News Archive

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 — 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.

March 8, 2018 — Two neuroscientists have produced a new kind of atlas of the human brain that, they hope, can be eventually refined and improved to provide more detailed information about the organization and function of the human brain.

March 8, 2018 — Through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that small doses of NGM282, a non-tumorigenic variant of an endocrine gastrointestinal hormone, can significantly and rapidly decrease liver fat content in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The findings, they say, represent an important proof-of-concept for the compound as there are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved treatments for NAFLD and NASH.

March 5, 2018 — UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers developed a visible neural network and used it to build DCell, a virtual model of a functioning brewer’s yeast cell. To do this, they amassed all knowledge of cell biology in one place and created a hierarchy of these cellular components. Then they mapped standard machine learning algorithms to this knowledgebase. DCell can be viewed at d-cell.ucsd.edu. The technical details are published March 5 in Nature Methods.

February 22, 2018 — Using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques, researchers at Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health and University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in China, Germany and Texas, have developed a new computational tool to screen patients with common but blinding retinal diseases, potentially speeding diagnoses and treatment.

February 8, 2018 — Working at the intersection of biology and physics, scientists at UC San Diego have made a surprising discovery at the root of cell formation. They found that DNA executes an unexpected architectural role in shaping the cells of bacteria. Studying the bacterium Bacillus subtilis, the researchers used an array of experiments and technologies to reveal that DNA, beyond serving to encode genetic information, also “pumps up” bacterial cells.

February 6, 2018 — Employing CRISPR/Cas9 advancements, UC San Diego researchers are using new active genetics technology to reveal new fundamental mechanisms that control gene activity. The authors also provide experimental validation for using active genetics as an efficient means for targeted gene insertion, or “transgenesis,” and single-step replacement of genetic control elements.

February 5, 2018 — In approximately 15 percent of cases where couples are unable to conceive, the underlying cause of infertility is not known. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and in the Division of Biological Sciences at UC San Diego have identified a protein in mice that must be present in eggs for them to complete normal development. Without the protein, called ZFP36L2, the eggs appear ordinary, but they cannot be fertilized by sperm.

January 29, 2018 — Using new technologies developed to extract life history information from bones, researchers at UC San Diego are learning more than ever about populations of green sea turtles living in the eastern region of the Pacific Ocean. While their numbers remain dangerously depleted, the new data show that green sea turtles are spending more time offshore, increasing their risk as fishing bycatch.