News Archive - School of Medicine

UC San Diego a Prominent Presence at Startups Demo Day in D. C.

One of the hundreds of companies hatched by the University of California San Diego has a prominent presence in a national showcase of high-potential startups in the nation’s capital. Curtana Pharmaceuticals plays a big role in the high-visibility Washington, D.C. celebration as a major presenter.

‘Inside Innovation’ Series at UC San Diego Kicks Off with Todd Coleman

“Inside Innovation,” a new series of free, public presentations, will feature the latest innovation technologies by UC San Diego, with opportunities for participants to get an inside look at what’s happening in our labs, explore commercialization opportunities, and inquire about licensing.

Promising Drug Leads Identified to Combat Heart Disease

Using a unique computational approach to rapidly sample, in millisecond time intervals, proteins in their natural state of gyrating, bobbing, and weaving, a research team from UC San Diego and Monash University in Australia has identified promising drug candidates that may selectively combat heart disease, from arrhythmias to cardiac failure.

Protein Subunit Found to Rescue Afflicted Neurons in Huntington’s Disease

Using an experimental co-culture approach in which two different types of neurons from a mouse model of Huntington’s disease (HD) are grown side-by-side, connecting to form critically impacted circuits, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified a subunit of a protein that, when expressed, reverse the mutated gene effects responsible for HD.

Nobel Laureate Roger Tsien Dies, Age 64

Roger Tsien, PhD, co-winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry and professor of pharmacology, chemistry and biochemistry at University of California San Diego School of Medicine for 27 years, died August 24 in Eugene, Ore. He was 64.

Researchers Identify Neural Factors That Predict Adolescent Alcohol Use

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have identified 34 neural factors that predict adolescent alcohol consumption. The list, based upon complex algorithms analyzing data from neuropsychological testing and neuroimaging studies, was significantly more accurate —approximately 74 percent — than demographic information alone.

Researchers Identify Characteristic Chemical Signature for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a mysterious and maddening condition, with no cure or known cause. But researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, using a variety of techniques to identify and assess targeted metabolites in blood plasma, have identified a characteristic chemical signature for the debilitating ailment and an unexpected underlying biology: It is similar to the state of dauer, and other hypometabolic syndromes like caloric restriction, diapause and hibernation.

Researchers Find a New Way to Identify and Target Malignant Aging in Leukemia

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified RNA-based biomarkers that distinguish between normal, aging hematopoietic stem cells and leukemia stem cells associated with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML), a particularly problematic disease that typically afflicts older patients who have often already experienced a bout with cancer.

Graying but Grinning: Despite Physical Ailments, Older Adults Happier

While even the best wines eventually peak and turn to vinegar, a new study by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine suggests a paradoxical trend in the mental health of aging adults: They seem to consistently get better over time.

MRI Technology Quantifies Liver Response in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Patients

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that a form of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that non-invasively measures fat density in the liver corresponds with histological (microscopic tissue analyses) responses in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).