News Archive

March 1, 2016 — Chronic psychosocial and emotional stress has well-documented negative effects upon the human immune system but less is known about the health effects of acute but transitory episodes of stress. Do panic-inducing moments also raise the risk of stress-related conditions? A team of researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Stony Brook University in New York and elsewhere addressed that question by taking blood samples from skydivers to measure key immune response indicators.

March 1, 2016 — Nationally, more than 15,000 patients are waiting for a liver transplant. Approximately 6,300 persons each year will receive a new liver; 1,400 die waiting. In California, one in four listed for liver transplant will die before an organ becomes available. Fortunately, living donation is now a lifesaving option at UC San Diego Health.

February 29, 2016 — The United State Department of State has announced that five eminent scientists, including Margaret Leinen, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor of marine sciences at the University of California at San Diego, have begun service as U.S. Science Envoys in February 2016. She will focus on ocean science in Latin America, East Asia, and the Pacific.

February 29, 2016 — Rising above Interstate 5 on the east campus of University of California, San Diego, the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute Building (ACTRI), a five-sided polygon of glass, steel and grooved concrete, officially opens its doors March 4 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

February 29, 2016 — UC San Diego’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program, which currently features three savvy business professionals who help advise students on start-up ideas, has gained two additional experts.

February 26, 2016 — Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center, with colleagues in Spain and Germany, have unraveled how elevated levels of particular proteins in cancer cells trigger hyperactivity in other proteins, fueling the growth and spread of a variety of cancers.

February 26, 2016 — When astronaut Scott Kelly returns to Earth on March 1, half of NASA’s first-of-its-kind study of twin astronauts and long duration space flight, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and elsewhere will launch the mission’s next phase.

February 25, 2016 — Composer Hilda Paredes used the Mayan calendar as the basis for her solo percussion piece, “Tzolkin,” with soft eerie pulses suggesting the passage of ancient time. In a sense, her music bridged the divide between modern Mexico and its poor indigenous communities. Paredes’ work, and other compositions from around the world, will be performed Feb. 26 – 28 at UC San Diego Department of Music’s Intercultural Music Conference (ICM). More than 80 composers, scholars and performers will present three days of lectures, concerts and panel discussions exploring music in our rapidly evolving intercultural landscape. They’ll consider music in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Mexico and other locales. Concerts will showcase both traditional and contemporary music.

February 25, 2016 — A biophysicist and an astrophysicist at UC San Diego have been named 2016 Cottrell Scholars, an award given this year to only two dozen scientists nationwide. Eva-Maria Schoetz Collins, an assistant professor of physics and biology, and Dusan Keres, an assistant professor of physics, will each receive $100,000 awards for research and teaching given annually to the top early career academic scientists by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

February 25, 2016 — Inflammation is a Catch-22: the body needs it to eliminate invasive organisms and foreign irritants, but excessive inflammation can harm healthy cells, contributing to aging and sometimes leading to organ failure and death. Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a protein known as p62 acts as a molecular brake to keep inflammation in check and avoid collateral damage.