Unfold

As another wildfire season begins, Unfold heads into the burn zones of last year’s fires in Los Angeles County. UC Davis and University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists are learning what the fires left behind — both on the ground and in the air. You’ll hear about one Altadena fire survivor’s efforts to save his oak trees and about a highly toxic carcinogen detected in the air over millions of people. Researchers are building a new kind of fire science, because the fires are changing and science is racing to keep up.

In this episode:

Alessandro Ossola, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences

Chris Shogren, environmental horticulture advisor, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources

Michael Kleeman, professor, UC Davis Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Read an in-depth In Focus story on what scientists are learning from the fires in Altadena and the Palisades.

What does the world look like to a cow and why do goats spook so easily? New tools are helping people experience how livestock perceive and respond to their surroundings—leading to safer, lower-stress handling for animals and the people who raise them. UC Davis researchers and veterinarians are bringing these tools to ranchers and others, showing how understanding animal behavior improves welfare in real-world settings. In this episode of Unfold, we explore where science meets the herd.

In this episode:

Cassandra Tucker, professor with the UC Davis animal science department and co-founder of Kinder Ground

Fauna Smith, assistant professor of livestock herd health and reproduction, UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine

Thandi Nixon, third-year veterinary student at UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine

Temple Grandin, professor of animal science, Colorado State University

Jen Walker, co-founder of Kinder Ground and herd health veterinarian

Nathan Medlar, owner, NM Ranch

Ashlynn Kirk, program manager for the Humane Handling Institute at the University of Wisconsin—River Falls

Want to see what it looks like through the eyes of a cow?

This holiday season, that glass of wine on your table comes with a surprising backstory. Global wine consumption is down. And the reasons are far more complicated than you might expect. The industry is facing a convergence of challenges unlike anything in recent memory. In this episode of Unfold, UC Davis experts unpack what’s behind the trend, what it means for growers, and whether wine’s place on the holiday table is changing.

In this episode:

Daniel Sumner, agricultural economist with the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics

Ben Montpetit, microbiologist and chair of the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology

Learn more about UC Davis wine sales at Hilgard631.org

One way to understand climate change is by climbing to extremes. In this episode of Unfold, co-host Kat Kerlin trekked up some of the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada range with UC Davis forest ecologists with the goal of finding the highest altitude Jeffrey pine trees. Their presence can reveal a lot about our warming planet. We’ll hear about her trip – and how a little bird “gardener” can play a large role in reshaping California’s forests.

In this episode:

Hugh Safford, UC Davis forest ecologist

Sachi Srivastava, UC Davis graduate student

Mike Mahoney, UC Davis doctoral student

Nick Parker, UC Davis undergraduate 

 

Read “An Extreme Tree Hunt in the Sierra Nevada Mountains” to learn more about the research.

Valley fever can infect both humans and dogs. In the second and final installment of our series examining valley fever, you’ll hear the story of Cooper, a boxer mix from California’s Central Valley. He nearly lost his life to the fungal infection. In this episode of Unfold, we’ll talk to UC Davis scientists working across medicine and veterinary care to study valley fever. You’ll hear not only about one dog’s fight for survival but how dogs may hold the key to predicting valley fever’s spread in humans.

In this episode:

Dr. Jane Sykes, small animal veterinarian at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine with a special interest in infectious diseases

Dr. Glynn Woods, Veterinarian, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

Omar and Rosemary Rios, owners of Cooper, a dog with valley fever

 

Read an in-depth In Focus feature on valley fever in both humans and dogs at https://www.ucdavis.edu/health/news/valley-fever-spreading-across-arid-west