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Liver Fibrosis ‘Off Switch’ Discovered in Mice

UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers identified several genetic switches, or transcription factors, that determine whether or not liver cells produce collagen — providing a new therapeutic target for liver fibrosis.

Data from Behind Enemy Lines: How Russia May have Used Twitter to Seize Crimea

Online discourse by users of social media can provide important clues about the political dispositions of communities. New research suggests it can even be used by governments as a source of military intelligence to estimate prospective casualties and costs incurred from occupying foreign countries.

Drug Lord’s Hippos Make Their Mark on Foreign Ecosystem

Four hours east of Medellín in northern Colombia’s Puerto Triunfo municipality, the sprawling hacienda constructed by infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar of “Narcos” fame has become a tourist attraction. When Escobar’s empire crashed, the exotic animals housed at his family’s zoo, including rhinos, giraffes and zebras, were safely relocated to new homes… except for the hippopotamuses.

Engineer Transforms Personal Experience into ‘Bridges to Education’ for Underrepresented Students

When he was 10 years old, Oscar Vazquez-Mena learned that his ancestors, the ancient Mayans, had once been a technologically advanced culture that excelled in mathematics, astronomy, art and architecture. Yet all around him in Chiapas, his home state in Mexico, families lived in poverty and children did not have access to many educational opportunities.

‘A Tornado at the Front Door, a Tsunami at the Back Door’

For the majority of Jordan Janz’s 20 years of life, most neighbors in his tiny Canadian town never knew he was sick. Janz snowboarded, hunted and fished. He hung with friends, often playing ice hockey video games. He worked in shipping and receiving for a company that makes oil pumps.

Data for Life

As concern grows over the ubiquity of digital tools for patient care and treatment management, it can often seem like the challenges of protecting patient privacy outweigh the benefits. But some researchers at UC San Diego are using technological advances to develop new ways to help patients retain not just their privacy, but also their autonomy and control over their own medical treatment.