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News Archive - Biological Sciences

Students, Faculty and Staff Assemble Do-It-Yourself Air Filtration Boxes that Fight COVID-19 Spread

September 27, 2021

Last week, as students returned to in-person classes, dozens of UC San Diego students, faculty and staff gathered on campus in one of the outdoor classrooms to build 250 do-it-yourself air filters to support our Return to Learn program.

Elizabeth Villa Selected as 2021 HHMI Investigator

September 23, 2021

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

September 10, 2021

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

August 26, 2021

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.

How Adolescents Used Drugs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

August 24, 2021

Among adolescents ages 10 to 14 in the U.S, the overall rate of drug use remained relatively stable in the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one change was a decreased use of alcohol, but an increased use of nicotine and misuse of prescription drugs.

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

August 18, 2021

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.

Reconnecting the People, Plants and Animals of the Kendall-Frost Marsh

August 12, 2021

UC San Diego’s Kendall-Frost Marsh has received an $85,000 grant from Honda to create an integrated research and public engagement program centered on bringing Native American perspectives and cutting-edge science into the management and access decisions needed to ensure the marsh’s survival.

‘Feel Good’ Brain Messenger Can Be Willfully Controlled, New Study Reveals

July 23, 2021

UC San Diego researchers and their colleagues have discovered that spontaneous impulses of dopamine, the neurological messenger known as the brain’s “feel good” chemical, occur in the brain of mice. The study found that mice can willfully manipulate these random dopamine pulses for reward.

UC San Diego among six U.S. institutions in new Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance

July 21, 2021

UC San Diego is one of six universities invited to participate in the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, a scientific collaboration that aims to transform human health on a global scale through the discovery and translation of the biological principles underlying human performance.

Trained Viruses Prove More Effective at Fighting Antibiotic Resistance

June 7, 2021

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.
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