April 10, 2019
April 10, 2019 —
A series of tests conducted over several years by UC San Diego scientists have shown for the first time that the pesticide Sivanto could pose a range of threats to honey bees depending on seasonality, bee age and use in combination with common chemicals such as fungicides.
April 9, 2019
April 9, 2019 —
Scientists developed a new version of a gene drive that spreads favorable genetic variants, also known as “alleles,” throughout a population. The new “allelic drive” is equipped with a guide RNA that directs CRISPR to cut undesired variants of a gene and replace them with a preferred version.
March 7, 2019
March 7, 2019 —
UC San Diego researchers have discovered an unexpected mechanism that allows bacteria to defend themselves against antibiotics, a finding that could lead to retooled drugs to treat infectious diseases.
February 20, 2019
February 20, 2019 —
New research reveals that foreign honey bees often account for more than 90 percent of pollinators observed visiting flowers in San Diego, a global biodiversity hotspot. The monopoly may strongly affect species that are foundational to the stability of the region’s plant-pollinator interactions.
January 31, 2019
January 31, 2019 —
UC San Diego researchers studying p53, the heralded cancer-fighting “guardian of the genome,” found that the human protein also plays a role in promoting tumors, in addition to suppressing them.
January 23, 2019
January 23, 2019 —
Using active genetics technology, biologists have developed the world’s first CRISPR/Cas9-based approach to control genetic inheritance in a mammal. The achievement in mice lays the groundwork for further advances based on this technology, including biomedical research on human disease.
January 8, 2019
January 8, 2019 —
Using CRISPR, researchers developed a way to suppress insects, including those that ravage crops and transmit deadly diseases. The technology alters genes for sex determination and fertility. When eggs are introduced, only sterile males emerge, resulting in a low-cost method of controlling pests.
December 17, 2018
December 17, 2018 —
UC San Diego scientists have been granted $2 million to develop new methods for manufacturing products based on algae. Biologist Stephen Mayfield will lead efforts to develop novel platforms to produce biologically based monomers that will be used to manufacture renewable and biodegradable products.
October 29, 2018
October 29, 2018 —
Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered a new way of re-sensitizing drug-resistant human tumor cells to the potency of DNA-damaging agents, the most widely used group of cancer drugs. In a new study, they describe how a human gene known as Schlafen 11 controls the sensitivity of tumor cells to DDAs. Their research may pave the way to new strategies to overcome chemotherapeutic drug resistance.
September 27, 2018
September 27, 2018 —
Scientists have known that bacteria produce small spherical versions of themselves. Lacking basic materials to reproduce or function like normal cells, the natural role of minicells—which protrude like budding balloons off the ends of bacteria—has remained a mystery. Now, researchers at UC San Diego have demonstrated for the first time that minicells play a key function in the survival of bacteria.
