July 10, 2018
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
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.
June 14, 2018
June 14, 2018 —
The Pew Charitable Trusts has announced that UC San Diego Biological Sciences Assistant Professors Matthew Daugherty and Enfu Hui have been selected to the 2018 class of Pew Scholars in the Biomedical Sciences. Pew also announced that Diego Alvarez and Grisel Cruz Becerra, Biological Sciences postdoctoral researchers, have been named new Pew Latin American Fellows in the Biomedical Sciences.
May 16, 2018
May 16, 2018 —
A UC San Diego-led team has identified a gene that helps prevent the harmful buildup of proteins that can lead to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. As published in Nature, the researchers found that the “Ankrd16” gene acts like a failsafe in proofreading and correcting errors to avoid the abnormal production of improper proteins.
May 14, 2018
May 14, 2018 —
UC San Diego scientists have unraveled a decades-long mystery on how genes are activated. Until activated, human genes are blocked by structures known as nucleosomes, components that serve to package DNA inside cells. Scientists have been trying to determine how these nucleosome roadblocks clear out to allow genes to be turned on. Now, a team of scientists has identified a key factor that partially unravels nucleosomes and clears the way for genes to activate. The identification of “NDF,” or nucleosome destabilizing factor, is described May 14 in the journal Genes & Development. The researchers say the finding provides a new perspective on how genes are turned on and off—knowledge useful in the study of human diseases such as cancer, which can be caused by improper gene activity.
April 24, 2018
April 24, 2018 —
UC San Diego scientists have identified light-induced electrical activity as the brain mechanism controlling chemical code switching related to stress. While investigating neurotransmitter switching in rats, the researchers found that specific brain neurons were responsible, with possible implications for chemical imbalances in the brain underlying mental illness.
April 23, 2018
April 23, 2018 —
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s most esteemed honorary societies and independent policy research centers, has elected three professors of the University of California San Diego as new members.
April 23, 2018
April 23, 2018 —
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country’s most esteemed honorary societies and independent policy research centers, has elected three professors of the University of California San Diego as new members.
April 17, 2018
April 17, 2018 —
UC San Diego biologists have created the world’s first gene drive system—a mechanism for manipulating genetic inheritance—in Drosophila suzukii, an agricultural pest that has invaded much of the United States and caused millions of dollars in damage to high-value berry and other fruit crops.
March 29, 2018
March 29, 2018 —
Biologists have discovered evidence for a new path of evolution, and with it a deeper understanding of how quickly organisms such as viruses can adapt to their environment. Publishing in the journal Science, the researchers say their findings, which address longstanding mysteries of how genes acquire new functions and how mutations arise to ease transmission from one host to another, could be applied to investigations of viral diseases such as Zika, Ebola and bird flu.
