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News Archive - School of Medicine

Polygenic Risk Score May Identify Alzheimer’s Risk in Younger Populations

For the first time, an international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, have determined that an Alzheimer’s disease (AD) polygenic risk score can be used to correctly identify adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who were only in their 50s. MCI is considered a precursor to AD.

How a Yeast Cell Helps Crack Open the “Black Box” Behind Artificial Intelligence

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.

Beneficial Skin Bacteria Protect Against Skin Cancer

Science continues to peel away layers of the skin microbiome to reveal its protective properties. In a study published in Science Advances on February 28, University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers report a potential new role for some bacteria on the skin: protecting against cancer.

Jekyll and Hyde and Seek

Writing in the February 27 online issue of Science Signaling, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center describe how a signaling protein that normally suppresses tumors can be manipulated (or re-programmed) by growth factors, turning it into a driver of malignant growth and metastasis.

New Online Tool Gives 3D View of Human Metabolic Processes

A new computational resource called Recon3D provides a 3D view of genes, proteins and metabolites involved in human metabolism. Researchers used the tool to map disease-related mutations on proteins and also probed how genes and proteins change in response to certain drugs. The work provides a better understanding of disease-causing mutations and could enable researchers to discover new uses for existing drug treatments.

Researchers Use Human Neural Stem Cell Grafts to Repair Spinal Cord Injuries in Monkeys

Led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, a diverse team of neuroscientists and surgeons successfully grafted human neural progenitor cells into rhesus monkeys with spinal cord injuries. The grafts not only survived, but grew hundreds of thousands of human axons and synapses, resulting in improved forelimb function in the monkeys.

Artificial Intelligence Quickly and Accurately Diagnoses Eye Diseases and Pneumonia

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.

Minimally Invasive Brain Implant Lessens Seizures

UC San Diego Health now offers patients with epilepsy another non-pharmacological way to treat seizures. For the more than one million individuals who live with uncontrolled seizures despite taking medications, UC San Diego Health recently began offering the first and only FDA-approved brain-responsive neurostimulation (RNS) system designed for the treatment of refractory epilepsy.

In Effort to Treat Rare Blinding Disease, Researchers Turn Stem Cells into Blood Vessels

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health have discovered that a chemical compound that activates ATF6, a gene associated with an inherited vision impairment, also converts patient-derived stem cells into blood vessels.

Data Released From Adolescent Brain Development Study Led by UC San Diego

The first datasets from the largest long-term study of brain development and child health in the United States—a project headed by a team of scientists at UC San Diego—were released to researchers around the world today by the National Institutes of Health.

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