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.
September 13, 2018
September 13, 2018 —
The Nikon Imaging Center, a collaborative microscopy center that provides local researchers with access to the latest imaging technologies, opened September today at the University of California San Diego.
September 11, 2018
September 11, 2018 —
Two to three million years ago, the functional loss of a single gene triggered a series of changes in what would eventually become the modern human species. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report on studies of mice engineered to lack the same gene and resulting data that suggest the lost gene may also have contributed to humanity’s well-documented claim to be among the best long-distance runners in the animal kingdom.
August 29, 2018
August 29, 2018 —
Over the next five years, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, will award approximately $20 million to four academic centers to launch a new national Career Development Consortium for Excellence in Glycosciences.
August 23, 2018
August 23, 2018 —
The CIPRES science gateway, which supports major discoveries about evolutionary relationships among our planet’s living creatures, has been awarded grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will provide more than $2.8 million to sustain and enhance the gateway.
August 21, 2018
August 21, 2018 —
A study by students attending this year's Research Experience for High School Students (REHS)summer internship program at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), an Organized Research Unit of UC San Diego, shows that many previous REHS participants followed a computer science and engineering (CSE) path into college, graduate school, and beyond.
August 15, 2018
August 15, 2018 —
UC San Diego biologists and their colleagues have revealed that enhancer RNAs play a significant role in cancer dissemination. The researchers found that eRNAs have a direct role in the activation of genes that are important for tumor development. This role is facilitated by the ability of eRNAs to directly interact with BRD4, a protein known as a cancer disseminator. BRD4 has been recognized as a promising cancer target.
July 25, 2018
July 25, 2018 —
A concept known as “percolation” is helping microbiologists at UC San Diego explain how communities of bacteria can effectively relay signals across long distances. Once regarded as simple clusters of microorganisms, communities of bacteria have been found to employ a strategy we use to brew coffee and extract oil from the sea. Percolation helps the microscopic community thrive and survive threats, such as chemical attacks from antibiotics.
July 12, 2018
July 12, 2018 —
New research has uncovered a protein that enables the replication of arenaviruses, lethal pathogens spreading in West Africa. The research identified DDX3 as a key factor through its unexpected ability to dismantle normal human immune system defenses. The study may pave the way to new therapeutic treatments for arenaviruses and hemorrhagic fever.
