Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ of Letters and Science Content / Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ of Letters and Science Content for UC Davis en UC Davis Degree To Be First for Family, Birthday Gift /news/uc-davis-degree-be-first-family-birthday-gift <p><em><strong>Editor’s note:</strong> Tickets are required for admission to commencement; to cover the ceremony, email&nbsp;</em><a href="mailto:jaeasley@ucdavis.edu"><em>jaeasley@ucdavis.edu</em></a><em> or text 530-219-4545.</em></p><p>Trading smiles, Melissa Segura and her mother, Monica Segura, playfully warn each other not to start crying — either will set the other off.</p> December 09, 2025 - 10:47am Julia Ann Easley /news/uc-davis-degree-be-first-family-birthday-gift New Study Charts How Cartel Violence Increases Risks for Migrants at the U.S.-Mexico Border /news/new-study-charts-how-cartel-violence-increases-risks-migrants-us-mexico-border <p>As the U.S. government turns its attention to drug cartels in Mexico, new research from the University of California, Davis, suggests that violent competition among criminal organizations increases the risks migrants face at the northern border.</p><p>“Migrants face significant dangers across all border regions where criminal organizations operate, but when rival groups fight for territorial control, those dangers escalate sharply,†said Oscar Contreras-Velasco, the study’s author and an assistant professor of sociology in the Ñî¹óåú´«Ã½ of Letters and Science at UC Davis.</p> December 08, 2025 - 11:25am Karen Michele Nikos-Rose /news/new-study-charts-how-cartel-violence-increases-risks-migrants-us-mexico-border The Carbon Dioxide Climate Debt /climate/news/carbon-dioxide-climate-debt UC Davis experts describe the human barriers and opportunities for meaningful action to reduce global emissions and the world's staggering climate debt. December 04, 2025 - 2:26pm Katherine E Kerlin /climate/news/carbon-dioxide-climate-debt Weekender: Choir Concert; Recitals; Get Tickets for ‘Tentet’ /arts/blog/weekender-choir-concert-recitals-tentet Gift guide, concerts, human library and more December 04, 2025 - 8:50am Karen Michele Nikos-Rose /arts/blog/weekender-choir-concert-recitals-tentet How Do Personal Beliefs Influence Beliefs in Pseudoscience, Supernatural? /blog/curiosity/how-do-personal-beliefs-influence-beliefs-pseudosscience-supernatural <p><span lang="EN-US">The human mind doesn’t always seem to work rationally. Why do beliefs in pseudoscience, supernatural entities and conspiracy theories thrive even when they seem implausible or lack evidence?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p><span lang="EN-US">For years, this question has puzzled cognitive and evolutionary scientists. Often, such extraordinary beliefs are explained as byproducts of cognitive biases that make the belief compelling and/or by social dynamics, like the pressure to fit in with a group.</span></p> December 02, 2025 - 10:15am Karen Michele Nikos-Rose /blog/curiosity/how-do-personal-beliefs-influence-beliefs-pseudosscience-supernatural Weekender: Last Weekend for Manetti Shrem; Art Gift Guide; Concerts /arts/blog/weekender-last-weekend-manetti-shrem-art-gift-guide-concerts <p><em><strong>Today, in light of the Thanksgiving weekend, the Arts Blog is publishing on Tuesday to give you a head start on the holiday. And look for another Weekender next Thursday. Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor</strong></em></p> November 25, 2025 - 9:46am Karen Michele Nikos-Rose /arts/blog/weekender-last-weekend-manetti-shrem-art-gift-guide-concerts Looking Inside Icy Moons /news/looking-inside-icy-moons <p>The outer planets of the Solar System are swarmed by ice-wrapped moons. Some of these, such as Saturn’s moon Enceladus, are known to have oceans of liquid water between the ice shell and the rocky core and could be the best places in our solar system to look for extraterrestrial life. A new study published Nov. 24 in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-025-02713-5">Nature Astronomy</a> sheds light on what could be going on beneath the surface of these worlds and provides insights into how their diverse geologic features may have formed.&nbsp;</p> November 24, 2025 - 10:43am Andy Fell /news/looking-inside-icy-moons How Earth’s Greatest Extinction Really Happened /blog/how-earths-greatest-extinction-really-happened <p><span lang="EN-US">Around 252 million years ago, the Earth experienced its largest mass extinction. Known as the “Great Dying,†this cataclysmic event wiped out more than 81% of marine species and 70% of life on land.&nbsp;</span></p> November 21, 2025 - 1:18pm Andy Fell /blog/how-earths-greatest-extinction-really-happened Weekender: New Dance Performance; 'Paradise Lost' Concert; More Concerts /arts/blog/weekender-new-dance-performance-week-paradise-lost-concert-many-concerts <h2>Catch 'Control/Shift' this week</h2><p><span><strong>Center for the Performing Arts, continuing Nov. 20, 21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.</strong></span></p> November 20, 2025 - 12:00am Karen Michele Nikos-Rose /arts/blog/weekender-new-dance-performance-week-paradise-lost-concert-many-concerts Rocks on Faults Can Heal Following Seismic Movement /news/rocks-faults-can-heal-following-seismic-movement <p>Earthquake faults deep in the Earth can glue themselves back together following a seismic event, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The work, published Nov. 19 in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz2832">Science Advances</a> and supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, adds a new factor to our understanding of the behavior of faults that can give rise to major earthquakes.&nbsp;</p> November 19, 2025 - 12:05pm Andy Fell /news/rocks-faults-can-heal-following-seismic-movement