Our extinct cousins, the Denisovans, reached the “roof of the world” about 160,000 years ago — 120,000 years earlier than previous estimates for Homo sapiens — and contributed to our genetic adaptation to high altitude.

The San Andreas and San Jacinto faults have ruptured simultaneously at least three times in the past 2,000 years, most recently in 1812, found Alba Rodríguez Padilla, graduate student in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Krypton from Earth’s mantle, collected from geologic hotspots in Iceland and the Galapagos Islands, reveals a clearer picture of how our planet formed. The isotopes suggest planetesimals from the cold outer solar system bombarded the Earth early on.

Connections built across campus and continents led to a $298,000 National Science Foundation award to engage with Inuit fermenters in Greenland and support them in identifying the challenges and opportunities for creating a resurgence in Inuit fermented foods.

Liquid helium is vital to many cutting-edge experiments but has become increasingly expensive and difficult to acquire. Spurred by the uncertainty and price fluctuations, a new helium recovery system in the Department of Physics and Astronomy will capture and recycle approximately 90% of the helium used for research.

While Asian cuisine plays an outsized role in California, growers face obstacles in bringing the ingredients to the table. The Department of Asian American Studies is working to change that as part of an interdisciplinary project involving researchers across UC Davis.