October 24, 2016
October 24, 2016 —
Viruses hijack the molecular machinery in human cells to survive and replicate, often damaging those host cells in the process. Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine discovered that, for cytomegalovirus (CMV), this process relies on a human protein called CPEB1. The study provides a potential new target for the development of CMV therapies.
October 20, 2016
October 20, 2016 —
Although only 10 percent of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) cases are hereditary, a significant number of them are caused by mutations that affect proteins that bind RNA, a type of genetic material. University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers studied several ALS cases with a mutation in a RNA-binding protein known as hnRNP A2/B1. In the study, they describe how damage to this protein contributes to ALS by scrambling crucial cellular messaging systems.
October 20, 2016
October 20, 2016 —
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that Zika virus infection leads to modifications of both viral and human genetic material. These modifications — chemical tags known as methyl groups — influence viral replication and the human immune response.
October 18, 2016
October 18, 2016 —
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that the mouths of migraine sufferers harbor significantly more microbes with the ability to modify nitrates than people who do not get migraine headaches. The study is published October 18 by mSystems.
October 13, 2016
October 13, 2016 —
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has named the California Precision Medicine Consortium as a regional medical center group in the national network of health care provider organizations that will implement the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) Cohort Program.
October 3, 2016
October 3, 2016 —
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine discovered a pattern of microbes indicative of IBD in dogs. With more than 90 percent accuracy, the team used that information to predict which dogs had IBD. However, they also determined that the gut microbiomes of dogs and humans are not similar enough to use dogs as animal models for humans with this disease. The study is published October 3 in Nature Microbiology.
October 2, 2016
October 2, 2016 —
Approximately 20 percent of all human cancers have mutations in a gene called KRAS. KRAS-mutant cancers are among the most difficult to treat, with poor survival and resistance to chemotherapy. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center used microRNAs to systematically inhibit thousands of other genes to find combinations that are specifically lethal to cancer cells driven by a KRAS mutation.
September 27, 2016
September 27, 2016 —
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), the Simons Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has named Samara Reck-Peterson, PhD, an HHMI-Simons Faculty Scholar. Reck-Peterson, a professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and Division of Biological Sciences at University of California San Diego, will receive a total of $1.5 million over five years in support of her studies on cargo transport within cells.
September 27, 2016
September 27, 2016 —
The underlying cause of male infertility is unknown for 30 percent of cases. In a pair of new studies, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine determined that the reproductive homeobox (RHOX) family of transcription factors — regulatory proteins that activate some genes and inactivate others — drive the development of stem cells in the testes in mice. The investigators also linked RHOX gene mutations to male infertility in humans.
September 20, 2016
September 20, 2016 —
Loneliness is linked to poor physical and mental health, and is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity. To better understand who is at risk, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness — as a life-long trait, not a temporary state. They discovered that risk for feeling lonely is partially due to genetics, but environment plays a bigger role.
