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As wildflowers go, the mountain jewelflower is demure, clever and quietly unbreakable. It has spread across many of California’s iconic landscapes, from Sonoma wine country to the oak-dotted foothills, even over the Sierra Crest, where snow covers the ground during winter.

The genomics of peppermint are not as fresh as their flavor but scientists from the University of California, Davis, have found a way to breathe new genetic variation into the species.

Salicylic acid, the active molecule in aspirin and some acne medications, is a hormone in plants that is essential for immunity, but it’s a double-edged sword: too much can cause autoimmunity and stunt growth. In a new study published April 20 in Nature Communications, University of California, Davis, researchers discovered that plants use a surprising multi-layered system to regulate salicylic acid levels and keep their immune system in check.

Four faculty, two each in CBS departments and graduate groups, are among this year’s recipients of the Academic Senate and Federation top awards. They are in a cohort of 15 academics across various disciplines throughout the university to be recognized.

The awards cite the impact these academics have had on their fields, on UC Davis students and on the broader community through public service.

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Can the bend of a banana give us insight into cancer? What does the shape of a rice grain have to do with infertility? The proteins that give plants their shape and structure are also involved in human disease. A team led by researchers at the University of California, Davis, has mapped out the structure of a key player, augmin, in exhaustive detail.

Iliya Voytsyshyn, a fourth-year systems and synthetic biology major from Ukraine, entered UC Davis with plans to study cancer. That initial goal grew into a fascination with tools that fuse biology, systems design and gene editing to re-engineer cells.

Gene editing has enormous potential to help feed the world’s growing population, but it’s currently difficult, time-consuming, and only works in some plant species. A big part of the problem is CRISPR/Cas9’s size: it’s too large to be delivered into plant cells.

Venkatesan Sundaresan, a Distinguished Professor of plant biology and plant sciences at the University of California, Davis, has been awarded a Gates Foundation grant to develop self-cloning crops for Indian farmers.

Two College of Biological Sciences faculty members—Keith Baar, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, and Laura Bogar, assistant professor of plant biology—received a STAIR Grant and a Hellman Fellowship, respectively.

Two researchers at the University of California, Davis have been awarded a VinFuture Prize in recognition of their work developing self-cloning crops, a breakthrough for sustainable agriculture.