News Archive - Mario Aguilera

UC San Diego Physicist Helps Launch National Network Examining Earth’s Planetary Limits

UC San Diego Physics Professor Tom Murphy is among five authors of an essay, appearing in the November 2021 issue of the journal Energy Research & Social Science, that cautions current levels of worldwide economic growth, energy use and resource consumption will overshoot Earth's finite limits.

Matthew Lovett-Barron Named 2021 Packard Fellow

UC San Diego Assistant Professor Matthew Lovett-Barron, who researches the neural mechanisms of internal brain states and collective decision making in schooling fish, has been selected for the 2021 Packard Fellowship Program and the Searle Scholars Program.

Neurobiologists Identify Widely Used Assembling and Stabilizing Forces behind Brain Synapses

UC San Diego scientists have provided promising new evidence that the “planar cell polarity,” a powerful signaling pathway, is a widely used mechanism for the formation and maintenance of a large number of synapses.

Elizabeth Villa Selected as 2021 HHMI Investigator

Biological Sciences Associate Professor Elizabeth Villa has been selected as a 2021 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. As one of 33 scientists chosen out of pool of more than 800, Villa will receive $9 million over a seven-year HHMI Investigator term.

New Technology Designed to Genetically Control Disease-spreading Mosquitoes

Scientists have created the precision-guided sterile insect technique, a new CRISPR-based technology to control Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for spreading wide-ranging diseases including dengue fever, chikungunya and Zika.

Growth-promoting, Anti-aging Retinal at the Root of Plant Growth Too

Publishing in the journal Science, a research team led by new UC San Diego biologist Alexandra Dickinson has identified a compound that plays a key role in triggering the development of plants’ lateral roots. Retinoids, known for medical uses, were found to be vital in plant growth.

UC San Diego Researchers Discover Key Mechanisms behind Synapse Degeneration in Alzheimer’s Brain

Neurobiologists have uncovered the mechanisms behind the maintenance and decline of key synapses implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest an alternative approach to addressing such brain disorders.

Diamonds Are a Physicist’s Best Friend

Physics condensed matter experimentalist Chunhui Rita Du leverages imperfections in diamonds to investigate materials needed for a new era of computing and storage. New quantum materials are exotic substances that are allowing scientists to create novel technologies at previously unseen scales.

Trained Viruses Prove More Effective at Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

Research reveals that phage viruses that undergo special evolutionary training increase their capacity to subdue bacteria. The results provide hope for the antibiotic resistance crisis, a rising threat as deadly bacteria continue to evolve to render many modern drugs ineffective.

Synthetic SPECIES Developed for Use as a Confinable Gene Drive

Scientists have developed a gene drive with a built-in genetic barrier that is designed to keep the drive under control. The researchers engineered synthetic fly species that, upon release in sufficient numbers, act as gene drives that can spread locally and be reversed if desired.