reproduced with a vaccine. Results suggest lasting immunity after infection.

On Jan. 11, the San Diego Zoo announced members of its gorilla troop had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the first known instance of natural transmission to great apes.

Dr. Mary Thurber, DVM, DACZM, a former UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine resident in zoological medicine, was named a recipient of the 2020 Society of Phi Zeta Research Manuscript Award. Phi Zeta, the international honor society of veterinary medicine, annually recognizes two research awards in the Basic Science category and the Clinical Science category.

A recent study by Sarah Shaffer, Dr. Susan Stover and colleagues at the J.D. Wheat Orthopedic Laboratory at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine sought to characterize bone abnormalities that precede proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) fractures and determine if pre-existing abnormalities are associated with these fractures. The group retrospectively studied cases from California Thoroughbred racehorses that died from PSB fractures, and controls that died for other reasons.

Three major initiatives in biodiversity genomics — BIOSCAN, the Earth BioGenome Project and the Global Virome Project — have joined forces to deliver a “pandemic interception system” based upon comprehensive knowledge of pathogens and their hosts.