This week in UC Davis science news, we go from the far reaches of the Universe to the human heart, survey western wildfires and take a trip to Alcatraz. 

You (don't) spin me round 

Looking back across billions of light years, astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope found a galaxy that isn't rotating, which is unexpected. Apart from the fact that not only can we see an object at this unimaginable distance but we can see stuff inside it, this could help astronomers test theories about how galaxies form and mature. 

“(James Webb Space Telescope) is really pushing the frontier for these kinds of studies,” said Ben Forrest, a researcher at the UC Davis Department of Physics and Astronomy.  

Heat me up, cool me down

Cool hands, warm heart is supposed to be the formula for a good...baker. It also turns out to have a big influence on whether a mutation in a gene called TRPM4 causes a heart condition or a skin disease. 

“This has been a mystery in the field for years,” said Yuhua Tian, a visiting assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology. “We now understand that it’s not just the mutation itself that matters, but where in the body the protein is active and under what conditions.”

Yes, prevention is much, much cheaper 

It might seem obvious, but it really is much cheaper to remove fuels through forest thinning and prescribed burns (especially in combination) than to remedy the damage from wildfires, to the tune of $3.75 saved for every dollar spent on prevention. 

“Wildfire policy has historically focused on suppression, but our results suggest greater investment in prevention could substantially reduce wildfire damages,” said Frederick Strabo, a postdoctoral scholar with the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. “That will become even more important as the climate continues to change and forests face more large wildfires and other disturbances.” 

What, no ACME jet ski? 

DNA testing by UC Davis showed that a coyote who showed up on Alcatraz island recently had got there from Angel Island, and not the much shorter swim from San Francisco as first thought. 

“Three distinct coyote populations could have been the source of the Alcatraz coyote: San Francisco, Southern Marin, and Angel Island,” said Ben Sacks from UC Davis. “Our lab was able to take the DNA sample and match it to a coyote previously sampled from the Angel Island population.”

The coyote has since disappeared, so we hope he succeeded in escaping from Alcatraz.