News Archive

July 10, 2018 — Science teachers from The Preuss School UC San Diego – Anne Artz, Shaoni Bandyopadhyay and Ted Kim – have been selected to participate in the Teacher Innovator Institute at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

July 10, 2018 — Researchers discovered an unexpected twist in the battle versus tumors. Tumors employ a protein called PD-L1 to blind T cells from functioning. PD-L1 protects tumors through a “molecular brake” known as PD-1. Researchers have found that some tumor cells display not only their PD-L1 weapon, but also the PD-1 brake, essentially becoming a neutralizing function. The unexpected mechanism could help determine whether a cancer patient will respond to immunotherapy.

July 9, 2018 — Many insects and animals have special proteins that act like car antifreeze to prevent ice from forming and spreading in their bodies amidst harsh winter temperatures. Scientists know about these antifreeze proteins (AFPs), but not so much about the mechanisms that make them work. Chemistry researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Utah, however, share new cold facts about AFP function in their July 9 article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Their research results could impact a variety of industrial and natural processes, including cloud formation, as well as future scientific studies.

July 9, 2018 — Through x-ray crystallography and kinase-inhibitor specificity profiling, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with researchers at Peking University and Zhejiang University, reveal that curcumin, a natural occurring chemical compound found in the spice turmeric, binds to the kinase enzyme dual-specificity tyrosine-regulated kinase 2 (DYRK2) at the atomic level. This previously unreported biochemical interaction of curcumin leads to inhibition of DYRK2 that impairs cell proliferation and reduces cancer burden.

July 9, 2018 — UC San Diego has selected Kit Pogliano, a professor of molecular biology, as its new dean for the Division of Biological Sciences. Pogliano was selected after a national search and will begin her new appointment on Sept. 15, 2018. She is the fourth dean of the division and its first female leader. She will lead a renowned division that consistently ranks among the world’s best in biology research and education.

July 9, 2018 — Physicians at UC San Diego Health are now offering prostate artery embolization as a new treatment option for men with benign prostatic hyperplasia, or an enlarged prostate. The minimally invasive procedure is an alternative to surgery, with no hospital stay, little operative pain and lower cost.

July 9, 2018 — A team led by the University of California San Diego has developed a chip that can detect a type of genetic mutation known as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and wirelessly send the results in real time to an electronic device. The chip is at least 1,000 times more sensitive at detecting an SNP than current technology. The advance could lead to cheaper, faster and portable biosensors for early detection of genetic markers for diseases such as cancer.

July 6, 2018 — Ceramides—waxy, oily lipid molecules that affect biological function like insulin resistance, gene regulation and tumor suppression—could be applied to new cancer treatments…if only scientists could study them directly in living organisms. Tackling this task with a brand of chemistry that addresses biological challenges, University of California San Diego Professor Neal Devaraj produced research results that confront the limitations of studying ceramides.

July 5, 2018 — Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego have found that the cost for the 10 “highest spend” medications in Medicare Part D — the U.S. federal government’s primary prescription drug benefit for older citizens — rose almost one-third between 2011 and 2015, even as the number of persons using these drugs dropped by the same amount.

July 2, 2018 — MIT Technology Review has named Sheng Xu, a professor of nanoengineering at the University of California San Diego, as one of this year’s top innovators under 35. Xu is being recognized for inventing a clever way to make off-the-shelf electronics stretchable.