News Archive - Scott LaFee

Why Subvariants of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus Accelerated the Pandemic

UC San Diego researchers describe why SARS-CoV-2 subvariants spread more rapidly than the original virus strain, and how an early treatment might have made people more susceptible to future infections.

DNA Treatment Could Delay Paralysis That Strikes Nearly All Patients with ALS

UC San Diego researchers use a DNA designer drug to restore key protein levels in motor neurons, delaying paralysis in a mouse model of ALS.

A Potential New Target for Head and Neck Cancer Immunotherapy

UC San Diego researchers have identified a strong association between the product of a gene expressed in most cancers and elevated levels of white blood cells that produce antibodies within tumors, suggesting a new therapeutic target.

Splicing Deregulation Detected and Targeted in Type of Childhood Leukemia

UC San Diego researchers delve deep into the unknown cause of pediatric acute myeloid leukemia to identify a gene splicing dysregulation and potential target for treating the disease, which often becomes treatment-resistant.

Small Molecule Drug Reverses ADAR1-induced Cancer Stem Cell Cloning Capacity

UC San Diego researchers report that a late-stage, pre-clinical small molecule inhibitor reverses malignant hyper-editing by a protein that promotes silencing of the immune response, metastasis and therapeutic resistance in 20 different cancer types.

Don Cleveland Wins a Trifecta of Recognition

In the span of just a few weeks, Don Cleveland, a leading researcher in the study of neurodegenerative diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s, has received three major awards.

A New Phase

The evolution of clinical trials is accelerating, driven by emerging technologies, social imperatives and the next public health crisis.

Pharming the Microbiome

The gut microbiome plays a critical but poorly understood role in how drugs work or don't work in the body. It also presents therapeutic possibilities unto itself.

Host-Cell Factors Involved in COVID-19 Infections May Augur Improved Treatments

Researchers at University of California San Diego and UC Riverside have further elucidated the molecular pathway used by the SARS-CoV-2 virus to infect human lung cells, identifying a key host-cell player that may prove a new and enduring therapeutic target for treating COVID-19.

How Pancreatic Cancer Defies Treatment

UC San Diego researchers describe how pancreatic cancer stem cells leverage a protein in a family of proteins that normally suppress tumors to instead do the opposite, boosting their resistance to conventional treatments and spurring growth.