News Archive - Biological Sciences

A Grassroots Composting Success

Sustainability-minded graduate students at UC San Diego living in the Grad and Family Housing (GFH) complex have launched a new composting effort to benefit the environment and enhance the residential community.

Scientists Slow Aging by Engineering Longevity in Cells

Researchers have developed a biosynthetic “clock” that keeps cells from reaching normal levels of deterioration related to aging. They engineered a gene oscillator that switches between the two normal paths of aging, slowing cell degeneration and setting a record for life extension.

Elephant Ecosystems in Decline

Global space for Asian elephant habitats has been in rapid decline since the 1700s, a new report reveals. More than 3 million square kilometers of the Asian elephant’s historic habitat range has been lost in just three centuries and may underlie present-day conflicts between elephants and people.

Graduate Students Applauded for Exceptional Integrity

Two graduate students were recently recognized at the 13th Annual Integrity Awards on April 19. The awards honor Tritons who have demonstrated a firm commitment to academic, research and professional integrity during the last 12 months.

Tracking a New Path to Octopus and Squid Sensing Capabilities

Research led by UC San Diego and Harvard has traced the evolutionary adaptations of octopus and squid sensing capabilities. The researchers describe for the first time the structure of an octopus chemotactile receptor, which octopus arms use for taste-by-touch exploration of the seafloor.

Eye-opening Origin Story: Scientists Trace Key Innovation in Our Camera-like Vision to Bacteria

Scientists have traced the origin of a unique protein key to vertebrate’s camera-like vision back 500 million years. Their analysis of more than 900 genomes across the tree of life revealed that the protein came through horizontal gene transfer from foreign bacterial genes.

The Explorers: A Passion for Science Leads to New Territory

After decades of working in industry and academia, biophysicists Alex Savtchenko and Elena Molokanova still have big dreams.

UC San Diego Faculty Inducted Into Prestigious Biomedical Institution

Three faculty members at the University of California San Diego were inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE). Professors Victor Nizet, Karsten Zengler and Sameer Shah are among the 140 new AIMBE Fellows in the class of 2023. In ad

Dissecting the Circadian Clock in Real Time

Researchers have advanced our understanding of the circadian clock, the biological cycle that synchronizes with light-dark exposure. They recently developed a method to study how the circadian clock synchronizes with the environment in real time, revealing surprises about the clock’s mechanisms.

Schmidt Futures Fellows Seek to Expand Promise of AI in STEM Fields

Ten UC San Diego postdoctoral scholars are applying artificial intelligence (AI) methods to their research in a range of fields thanks to support from the Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Postdoctoral Fellowship, a program of Schmidt Futures.