October 13, 2017
October 13, 2017 —
Biologists have developed a solution for controlling the invasive Asian hornet Vespa velutina based on the insect’s natural chemical mating instincts. They deciphered the Asian hornet’s sex pheromone and devised a method of luring males into traps baited with synthesized versions of the pheromones. Vespa velutina has recently spread its presence with invasions in Europe and Korea, posing risks to honey bees, humans and related economics.
October 9, 2017
October 9, 2017 —
CIPRES, for CyberInfrastructure for Phylogenetic RESearch, is a web-based portal or “gateway” launched by the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego that allows researchers to explore evolutionary connections among species. Over 20,000 users from 86 countries have run one or more jobs using CIPRES, generating about 3,500 peer-reviewed publications in journals.
October 5, 2017
October 5, 2017 —
Emma Farley, an assistant professor at UC San Diego’s Division of Biological Sciences and School of Medicine, has been awarded the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. Melissa Gymrek, an assistant professor in the School of Medicine and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, will receive the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award.
September 21, 2017
September 21, 2017 —
Scientists have found that ignored pieces of DNA play a critical role in the development of immune cells called T cells. These areas activate a change in the 3D structure of DNA that brings together crucial elements necessary for T cell formation. This “big bang” discovery may be unfolding throughout the animal and plant kingdoms as well as aid in combating diseases such as lymphoma and leukemia.
September 11, 2017
September 11, 2017 —
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and collaborators discovered a new kind of glycan (sugar chain) that survives even in a 4 million-year-old animal fossil from Kenya, under conditions where ancient DNA does not. While ancient hominin fossils are not yet available for glycan analysis, this proof-of-concept study, published September 11 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, sets the stage for unprecedented explorations of human origins and diet.
August 23, 2017
August 23, 2017 —
The public's help is being enlisted in the Microbiome Immunity Project, what's thought to be the biggest study to date of the human microbiome — the communities of bacteria and other microbes that live in and on the human body, where they influence our health.
August 15, 2017
August 15, 2017 —
The University of California San Diego has been ranked the 15th best university in the world by the 2017 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU). UC San Diego was also named the world’s third best public college. The campus was named the world’s fourth best public college and nationally, UC San Diego was recognized as the country’s 13th best university.
August 9, 2017
August 9, 2017 —
Microbiome researchers Rob Knight, PhD, University of California San Diego, Jeffrey Gordon, MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Norman Pace, PhD, University of Colorado Boulder, will share this year’s Massry Prize, splitting the $200,000 honorarium. These researchers lead a field that works to produce a detailed understanding of microbiomes and methods for manipulating them for the benefit of human and environmental health.
August 7, 2017
August 7, 2017 —
Scientists at UC San Diego have provided the first evidence that lysosomes, specialized structures found in nearly every cell in your body, can travel to distant parts of neurons to branch-like areas known as dendrites. Lysosomes help keep balance in the brain by removing material that is no longer needed, a key function that could be associated with disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
August 7, 2017
August 7, 2017 —
Kyoto University of Japan, one of the University of California San Diego’s international partners, announced the opening of a liaison office in San Diego in late March. UC San Diego played a key role in establishing the office designed to ease in partnering and collaboration.
