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Marilynn Edith Etzler passed away peacefully at her home in Davis, California on August 4, 2025. Marilynn was born on October 30, 1940 in Detroit, Michigan, and she spent most of her childhood in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. As a child, she loved building things with her erector set and playing with her Lionel trains. She was also musical: she played the clarinet in her high school band and performed with her two sisters at local events.

In a new study published in Science Advances on September 10, a team of UC Davis researchers tracked the movement of fluorescent particles inside the cells of microscopic worms, providing unprecedented insights into cellular crowding in a multicellular animal. They found that the cytoplasm inside the worms was significantly more crowded and compartmentalized than in single-celled yeast or mammalian tissue culture cells, which are more commonly used to gauge internal cellular dynamics.

Although teaching is a core part of being a professor, most academics learn how to teach on the job. CBS’s Future Undergraduate Science Educators (FUSE) program is changing that.

Human eyes are complex and irreparable, yet they are structurally like those of the freshwater apple snail, which can completely regenerate its eyes. Alice Accorsi, assistant professor of molecular and cellular biology at the University of California, Davis, studies how these snails regrow their eyes — with the goal of eventually helping to restore vision in people with eye injuries.

What makes the human brain distinctive? A new study published July 21 in Cell identifies two genes linked to human brain features and provides a road map to discover many more. The research could lead to insights into the functioning and evolution of the human brain, as well as the roots of language disorders and autism.

Each year, the College of Biological Sciences honors its top undergraduates at a special awards ceremony attended by friends, family, mentors, and donors. The 2025 recipients were recognized for their academic excellence, commitment to building community, service to campus and peers, and exceptional achievements in research.

After the pandemic the MCB Club had gone dark. Thanks to the work of a new group of students with passion for all things molecular and cell biological, the club is thriving again. This success is due in large part to the work of club president, Komal Cheema. Komal clearly had a vision for bringing in a diverse group of students who either take MCB taught courses, have a general interest in the molecular and cellular aspects of biology or craved more structured social interactions around a common interest.

Only on annual visits to India was Avantika Gokulnatha able to help care for her now late grandfather as his health failed. But the San Jose resident endeavored to help others near her.

Gokulnatha did just that as she studied biological sciences, majored in genetics and genomics, and researched aging at the University of California, Davis. She volunteered with a local hospice, revived a student organization to help seniors with technology, and led other undergraduate volunteers at a clinic providing free medical care to uninsured and marginalized people.

When drug breakthroughs happen, the medical community rejoices. But some people can be left behind. Case in point: Rapamycin. Now a UC Davis professor is investigating how to bring back the benefits of a revolutionary drug to the people who were there from the beginning.

Developmental biologist Alice Accorsi, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, is the recipient of the 2025 UC Davis Early Career Faculty Award for Creativity and Innovation.